Opinion: Middle managers fall into trap

25: Percentage of companies that are providing middle managers with more coaching and management development than two years ago.

Home sick

63: Percentage of U.S. adults who say they sleep when they are home sick with colds or the flu, according to a survey conducted by Kimberly-Clark Professional.

18: Percentage of U.S. adults who say they watch TV.

8: Percentage of U.S. adults who say they clean the house.

Big-time real estate

$601 billion: Value of real estate owned globally by members of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate, according to the results of the 15th annual AFIRE Survey.

$184 billion: Value of their investments in the United States.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5: Rank of New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle as the top U.S. cities for their investment dollars.

Shopping experiences

66: Percentage of store visits this holiday season that were not influenced by marketing and advertising, according to a survey from Deloitte & Touche USA LLP.

64: Percentage of consumers who said they were unable to buy, or chose not to buy, a product because the item or size they were looking for was out of stock.

57: Percentage who said the line at the register was too long.

52: Percentage who said a sales associate was not readily available to help them.

32: Percentage who said a sales associate could not answer the question they asked.

False alarm

49 million: Estimated number of adults in the United States who indicate that they have been told that their personal information had been lost, stolen or improperly disclosed over the past three years, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive.

81: Percentage of adults who have been notified about lost or stolen personal information who perceive that nothing harmful happened to them as a result.

Promotions with style

33: Percentage of executives who said style of dress at work influences chances of being promoted “significantly,” according to a survey by OfficeTeam.

60: Percentage who said chances are increased “somewhat.”

Public transit savings

1.4 billion: Number of gallons of gasoline that is saved annually by the use of public transportation, according to a study by the American Public Transportation Association.

$6,251: Amount by which the average family can reduce annual household expenses when public transportation is used.

$5,781: Amount that the average U.S. household spends on food annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Media time

8 hours, 14 minutes: Total average TV usage per day in U.S. households during the 2005–06 TV season, according to Nielsen Media Research data.

9: Percentage of U.S. adults who report spending 20 hours or more a week on the Internet, according to Scarborough Research.

17: Percentage of U.S. adults with broadband access at home who report spending 20 hours or more a week on the Internet.

Vacation time

54: Percentage of travelers who said they were currently interested in going to a spa or a place where they can relax and rejuvenate themselves, according to a survey by the Travel Industry Association and Synovate.

35: Percentage of travelers who said they were currently interested in traveling to places that cater to children.

25: Percentage of travelers who said they were currently interested in taking a spiritual vacation, such as a religious retreat or pilgrimage.

Musical trend

195: Average number of hours Americans spent listening to recorded music in 2006 (per person), according to a survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.

290: Number of hours Americans spent listening to recorded music in 1999 (per person), according to the bureau.

Idle Thought

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”

—William Arthur Ward, college administrator, writer

John MacIntyre is an author and former city magazine editor. His Figuratively Speaking column, launched in 1989, is published in more than 40 newspapers and magazines.