Business Week By The Numbers - Oct.9
A
compendium of revealing stats and the key leading economic and
business indicators from the latest edition of BusinessWeek magazine. Paid
subscription required to view some of the articles at BusinessWeek
Online :
| The median price of existing homes declined in August by 1.7% from the previous year, the first such drop since 1995, but prices are up 22% from three years ago and 40% from five years ago. Fed data show home equity withdrawn has dropped 43% since the third quarter of last year, to an annual rate of $497.2 billion in the second quarter. (U.S.: Consumers Aren't Sweating The Housing Slump Yet - They're coping, thanks to solid household finances and cheaper energy) | $497.2 Billion |
|
In 2006 the oil producing nations
surplus is projected to eclipse that of Asia, according to the IMF,
with fuel exporters expected to generate a $505 billion surplus, vs.
$462 billion from Asian nations. The rate of petrodollar purchases
of U.S. Treasuries jumped by 61% from July, 2005, to July, 2006,
according to Treasury Dept. (The
Downside Of Cheaper Oil - If the flow of foreign oil profits into U.S. Treasuries slows, interest rates could rise) |
$505 Billion |
| Premiums for employer-sponsored coverage are going up by less than in past years -- 7.7% this year vs. 9.2% last year and a peak of 13.9% in 2003, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. (UnitedHealth vs. HCA: It's Ugly - Their contract dispute is leaving patients and docs out in the cold) | 7.7% |
| The Yahoo home page is a very important driver of revenue. About 40% to 45% of Yahoo's $4.7 billion in annual sales comes from display ads such as banners, which appear on pages that users often reach through the front page, according to investment bank Cowen & Co. (How Yahoo! Gave Itself A Face-Lift - Its redesigned home page is based on data from users' clicks, not its hunches) | $4.7 Billion |
| An estimated 20 Billion songs were illegally downloaded or swapped in 2005. (Free Downloads —After This Message - Will users guide through ads instead of pirating music, video, and books) | 20 Billion |
| More than 100 ETFs have been introduced this year, and the ETF universe is nearing 325 funds with more than $350 billon in assets, according to Banc of America Securities. Barclays Global Investors dominates in the ETF universe, with more than 140 funds under its iShares name. (An ETF For Every Nest - Even with product overload, investors are finding smart ways to use these index-based funds) | $350 Billion |
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BusinessWeek By The Numbers - Metrics 2.0 |
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