WSJ By The Numbers - Top 10 for Oct.6
The U.S. federal budget deficit for the just-completed 2006 fiscal year fell to about $260 billion. The federal budget expanded to $2.7 trillion last year, a 9% increase, or 3 times the inflation rate. Over the past six years the federal budget has increased by 49.2%.
U.S. tax collections have increased by $521 billion in the last two fiscal years, the largest two-year revenue increase -- even after adjusting for inflation -- in American history.
Corporate tax collections have climbed by 76% over the past two years. Personal income tax payments are up by 30.3% since 2004. The IRS tax-return data indicates that a near-record 37% of those income tax payments are received from the top 1% of earners. (Tax Tidal Wave)
| As the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a peak for a third straight day, Berkshire Hathaway, the most expensive stock in the U.S., was marking a milestone of its own, breaking through to a record by passing the $100,000 mark. (Berkshire Breaks $100,000 Mark) | $100k per Share |
| A tentative legal settlement reached with First DataBank, publisher of lists of drug prices, could reduce annual U.S. drug costs by $4 billion in 2007 alone. From 2000 to 2005, manufacturer prices on the most popular brand drugs grew by about 40.5%, according to a study by AARP. (How Quiet Moves by a Publisher Sway Billions in Drug Spending) | $4.0B |
| International Council of Shopping Centers said that excluding Wal-Mart, same-store retail sales jumped 6% in September. Wal-Mart September same-store sales rose 1.3%. The chain's overall September sales rose 12% to $31.21 billion. (Brisk Apparel Sales Give a Lift to Many Retailers) | 6% Retail Sales |
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The European Central Bank raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage point to 3.25% from 3%. The Bank of England left rates on hold at 4.75%. The European Commission recently raised its forecast for 2006 GDP growth in the bloc to 2.5% vs. 1.3% last year. (Euro Zone Raises Rates, More Increases Likely) |
3.25% ECB Rate |
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The number of new applicants for unemployment insurance fell last week to the lowest level since July as initial jobless claims dropped 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 302,000 in the week ended Sept. 30. (Jobless Claims at Lowest Level Since July) |
302k |
| U.S. budget deficit at $260 billion is now about 2% of the $13 trillion economy, well below the 2.7% average of the last 40 years. The total U.S. public sector borrowing down to roughly 1.5% of GDP. (Tax Tidal Wave) | $260B |
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Kohl's is staging grand openings at 65 stores this weekend, the largest growth spurt in its history. At the same time, J.C. Penney is preparing to cut ribbons to open 20 stores, its biggest expansion in two decades. J.C. Penney operates about 1,050 stores while Kohl's has 850 stores nationwide. Penney plans to open another 400 more stores and Kohl's plan to add 500 by 2010. (Chasing Mr. and Mrs. Middle Market, J.C. Penney, Kohl's Open 85 New Stores) |
85 Stores in One Day |
| Half of MySpace's users are 35 or older, according to comScore Media Metrix. Only 30% are under 25. ComScore also reported that MySpace had 56 million unique U.S. visitors in August, much less than the 100 million-plus registered users MySpace has world-wide. (MySpace Attracts Older Audience) | 56 Million |
| Starbucks plans to eventually have 40,000 stores, 20,000 locations in the U.S. and 20,000 locations overseas. Starbucks currently has about 12,000 locations in 37 countries, focusing on expanding in China and opening stores in Brazil, Russia, India and Egypt. (Starbucks Sets Ambitious Goal Of 40,000 Stores) | 40,000 Starbucks |
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Money-market mutual-fund assets increased by $26.01 billion to $2.243 trillion in the week ended Wednesday, up from $2.217 trillion, according to the Investment Company Institute. Assets of the 888 retail-class shares increased by $3.22 billion to $926.38 billion. (Money-Fund Assets Increase) |
$26B |
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WSJ By The Numbers - Metrics 2.0 |
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