Investor optimism dips in Dec from Nov peak - UBS/Gallup Index
The UBS/Gallup Index of Investor Optimism fell 3 points to 90, its second-highest reading of the year. The index peaked at 93 in January and again in November. The UBS/Gallup survey covers about 800 households from around the United States with investments of $10,000 or more. Nearly 40 percent of American Households have at least this amount of savings and investments. 

Almost 8% of U.S. households now using VoIP - Market Research
In-Stat, a technology market research firm, says almost 8% of U.S. households are using Voice Over IP (VoIP). Leading the pack in VoIP services is Skype with 2.1 million households, followed closely by Vonage and Time Warner Cable with 1.7 and 1.6 million respectively.

Holiday online sales surge to $20.6B
During the first 48 days of the season, total online retail spending, excluding travel-related purchases, reached $20.65 billion, up 25 percent from a year earlier, ComScore Networks said.

Digital camera sales top expectations: NPD 
Over 30 million digital cameras will be sold this year, double that of 2003, the NPD said. In 2005, 25.2 million units were sold. Through October, some 60% of sales in the digital camera market, estimated by some experts at about $34 billion, came from the top five brands: Eastman Kodak Co., Canon Inc., Sony Corp., Nikon Corp., and Olympus Corp.NPD's outlook pegs global digital camera shipments to rise 24 percent to 100.5 million units in 2006, but slowing to 11 percent growth in 2007. 

90%  of Americans Say ''Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly'': Poll
Religious affiliation aside - 90% of Americans give their seasonal blessings to Christmas decorations in public buildings, according to a recent Associated Press/AOL News poll .

Cell Phones Capture 25 Percent Slice of Portable Navigation Market by 2010 
Two new Strategy Analytics studies, "Portable Navigation Competitor Analysis Metrics" and "Portable Navigation Market Forecast Tables 2005-2011," conclude that the increasing push by traditional automotive suppliers into the mobile navigation market, in conjunction with the increasing penetration of GPS capability cellular handsets, presents serious competition for portable navigation ...

Digital Living Service and Product Revenues to Approach $300 Billion Annually
Rapid consumer adoption of Internet and mobile services will boost U.S. spending in digital living services and products to nearly $300 billion by 2010, according to Parks Associates' Digital Living 2006 Forecasts.

Mobile entertainment market to top US$38 billion in 2011, says research firm 
The mobile entertainment market will more than double over the next five years reaching US$38.1 billion in 2011, according to research firm Informa Telecoms & Media, which noted that the market was responsible for US$18.8 billion in revenues worldwide in 2006.

iPod Accessories for Holiday Gift Giving 
More than 67 million iPods have been sold since 2001. An additional 17 million are expected to be sold by year's end, creating a cottage industry for iPod accessory makers. For every $3 spent on an iPod, $1 is spent on an accessory, said Steve Baker of the research firm NPD Group. The industry posted $850 million in sales in 2005 and is expected to eclipse $1 billion this year.

Mid-Market to Lead Mobile Adoption Seven Times Faster than Large Organizations 
According to a recent research report from Aberdeen Group, mid-market companies, those with revenues over $50 million and under $1 billion per year, will increase their investment in mobile technologies 21% compared to large organizations, which will grow their investment in mobile technologies by only 3% in 2007.

US teenage drug abuse fell 23 pct from 2001: study 
Teen drug abuse fell by 23 percent in the past five years, but use of prescription drugs is on the rise, according to a US government-funded annual study.

Study Projects Flu Pandemic May Kill 81 Million Worldwide
Researchers applied estimated levels of deaths from 1918 Spanish flu epidemic to worldwide population data from 2004; study estimates 96 percent of deaths would occur in developing world.