Rank of strategic thinking (82 percent), leadership (78 percent) and communication (62 percent) as the skills middle managers need to develop most to be suitable for promotion, according to a survey by ClearRock: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of firms providing middle managers with more coaching and management development than two years ago: 25

TAKING A REST CURE

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

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

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

BUYING INTO NEW YORK

Value of real estate owned globally by members of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate, according to the organization's annual survey: $601 billion

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

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

UNHAPPY SHOPPERS

Percentage of recent holiday shoppers who said the line at the store register was too long, according to a survey from Deloitte & Touche USA LLP: 57

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

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

INFO LEAKS

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

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

ATTIRE TO ASPIRE

Percentage of executives who said someone's style of dress at work influences his or her chances of being promoted "significantly," according to a survey by OfficeTeam: 33

Percentage who said "somewhat": 60.

SAVING ON GAS

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

Amount by which the average family can reduce annual household expenses by using public transportation: $6,251

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

ON THE SMALL SCREEN

Average TV use per day in U.S. households during the 2005-2006 TV season, according to Nielsen Media Research data: 8 hours, 14 minutes

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

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

SPA ALLURE

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

Percentage of travelers who said they were interested in destinations that cater to children: 35

Percentage of travelers who said they were interested in taking a spiritual vacation (e.g., religious retreat, pilgrimage): 25

LESS AND LESS MUSIC

Average number of hours each American spent listening to recorded music in 2006, according to a survey by the U.S. Census Bureau: 195

Average number of hours each American spent listening to recorded music in 1999: 290

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

E-mail John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.