Standard & Poor conducted a global 2015 financial literacy survey in which the United States scored 57% of respondents correctly answering three of four questions, ranking 14th of 144 countries surveyed. The questions were on understanding (1) interest rates, (2) compound interest, (3) inflation, and (4) risk diversification. Norway was first with 71%, Yemen last: 13%.
Of the 15,494 U.S. law enforcement agencies participating in the “Hate Crime Statistics Program”, only 1,666 (10.4%) reported the occurrence of a hate crime in 2014.
MIT researchers are designing a prototype for a three-wheeled vehicle powered by pedals and/or an electric motor. It would have an onboard computer to permit autonomous travel. The premise is that it could be summoned by an app in a cell phone to drive itself to pick up a consumer (from an airport, for example) who would then pedal it to a destination (e.g., on bike lanes). The motor would then engage, returning it to a service hub, or to another customer. Customers would be billed by email (similar to toll roads now operating in several jurisdictions).
How to Assess and Improve Your Social Media Marketing: A Monthly Plan Without a monthly plan for your social media marketing, you might as well forget implementing it at all. In order for social media to work for you as a marketing tool, it is imperative to not only have a monthly plan, but to assess how the plan is working. Is social media working for you? Do you want better results? Regularly analyzing the performance of your social media marketing helps ensure your content and profiles are delivering. PTC Computer Solutions offers some Top Tips to improve your Social Marketing as summarized from a recent SME article. Discover four […]
The Census Bureau’s “2015 Population Survey” reports that people living alone has surpassed married couples without children at home as the country’s most common household type: 28% live alone, 27.6% are married without children at home, 20.5% with children at home, 12.5% female-head families, 6.4% unrelated living together, 4.9% male-head families.
The Pew Research Center projects 441 million people in the United States by 2065, of which foreign-born residents will constitute 18 percent of the total (5% in 1965 and 14% in 2015). Asians will surge past Hispanics in 2055 to become the largest group of immigrants at 36% (47% today) compared with Hispanics at 34% (26% today)and white immigrants at 18-20% (80 percent in 1965), with black immigrants in the 8-10% range. A partial reason for the shift is the significant fertility rate decrease in Latin America, especially in Mexico. However, Hispanics will still be the largest ethnic group in 2065 at 24% of the total, 46% whites, and 14% […]
Five Principles of Success The results of forty years of advising real estate developers on marketing are summarized in the Five Principles of Success described by Dr. David Parker in his November blog. You can read about them at http://www.parkerassociates.com/blog. Read about this and other topics in Dr. David F. Parker’s Blog at the Parker Associates website at parkerassociates.com/blog In This Issue . . . Five Principles of Success Twenty Years of Lakewood Ranch Living Alone The Millionaire Club Asians To Be Largest Immigrant Group “Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction” Tech Tidbits Living Alone The Census Bureau’s “2015 Population Survey” reports that people living alone has surpassed […]
The real estate development industry contains many examples of outstanding buildings and entire community creations that proved financially successful because of beautiful design and/or great timing. Thus, the familiar phrase: “Build it and they will come!”—an adaptation from the script of the 1989 movie, “Field of Dreams”, about an Iowa farmer who builds a baseball field in his cornfield based on a dream in which he heard a voice promising to revive a deceased Chicago baseball star by the phrase “If you build it, he will come.” The movie produced the fantasy revival of the former baseball star and his team, followed by crowds of mythical fans to support the […]
Florida Jobs Outlook An April report by Wells Fargo predicts “a major rebound” in Florida employment generation, sparked by tourism and hospitality industries. In ranking states by regional competitiveness, Florida scored first in the Wells Fargo study. Contact Parker Associates at www.parkerassociates.com for more information or email us at info@parkerassociates.com.
New Home Price Projections In preparing revenue projections for budget planning, many builders rely upon past trends to forecast price increases for future years. This method turns out to be very misleading after the enormous price fluctuations of 2004-2011. A ten year trend of average price changes from 2001-2010 produces an overall average of 2.7 percent, whereas the ten years of steady growth from 1994 through 2003 provides an overall average of 4.7 percent (median of 4.4 percent) – a 74 percent differential, within a range of 3-6 percent. The 1994-2003 period following the recession of 1990-91 is a reasonable model for recovery from the 2007-09 recession despite the lingering […]
