Trivial Pursuit II

Welcome to another edition of trivial pursuit via The City Wire — an irregular feature meant to provide info that is likely entertaining and only accidentally informative in a useful manner. Enjoy.

THAT KOOKY KIOSK
Since the first self-service, interactive kiosk was deployed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1977, innovation, technology, pricing, consumer acceptance and demand among deployers have converged, creating a market primed for growth, according to a report from NextGen Research.

NextGen Research forecasts global markets for financial kiosks and enhanced ATMs will grow at a compound annual rate of 9% to include more than 186,000 financial kiosks and nearly 2.5 million ATMs by 2013, more than half of them installed in the United States.

WHAT SAVINGS?
A Wells Fargo & Company quarterly survey found that nearly one in four homeowners (24%) do not have any savings to cover their living expenses should they lose their income. At the same time, anxiety over job stability increased significantly (from 21% to 29% indicating jobs as their top concern) since fourth quarter 2008, the last time the survey was done.

Respondents also have a significantly higher desire to increase savings while reducing debt (60% versus 53%) and pay down debt faster (53% versus 46%) compared to the last survey. Less than a quarter of respondents (23%) have increased their savings, but 37% say they have paid down debt and 12% paid off debt completely in the past year.

WHAT BACKUP PLAN?
Home PCs and laptops storing the ever-changing data, photos, video, music and photos of consumers’ digital lives are backed up by most users less than once a month, according to a new survey of the backup habits of home users conducted by Acronis.

The online survey of 5,964 home users in North America found that 87% of users back up their hard drives just every two to three months or less frequently, far less often than any industry organization or publication recommends. This number is in sharp contrast with another survey finding – 80% of users have lost information and had to restore it.

STUDENT DEBT BLUES
A typical graduate racks up a student loan debt of more than $20,000 by the time he or she graduates, according to Kristy Vienne, director of Sam Houston State University’s new Student Money Management Center. That figure doesn’t include credit card debt.

“Seventy-six percent of undergraduates began the 2004 academic year with at least one credit card, with an average balance of $2,327," Vienne said.

Vienne said she has seen too many cases of students who are woefully in hock due to common mistakes such as not evaluating their wants versus their needs; succumbing to peer pressure to spend money they don’t have, be it for dinner, a movie, concert tickets, and clothes.

CORN SQUEEZINS’
Global demand for ethanol is predicted to increase annually by 9.3% over next 5 years, and the United States is the largest consumer using 50% of the world’s supply, according to SRIC Consulting.

In the U.S., practically all ethanol is made by the fermentation of corn, but by 2015, the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 is requiring sizable quantities of ethanol to be derived from cellulosic sources. The enthusiasm for ethanol in the U.S. has led to a doubling of production capacity from 2007 to 2009, which overwhelmed demand and resulted in an idling of about 20% of the 2009 capacity.

DRINKABLE CORN SQUEEZINS’
Whether it is a martini at the end of a hard day, a nice glass of chardonnay when gathered with friends or a cold beer on a hot summer day, Americans enjoy a cocktail or two, according to The Harris Poll.

Other findings of this particular sobering poll include:
• Three in ten (29%) U.S. adults drink alcohol, including beer or wine, at least once a week, with 6% saying they drink daily.

• One in five Americans (20%) drink at least once a month while 12% say they drink several times a year, 6% drink at least once a year and 8% drink alcohol less often than once a year. One-quarter (25%) of U.S. adults say they never drink alcohol.

• Men are more likely to drink alcohol at least once a week than women are (40% versus 19%). Women, however, are more likely to say they never drink alcohol (29% vs. 22%).

• Among generations, one-third (33%) of Echo Boomers (those aged 18-32) say they drink at least once a week compared to 26% of Gen Xers (those aged 33-44).

• Easterners are much more likely to drink daily and at least once a week compared to other regions of the country. Over one-third (37%) of those living in the East drink alcohol at least once a week compared to 26% of Midwesterners, 28% of Southerners and 29% of Westerners. Also over one in ten Easterners (12%) drink daily compared to just 3% of both Midwesterners and Westerners.

• There is also a political difference – one-third of Democrats (33%) and three in ten Independents (30%) drink alcohol at least once a week but only one-quarter (26%) of Republicans say the same.

• Among those who drink alcohol at least several times a year, two-thirds (67%) drink beer while half (49%) say they drink domestic wine. Two in five (41%) drink vodka, one-third (32%) drink rum and 29% drink foreign wine. Further down in drink popularity, one-quarter (24%) drink tequila, 18% drink champagne, 16% drink other whiskey such as Canadian or Irish whiskey, 15% drink bourbon 14% each drink gin and cordials, and 13% drink scotch.

BE HAPPY
This year, once again, 35% of Americans are very happy according to The Harris Poll Happiness Index.

Results of The Harris Poll on happiness include:
• Women are slightly happier than men are (36% vs. 34%) and among women, 38% of married women are very happy compared to 34% of single women.

• The more education one has the happier one is as 33% of those who have a high school or less education are happy, 36% of both those with some college and college graduates are happy and 39% of those with a post graduate education are happy. Income, however, is not the same, as the happiest income group is the group making between $50,000 and $74,999 (39%) followed by those with incomes of $75,000 and up (36%).

• When looking at happiness by age, just under one-third of those between 18 and 49 are very happy. But 37% of those aged 50-64 are very happy and almost half of those 65 and older are very happy (45%).

• Nine in ten Americans still agree that their relationships with friends brings them happiness (91% this year, 93% last year) and they have positive relationships with family members (90% this year, 92% last year) while eight in ten agree that, at this time, they are generally happy with their lives (81% this year, 83% last year).

• Also unchanged is that two-thirds of Americans still say that they frequently worry about their financial situation (67% this year, 65% last year).

FEWER FLIERS
The Air Transport Association of America forecasts that 7% fewer passengers (about 150,000 per day) will travel June 1 through Aug. 31, 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.

Approximately 195 million passengers are expected to fly this summer on U.S. airlines, down from 209 million during the summer months of 2008. ATA is projecting that 7% fewer passengers (171 million versus 183 million) will travel domestically, and 6% fewer passengers (24 million versus 26 million) will travel internationally.

“The main driver behind the anticipated drop in passengers traveling this summer is the ongoing global recession, which continues to crimp demand,” said ATA President and CEO James C. May. “The weak economy has forced additional aircraft out of the marketplace, so despite fewer travelers, planes will remain near full. Even with fewer flights and the airlines’ heightened level of preparedness for summer travel, we remain concerned that delays may be inevitable due to the combination of an aging air traffic control system and convective weather period.”