Interesting Facts and Stats

62% of large employers provided health benefits for retirees in 2001

80% provided health benefits in 1991

1940 - First Social Security Retirement payment made.

1898 - Travelers Insurance sells the first automobile insurance policy.

1690 - Massachusetts authorizes the first official paper currency used in the Western Hemisphere.

	100% gain is required to recover from a 50% drop in value
	400% gain is required to recover from a 80% drop in value
	1,900% gain is required to recover from a 95% drop in value

1867, Michigan becomes the first state to institute a property tax to support a university.

	1889, The Wall Street Journal begins publication.
	1896, The Dow Jones Industrial Average is published for the first time.

	85% of men over age 65 worked in 1900
	17% of men over age 65 worked in 2000
	source - Bureau of Labor Statistics

1981, the first 401k plan is started at The Johnson Companies

	40% of stocks in the Russell 3000 lost 20% or more in 2000
	source - The Vanguard Group

	1995, the first year in U.S. History that consumers bought more with credit cards than cash
	source - U.S. News & World Report

	2,311 = number of the 2,841 losing stock mutual funds that paid capital gains distributions in the year 2000
	source - Thomson Financial

	Percentage of Stocks on the New York Stock Exchange that declined in 1999 - 64%
	Percentage of Stocks on the Nasdaq that declined in 1999 - 50%

	Number of Wall Street Research Reports tracked by First Call in 1999 - 28,000
	Number of Wall Street Research Reports rated BUY in 1999 - 18,766
	Number of Wall Street Research Reports rated HOLD in 1999 - 8,963
	Number of Wall Street Research Reports rated SELL in 1999 - 273
	The moral - chances of being told to sell are slim (actually less than 1%)
	source - First Call/Thomson Financial