Datastream #6

1. In December 2004, Microsoft paid a massive $33 billion dividend to its shareholders. It was the largest payment of its kind, amounting to 6% of the increase in Americans’ personal income that year.
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2. About 2.19 trillion text messages were sent and received in 2012 in the US, about 5 percent less than a year earlier. In comparison, MMS, or multimedia messages that include photos and videos, grew by 41 percent to 74.5 billion in 2012.
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3. Depending on the definition, between one-fifth and one-third of American workers are now freelancers, contractors or temps, up from 6% in 1989.
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4. McKinsey interviews 200,000 people each year, but selects just over 1%.
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5. The British royal family costs the average taxpayer less than $1 per year.
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