Buying a home? California has 8 of the 10 most costly cities in U.S.

Rank of Beverly Hills, Calif., among the most-expensive real estate markets in the United States, according to a survey of 400 cities conducted by Coldwell Banker: 1

Average price of a single-family house in Beverly Hills with four bedrooms, two and one-half baths, 2,200 square feet of space and a two-car garage: $2.2 million

Number of California cities in the top 10: 8

Source: Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp.

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Percentage of Americans who say that American society is divided into two groups, the "haves" and the "have-nots," according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press: 48

Percentage of Americans in 1988 who said that American society is divided into two groups, the "haves" and the "have-nots": 26

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

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Ranks of the salaries of managers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in terms of the purchasing power of their salaries, according to a 46-nation study conducted by the Hay Group: 1, 2

Rank of the United States: 24

Buying power of a U.S. manager's average annual salary when taxes and costs of living are taken into account: $104,905

Approximate buying power for managers in Russia, Turkey and Mexico, all of which ranked higher than the United States: $150,000

Source: Hay Group.

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Ranks of princess (10.7 percent), Spider-Man (4.8 percent), pirate (4.7 percent), witch (4.2 percent) and fairy (2.8 percent) among the popular costumes for children, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of witch (16.9 percent), pirate (3.8 percent), vampire (3.1 percent), cat (2.5 percent) and princess (2.2 percent) among the most popular costumes for adults: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: BIGresearch.

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