that. how did they actually end up out there? some sort of internal exercise, not sanctioned by ford, but it was drawings of a ford car. very offensive. and those people who did that we re now told are gone. if you took a flight last year, chances are your plane was packed, right? a trade group airlines for america says that nation s biggest carriers posted an average occupancy rate of 82.8% in 2012. that s a technical term for packed. because it s the highest since 1945. airlines are being forced to operate more efficiently because of fuel prices and labor costs that are rising. that caused a number of flights to drop while the number of passengers increased. so, airlines are flying smaller, more fuel efficient planes and they re packing them to the gills so they can make more money. and there s less room for carry-on bags. so be careful with that. what is the one thing we need to know about our money? the u.s. economy is feeling, we ve got signs of it every day, europe is still
the battle of the sexes has reached a milestone in the work place thanks in part to the recession. want to sound smart today, the wage gap between men and women has shrunk to a record low in the united states now. women who make up nearly half of the u.s. workforce earned 82.8% of the median weekly wage of men during the second quarter of this year. that s the highest level ever reported, although, still not enough. what s the reason? industries like construction and manufacturing which employ more men have been hit hardest by the recession. all right, enough of the real news. let s huddle up around the water cooler to watch oprah incite a riot in her own studio. as you know, of course, this is oprah s 25th and final season of her show. and, boy, did she open this thing in style.