According to Child Care Aware of America, in 36 states the average annual cost of having a kid in daycare now exceeds in-state college tuition.

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To compose the list, Rent.com looked at the number of married couples, the percentage of families with children under the age of six, average annual income, cost of living, and rental availability in 25 of the largest U.S. metro areas, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau.

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According to the Washington-based Association of Research Libraries, the average cost of an annual subscription to an academic journal shot up by 207% between 1986 and 1999.

ECONOMIST: Publishing

These customers, who typically have less than 50, 000 in annual household income, cost the bank on average a couple hundred dollars a year.

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The relevant permits cost 131% of Indonesia's average annual income per head, compared with 20% in the Philippines and 7% in Thailand.

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The giant American bank delivered an average annual return of 37.3%, nearly four times its cost of equity.

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DaimlerChrysler, conceived in 1998, ranks 14th from bottom, with an average annual return of -11%, the mirror image of its cost of equity.

ECONOMIST: A global ranking of companies

But AAA's annual Your Driving Costs study, published in early April, figures that the average cost of driving a new passenger car is 56.2 cents, up 4.5 cents over the 2003 calculation of 51.7 cents.

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GM's average annual return of 13% is respectable, but does not meet its 15% cost of equity.

ECONOMIST: A global ranking of companies

Joe saves this same amount annually until age 70 and earns an average compound annual return over that time of 6% by investing in a balanced mix of low-cost stock and bond mutual funds.

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