More than 60 per cent of husbands in Guangzhou do not want their wives to earn more than they do, reports the Southern Metropolis News.

A recent survey of more than 1,000 married men found that less than 10 per cent of husbands would like their wives to have better jobs and earn more than they. Meanwhile, 30 per cent said their wives' jobs and incomes were of little interest to them.

Another survey of 825 families in Guangzhou indicated that almost 80 percent of credit card holders have never overdrawn their cards within the past six months.

Only three percent of the surveyed had overdrawn more than three times and the average amount overdrawn in the past six months by all credit card holders surveyed was 186 yuan (US$22).

As Guangzhou citizens gradually realize the significance of buying insurance, 90 percent thought an insurance premium of below 1000 yuan a month was acceptable. Accident injury insurance, medical insurance and life insurance are the three most popular insurances. But more than half those surveyed did not completely understand the insurance they had bought.

Nearly 80 percent of the people often buy medicine in big chain pharmacies. Small pharmacies and special pharmacy counters in department stores were not as popular.

The important factors affecting people's choice of medicine were the effectiveness of the medicine, expert recommendations and price. Advertising was listed as the last thing to influence choice.

Forty three percent of those surveyed thought the ideal price for house decoration is between 600 and 800 yuan per square meter. For families earning less than 50,000 yuan annually, this dropped to 400 to 600 yuan per square meter.

(Shenzhen Daily September 21, 2004)