The bottom line

Building bigger houses

Are bigger houses making a comeback? The average size of a newly built home jumped 3.7 percent in 2011, from 2010, the first annual increase since 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

CNBC.com

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And tuition at OSU is?

Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee earned $1.9 million last year, making him the highest-paid public-university president in the U.S. He also submitted $1.7 million in expenses for private jets, country club dues, and fundraising parties.

Bloomberg.com

Christmas at McDonald's

McDonald’s is urging its franchises to stay open on Christmas Day, saying stores that did so last year had average daily earnings of $5,500. “Our largest holiday opportunity as a system is Christmas Day,” COO Jim Johannesen wrote in an internal memo.

Advertising Age

Self-gifting at Christmas

Consumers are looking out for themselves. In mid-December, one third of Christmas shoppers said they had engaged in “self-gifting,” up from 19 percent last year and 12 percent in a typical pre-recession year.

TheDailyBeast.com

Lloyd’s prepares for Hurricane Sandy claims

Lloyd’s of London expects claims of up to $2.5 billion from Hurricane Sandy and said it would easily meet them. “The market’s total exposure is well within the worse-case scenarios we model and prepare for,” CEO Richard Ward said.

Reuters.com

Google's billions

Google made more than $20 billion in ad revenue this year, more than all U.S. print media combined. In 2006, magazines and newspapers sold $60 billion more in ads than Google did.

TheAtlantic.com