What that means for you is that you can get bright, capable statistical prowess at a fraction of the cost that a consulting firm or a full professor would charge.

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He estimates the same assignments would cost 10 times as much if the company hired a top-tier consulting firm.

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And there are other -- Mercer, a well-known independent benefits consulting firm, released a surveyed of employers showing that their health insurance cost increases will average 5.4 percent for 2012, which is the smallest increase -- or would be the smallest since 1997.

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In a similar survey last summer by human-resources-consulting firm Mercer, Singapore surpassed Hong Kong for the first time in the cost of living.

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