To generate the rankings, we made a list of 40 large U.S. metropolitan centers, then ranked each of them in seven areas: nightlife, culture, job growth, number of other singles, cost of living alone, coolness and, for the first time, online dating activity.

FORBES: The Best Cities For Singles

But Greg Blatt, the former boss of Match and the new chief executive of IAC, a holding company that owns the dating site, says studies conducted by Match show that many people prefer to keep their dating activity separate from socialising with their friends.

ECONOMIST: Online dating

The NBER's Business Cycle Dating Committee has determined that a peak in business activity occurred in the U.S. economy in March 2001.

CNN: The Business-Cycle Peak of March 2001