The answer to that varies, depending on the region. Here’s a look at which countries gained—and lost—the most millionaires last year. The World’s Millionaires: Top Gainers and Losers There was an unusual amount of movement both in and out of the millionaires club in 2020. For instance, the U.S. gained almost 2.3 million new millionaires, while Brazil’s millionaires club lost around 81,000 members compared to its 2019 numbers: What are some possible reasons for this discrepancy?...

on Did you know that nearly one-fifth of all the gold ever mined is held by central banks? Besides investors and jewelry consumers, central banks are a major source of gold demand. In fact, in 2022, central banks snapped up gold at the fastest pace since 1967. However, the record gold purchases of 2022 are in stark contrast to the 1990s and early 2000s, when central banks were net sellers of gold....

Looking at the most recent numbers from Morning Consult Political Intelligence’s Projections of Country Trajectories, you would be forgiven for thinking that a great many people believe that their ship of state is piloted by fools. With the impact of the pandemic, rising inflation, and growing geopolitical instability, it’s probably not surprising that most respondents feel their countries are on the wrong track; India and Switzerland were notable exceptions. Below are some of the stand-out stories that we found digging through the data....

In 2011, 22 of the 30 teams were losing money, and the average operating income per team sat at $6 million. But, fast forward to 2020, and every team in the league was profitable, with average operating income surging to $62 million. Here’s a look at team profitability since 2011, according to Forbes: Despite years of momentum, the NBA was not immune to the impacts of COVID-19 last year. However, thanks to hefty TV contracts and player salary cuts, average operating income only fell by 11....

On one hand, they still make up a dominant piece of the current energy mix, and oil is still seen as a crucial resource for achieving geopolitical significance. It’s also no secret that fossil fuels are a driver for many economies around the world. But with governments and corporations counting carbon emissions and mounting concerns about climate change, reliance on these same fuels will not last forever. As attitudes and policies evolve, they will continue to see a reduced role going forward....

While such a view provides useful context on the relative size of national economies, it’s also a static snapshot that doesn’t show any movement over time. In other words, we can see the size of any given economy today, but not how it got there. Today’s animation comes to us from WawamuStats and it charts how GDP has changed over the last 57 years for the world’s 10 largest economies....

As electric vehicle (EV) battery prices keep dropping, the global supply of EVs and demand for their batteries are ramping up. Since 2010, the average price of a lithium-ion (Li-ion) EV battery pack has fallen from $1,200 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to just $132/kWh in 2021. Inside each EV battery pack are multiple interconnected modules made up of tens to hundreds of rechargeable Li-ion cells. Collectively, these cells make up roughly 77% of the total cost of an average battery pack, or about $101/kWh....

As you read this, know that you are not alone. Statistically speaking, over 50% of people are consuming media in some form at this given moment. In fact, the latest data shows that Americans spend over 12 hours per day consuming media in various forms. This means that people spend more time consuming media than they do working or sleeping – a prolific insight that explains why companies like Apple, Alphabet, Facebook, and Netflix have exploded in size and dominance over the last decade....

Note that trading volume adds up to 200%, because each currency trade has a pairing. Chart courtesy of: Datashown The Chinese yuan is now the 8th most traded currency in the world, for a total share of 4.0%. That means its share has doubled since the 2013 BIS report: What about Bitcoin? The BIS is an international financial institution that is owned by the world’s central banks. As a result, something like bitcoin isn’t considered in their triennial reports....

The Road to Recovery Like the rest of the world, China’s economy took a hit when pandemic-induced lockdowns shut down businesses and factories across the country. However, the world’s second largest economy was one of the first to put COVID-19 restrictions in place, which could explain why it was the first major country to report growth as stores and factories began to reopen post-lockdown. Here’s a look at China’s GDP growth in recent times:...

While price cuts are not new in the automotive world, they are for Tesla. The company, which historically has been unable to keep up with demand, has seen its order backlog shrink from 476,000 units in July 2022, to 74,000 in December 2022. This has been attributed to Tesla’s robust production growth, which saw 2022 production increase 41% over 2021 (from 930,422 to 1,313,851 units). With the days of “endless” demand seemingly over, Tesla is going on the offensive by reducing its prices—a move that puts pressure on competitors, but has also angered existing owners....

Due to the global pandemic, unemployment has been on the rise across the board—but Gen Z has been hit the hardest. This chart, using data from the OECD, displays the difference between the unemployment rate for Gen Zers and the rate for older generations. Note: The OECD defines the ‘unemployed’ as people of legal working age who don’t have work, are available to work, and have taken steps to find a job....

However, we did forget to add one important caveat, which is that they could still get hit hard in the short-term by the classic “Sell in May and Go Away” market sentiment. In Q3, commodities as a whole entered a “summer slump”, returning -5.7% as measured by the GSCI (Goldman Sachs Commodity Index). Performance was dragged down mostly by agricultural goods such as wheat, corn, and soybeans, but also by uranium which had another poor quarter....

This graphic from Global X ETFs takes a closer look at America’s reliance on net imports for these disruptive materials. Countries are ranked by how many commodities of which the U.S. is a net importer. And net importer is defined as over 50% of domestic use or consumption comes from foreign sources rather than domestic production. Ranking Country Reliance The U.S. imports commodities from a lot of countries, including from economic rivals....

We’ve been fascinated by space for centuries, but telescopes truly opened our eyes to what lies beyond our frontiers. For 30 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has been our companion in helping us understand outer space, paving the way for many important scientific discoveries in the process. A Window to the Universe Hubble launched on Apr 24, 1990 and has been in our orbit ever since. However, it had something of a shaky start....

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, launched in 2000, is the largest private philanthropic organization in the United States. It has spent over $50 billion on global public health over the last two decades, including $1.75 billion on COVID-19 relief. Of course, the foundation’s assets are managed by a trust until they are ready to be distributed to grantees. Here’s a look at how the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust invests its assets....

Last week, we dug into the unprecedented number of initial jobless claims coming out of the United States, which topped 22 million in a period of four weeks. It’s just days later, and we already have our next market abnormality: this time, traders were baffled by West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude — the U.S. benchmark oil price — which somehow flipped negative for the first time in history. How is that possible?...

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the effects of energy supply disruptions are cascading across everything from food prices to electricity to consumer sentiment. In response to soaring prices, many OECD countries are tapping into their strategic petroleum reserves. In fact, since March, the U.S. has sold a record one million barrels of oil per day from these reserves. This, among other factors, has led gasoline prices to fall more recently—yet deficits could follow into 2023, causing prices to increase....

Whether we are talking about the Boston Red Sox, the Montreal Canadiens, or the Dallas Cowboys, all aspects of team apparel are designed to represent the essence and history of the team. Jerseys are for the team and fans, and not for the advertisers that want to cover every square inch of material with sponsors. However, not all North American sports can make this claim. In fact, some sports like NASCAR take the exact opposite approach: they let each racing team cover their car and apparel with as many ads as possible, and allow this to be part of their income....

Impact of Tourism by Country and State Over the last 30 years, the price of airfare has fallen over 50%. It goes to show, since airlines have lost money every other year since 1981. The industry bled $51 billion in the 10 year span between 2001 and 2011 as more competition entered the space. However, this is a boon for consumers and for the regions getting attention from international tourists. In terms of sheer volume, the travel industry has never been as good....