Every team’s general manager starts off with the same goal: to build a franchise that contends for championships year in and year out. However, with the nature of the business being what it is, the odds are stacked against any team trying to achieve this. Out of close to 30 teams in most leagues, only one franchise can come out on top with a championship. And with unprecedented parity in most major leagues, every management decision is a crucial one....

Thanks to the cloud, wireless protocols, and collaboration software, it’s possible for workers to be productive from a nearby coffee shop, another town, or a different country entirely. While this unprecedented freedom allows us to work further apart, it’s simultaneously enabled a new business model that brings people together. The rise of co-working spaces – led by companies like WeWork – is already a multi-billion dollar industry, and a growing mainstay of startup culture....

But despite nearly historic debt levels, it does not seem that the national debt is a key issue for most citizens and groups. What drives this accumulation of debt in the long run, and at what point does the debt level become so high that it becomes an undeniable and critical issue for the country? Today’s infographic comes from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a NYC-based group that focuses on educating people about the fiscal challenges of growing government debt....

Is there a prospect of stopping – or even slowing – the spread of this debilitating disease? What You Need to Know About Cancer The below infographic from Healthgrad shows that although there have been huge advancements in the understanding of how cancers behave and the development of more effective treatments, there is still no single “cure” for cancer. That said, there are some very promising advances in cancer treatment in progress, and we highlight some thoughts on gaining exposure to these companies later on in the article....

Between ongoing armed conflicts to building of defenses preemptively, many countries have amassed significant militaries to date. This map, using data from World Population Review, displays all the world’s military personnel. Who Has the Largest Military? So who has the largest military? Well, the answer isn’t so simple. There are three commonly measured categories of military personnel: Active military: Soldiers who work full-time for the army Country with the largest active military: 🇨🇳 China (over 2 million) Military reserves: People who do not work for the army full-time, but have military training and can be called up and deployed at any moment Country with the largest military reserves: 🇻🇳 Vietnam (5 million) Paramilitary: Groups that aren’t officially military but operate in a similar fashion, such as the CIA or SWAT teams in the U....

Millennials Investing With a Purpose 22% of Total AUM in U.S. are Sustainable Investments The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays. If you’ve been paying attention to your social media feeds or most news outlets, it should be pretty clear to you that millennials seem to be “killing” just about everything – from Applebee’s to the entire golf industry. While this “killing” meme is obviously a ridiculous hyperbole, there is at least some truth to it....

About Mining Builds British Columbia Everything used by British Columbians in their everyday lives is either grown or found in the ground. The Mining Builds British Columbia Series covers six essential areas of life where materials derived from mining make a big impact. How does mining power BC? Without materials such as copper, steel, concrete, silver, and rare earths, much green technology would not exist in the same capacity. Each windmill, hydroelectric dam, or solar panel is made from materials from the earth....

on #1: High Reliability Nuclear power plants run 24/7 and are the most reliable source of sustainable energy. Nuclear electricity generation remains steady around the clock throughout the day, week, and year. Meanwhile, daily solar generation peaks in the afternoon when electricity demand is usually lower, and wind generation depends on wind speeds.As the use of variable solar and wind power increases globally, nuclear offers a stable and reliable backbone for a clean electricity grid....

Number Crunching: The Impact of China’s Currency Devaluation In the grand scheme of things, China’s mid-August currency devaluation spree was a drop in the bucket. Since the Financial Crisis, countries have routinely printed money, kept rates pegged artificially low, and found other ways to get temporary competitive advantages with cheaper currency. While the People’s Bank of China has made some questionable interventions, China’s currency itself has been pegged to the US dollar officially or unofficially since its early history....

Yet, while social media’s audience is widespread and diverse, just a handful of companies control a majority of the world’s most popular social media platforms. Meta, the tech giant formerly known as Facebook, owns four of the five most widely used platforms. This graphic highlights the biggest social networks across the globe, measured by their monthly active users (MAUs). Note: We’ll be using terms like “social network” and “social platform” interchangeably to refer to various messaging, video, and image-sharing platforms that have social attributes built in....

As it stands, the Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) are America’s most wealthy and influential generation. But even the youngest Boomers are close to retirement, with millions leaving the workforce every year. As Baby Boomers pass the torch, which generation will take their place as America’s most powerful? In our inaugural Generational Power Index (GPI) for 2021, we’ve attempted to quantify how much power and influence each generation holds in American society, and what that means for the near future....

In late 2020, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was signed, officially creating the biggest trade bloc in history. Here, we break down everything you need to know about it, from who’s involved to its implications. Who’s in the RCEP, and Why Was it Created? The RCEP is a free trade agreement between 15 nations in the Asia-Pacific region, and has been formalized after 28 rounds of discussion over eight years....

The Returns of Every Asset Class So Far in 2014 This all encompassing chart, straight from Deutsche Bank, summarizes the YTD returns up to this week with all major asset classes including stocks, government and corporate bonds, currency markets, gold, and commodities. From our perspective, there are a few things worth noting. Firstly, despite the bearish undertones of the market from those investing in precious metals, gold is actually flat on the year....

Such episodes are a regular part of the business cycle and when they occur, most businesses do their best to tough things out. Then, as time progresses, it gradually becomes clear that spending must be curtailed, budget cuts must be made, and workers must unfortunately be sent home. This economic process normally takes months, or even years, to unwind. But, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench into the economic status quo, creating a situation that is incomparable to any previous downturn....

In a global market with (mostly) free trade, it’s common to see economies that are very specialized, each producing specific goods based on the competitive advantages, incentives, and resources they have available. Whether those inputs are inexpensive labor, ample amounts of natural resources, or a surplus in engineering talent, countries can use these advantages to manufacture and sell goods on the international market at a higher level of quality or a better price than competitors....

Three Megatrends Dominating Global Real Estate Investment According to CBRE, the world’s largest real estate investment manager, the three trends driving the commercial real estate market can be summed up as the following: Globalization There’s $1.1 trillion expected to flow into commercial real estate in 2016, and much of that money will be stemming from international sources. World-class cities are seeing more outside capital for all types of real estate....

Since the introduction of the Nissan Leaf (2010) and Tesla Model S (2012), battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) have become the primary focus of the automotive industry. This structural shift is moving at an incredible rate—in China, 3 million BEVs were sold in 2021, up from 1 million the previous year. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the number of models available for sale is expected to double by 2024. In order to meet global climate targets, however, the International Energy Agency claims that the auto industry will require 30 times more minerals per year....

With this in mind, today’s graphic looks at the age composition of the global population in 2020, based on the latest figures from the United Nations. The Global Age Composition Our global population is getting older, largely because of increasing life expectancies and declining birth rates. In 2020, more than 147 million people around the world were between the ages of 80-99, accounting for 1.9% of the global population. While that percentage may seem small, that particular demographic accounted for merely 0....

But did you know there’s a way to get an even more out of Visual Capitalist, all while helping support the work we do? Coming Soon on VC+ VC+ is our newly launched members program that gives you exclusive access to extra visual content and insightful special features. It also gets you access to The Trendline, our new members-only graphic newsletter. So, what is getting sent to VC+ members in the coming days?...

Who Secretly Runs the Tech World? Famous tech titans, like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, usually command the spotlight in tech publicity, but there are many other influential entrepreneurs flying under the radar. It’s likely that you’ve never heard of any of these entrepreneurs before, but it might be worth your while to keep an eye out for them from now on. Paul Graham founded the most successful startup incubator of all time, YCombinator....