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Canada’s Medical Cannabis Report Card: Spring 2015 Just over a year ago, we released an infographic that introduced the new MMPR (Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations) introduced in Canada as well as the case for medical cannabis. With the first full year of MMPR now behind us, we wanted to take a look at how the medical cannabis industry has matured. For two weeks of April, we talked to every practicing LP (Licensed Producer) in Canada to get a sense of the current landscape of the medical cannabis market....

Today’s infographic from Global Web Index compares the popularity of streaming services, exploring how streaming behavior differs by age group and region. While listeners can now gain access to an abundance of streaming options—is the success of the industry good news for everyone? The Age of Streaming Streaming platforms are web-based services that allow users to listen to high-definition music without having to download and store large files. The foundations of music streaming were laid by peer-to-peer file sharing system Napster when it was created in 2001, followed by Apple’s iTunes a couple of years later....

If history does indeed rhyme, then the saga of Canada’s largest alternative mortgage lender could be the opening act in a Shakespearean financial tragedy. Home Capital Group, the country’s leader in subprime residential loans, is finally on the ropes after years of speculation. The company was the most-shorted stock in Canada at various points in 2015, and it also took the crown as the most-shorted stock in North America for durations of 2016....

While commodity performance in Q1 was promising, it was mainly precious metals and zinc that buoyed everything else. Energy and base metals were relatively flat on the quarter, with uranium and natural gas having the biggest declines. However, the game changed considerably in Q2. We now live in a post-Brexit world, where the real risk of further contagion in Europe is prompting investors to seek insurance policies. Silver is hovering near the $20 mark, which makes it the best performing commodity of the first half of 2016 with a 43....

For example, it was only in the last couple of years that markets have been able to digest the potential impact of the electric vehicle boom, and what it may mean for raw materials. The lithium, graphite, and cobalt prices reacted accordingly, and suddenly these essential ingredients for lithium-ion batteries were hot commodities. Another one of those metals that comes and goes is zinc – and after shooting up in price over 35% this year, it definitely has the attention of many investors and speculators again....

37 Surprising Facts About Apple We had previously covered 26 Surprising Facts About Google, and now it is time to highlight the most interesting tidbits concerning one of its largest competitors in the tech arena. Apple, which is currently setting records for market capitalization, is known for being quite a stickler for design and simplicity. This was mainly influenced by the late Steve Jobs, but has also permeated into the company’s culture as a result....

Over New York City’s storied history, the skyline has evolved constantly. Smoke stacks and cathedral spires were gradually eclipsed by the stately office towers of “Newspaper Row”, and iconic skyscrapers like the Chrysler Building soon shared the skyline with monolithic towers in the international style. Today’s infographic comes to us from Liberty Cruise NYC and it charts this evolution over the last century, while highlighting just how dramatically the cityscape is set to change by 2020....

Police Have Killed 1,083 Americans in the Last Year Typically speaking, here at Visual Capitalist we focus at making the world of business and investing easy-to-understand and intuitive for everyone. Although it is true that some topics we cover only tangentially relate to these areas, we still believe they can impact markets. Today’s topic does not fit in any of these above categories, but it is too important to not post....

The Anatomy of a Smart City There is no doubt that the city will be the defining feature of human geography for the 21st century. Globally, there are 1.3 million people moving to cities each week – and by 2040, a staggering 65% of the world’s population will live in cities. At the same time, the 600 biggest urban areas already account for 60% of global GDP, and this will only rise higher as cities become larger and more prosperous....

Today’s infographic, from Cartwright King Solicitors, cuts through the mystique and provides an entertaining and practical overview of the Deep Web and the Dark Web. Layers (Part 1) Much like the ocean, the internet is divided into defined layers. The internet most people are familiar with is called the Surface Web. Websites in this layer tend to be indexed by search engines and can be easily accessed using standard browsers....

Before the invention of the telephone, we had to be in the same room to communicate in real-time – and prior to the internet, we had to be in the same building to share our designs, new ideas, or other documents. Collaboration has always been a moving target, and in modern times we shouldn’t be surprised that new technological innovations are again shifting how humans work and coordinate together....

The Origin of the Greek Crisis For a larger version of this infographic, click here. In past charts and infographics, we’ve broken down parts of the Greek crisis with a focus on particular issues. For example, the exodus in population or a breakdown of Greece’s debt by creditor. However, today’s infographic puts everything all in one place and recaps the full story from start to near-finish. There is a thorough timeline that shows the events that have led to today in chronological order....

Whether it’s analyzing a database of 50 million chess moves made during actual tournament gameplay, or developing a deep learning AI that sifts through billions of sensor inputs to learn how to drive a car with full autonomy – we can power nearly any analysis or algorithm with mountains of data. Like the above examples, today’s infographic from Echelon Insights uses massive amounts of data to paint a picture of the news that wasn’t possible 10 or 20 years ago....

That’s why we have previously visualized the country’s $18 trillion economy by comparing specific regions to similarly sized countries. It’s also why we have shown the extreme variance in population distribution across counties, or highlighted the average income of the “Top 1%” throughout the country. But there is perhaps nothing more telling or interesting to explore than the “granddaddy” of all economic maps: an interactive visualization of median household income....

To give some perspective, here’s a look at the top nine countries with the highest number of internet users, alongside their internet penetration rates (which is the number of internet users divided by a country’s overall population): Based on the table above and this data, it’s clear that some countries, while boasting a high number of internet users, have a long way to go before reaching full connectivity. Take China, for instance—while the country has the highest number of internet users worldwide, it also has millions of unconnected citizens, making its overall internet penetration relatively low at 59%....

Companies with at least one female founder generate 78 cents of revenue for every dollar of venture funding, while male-led startups generate roughly 31 cents. Yet, startups with only female founders receive just 3% of total invested dollars globally. The above infographic from Business Financing explores the global landscape of female-led startups. It shows the top female founders according to the highest amount of capital raised, in each country profiled....

Unfortunately, lockdown and work-from-home measures brought about by COVID-19 have disproportionately affected small businesses – particularly in the leisure and hospitality sectors. As metro-level data from Opportunity Insights points out, geography makes a great deal of difference in the proportion of U.S. small businesses that have flipped their open sign. While some cities are mostly back to business as usual, others are in a situation where the majority of small businesses are still shuttered....

While talk over the last decade has largely focused on understanding the work habits and attitudes of Millennials, it’s already time for a new generation to enter the fold. Generation Z, the group born after the Millennials, is entering their early adult years and starting their young careers. What makes them different, and how will they approach things differently than past generations? Meet Generation Z Today’s infographic comes to us from ZeroCater, and it will help introduce you to the newest entrant to the modern workforce: Generation Z....

This small step towards normalcy has sparked questions around the future of office life—will office culture eventually bounce back to pre-pandemic levels, or is remote work here to stay? It’s impossible to predict the future, but one way to gauge the current state of office life is by looking at foot traffic across city centers in North America. This graphic measures just that, using data from Avison Young. Change in Downtown Office Traffic According to the data, which measures foot traffic in major office buildings in 23 different metropolitan hubs across North America, remains drastically below pre-pandemic levels....

What we do know, however, is that in the bizarro world of hosting Olympic Games, the cost overruns for Rio are actually quite favorable compared to numbers from past events. Always Overbudget The above graphic from HowMuch.net, a cost information site, visualizes data from a recent study by Oxford University to compare the budgets of previous games. The study found the average cost overruns for Olympic Games to be a whopping 156% from 1968 to 2016....