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E-commerce is indisputably disrupting almost every imaginable aspect of retail, creating what has been coined as the “retail apocalypse”. As a result, certain segments of the market have had well publicized meltdowns – electronics and apparel, in particular – and the U.S. now has far more retail floor space available than any other nation. That said, there is one type of store that’s thriving in this unpredictable landscape – dollar stores....

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....

The projects these companies are working on can be organized into three distinct groups: Today’s graphics provide an in-depth look at who’s in the innovation race to defeat the virus, and they come to us courtesy of Artis Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on life sciences and tech investments. Editor’s note: R&D is moving fast on COVID-19, and the situation is quite fluid. While today’s post is believed to be an accurate snapshot of all innovations and developments listed by WHO and FDA as of March 30, 2020, it is possible that more data will become available....

Whether you are extremely frugal, or you’re known to indulge in the finer things in life, how you allocate your spending is partially a function of how much cash you have coming in the door. Simply put, the more income a household generates, the higher the portion that can be spent on items other than the usual necessities (housing, food, clothing, etc), and the more that can be saved or invested for the future....

Today’s chart breaks down the differences in the composition of wealth between middle income, upper income, and ultra wealthy (top 1%) of American households to help us better understand the building blocks that make up net worth. Let’s dive in. Middle Income: Home is Where the Wealth is It’s no surprise that the principal residence is the cornerstone of net worth for most Americans in the middle class. For households that fall in this wide range ($0 to $471k of net worth) the combination of housing and pension accounts make up nearly 80% of total wealth on average....

There is growing uncertainty and volatility almost everywhere, and individual events are starting to become catalysts for sell-offs or rallies. Whether it’s Apple’s recent profit warning or Fed chair Jerome Powell saying that he is “listening closely” to the markets, investors are taking cues from current events to figure out where the herd is grazing. It’s hard to say where markets will head in 2019 – but before we get into the nitty-gritty of a new year, it’s worth taking one final look back at 2018 to see how it impacted investors....

The psychological pattern of impostor syndrome is widespread, with the majority of people experiencing some form of it over the course of their careers. Today’s infographic, from Resume.io, provides a useful guide to identifying the various manifestations of impostor syndrome, and how to potentially overcome it. What is Impostor Syndrome? People suffering from impostor syndrome doubt their skills and accomplishments, live in fear of being exposed as not worthy of their position, and even downplay their success, attributing it all to luck or good fortune....

At its peak, the Roman Empire held up to 130 million people over a span of 1.5 million square miles. Rome had conquered much of the known world. The Empire built 50,000 miles of roads, as well as many aqueducts, amphitheatres, and other works that are still in use today. Our alphabet, calendar, languages, literature, and architecture borrow much from the Romans. Even concepts of Roman justice still stand tall, such as being “innocent until proven guilty”....

Much of the modern information era would not be possible without silicon and Moore’s Law, and electric cars would be much less viable without recent advances in the material science behind lithium-ion batteries. That’s why graphene, a two-dimensional supermaterial made from carbon, is so exciting. It’s harder than diamonds, 300x stronger than steel, flexible, transparent, and a better conductor than copper (by about 1,000x). If it lives up to its potential, graphene could revolutionize everything from computers to energy storage....

But although more Americans are seeking advice on matters of personal finance, they are also less sure that the advice they are getting is trustworthy. Unfortunately, a growing amount of Americans see advisors as serving their companies’ best interests rather than their own best interests. According to a survey by The National Association of Retirement Plan Participants (NARPP), 60% of Americans now feel this way compared to just 25% of respondents in 2010....

Is Vancouver a Legitimate Tech Hub? In the first part of this series, we covered the history and rise of technology in Vancouver with an in-depth timeline infographic. Today, our piece compares the Vancouver startup ecosystem against the other major tech hubs in North America. If you’re asking yourself whether or not Vancouver is able to directly compare with Silicon Valley, the answer is a resolute “no”. To put things in perspective, Silicon Valley boasts at least 10x more tech employees, 20x more venture capital deals, and an unsurpassed track record of success....

Giant countries like Canada or Russia can take their sprawling landmasses for granted, but for smaller oceanic nations, topography takes on greater importance. In the Indian Ocean, ringed by protective barriers, lies the island city of Malé – the capital of the Maldives. Malé has a thriving tourism industry and is one of the most urbanized islands in the world, but it has one major problem: its elevation (or lack thereof)....

The Fall of the Mighty Euro The European Union has always been primarily a political project. The idea of the union was to take peoples that had long and complicated histories, and to place them in a situation where they must work together and shed their differences in order to achieve success. From the political angle, it can be argued that this objective has been achieved. War and conflict within Western and Central Europe has mostly been stymied....

From Norway to North Korea, governing systems differ around the world. But has the world become more or less free in the past decade? This visualization from Preethi Lodha demonstrates how democracy levels of 167 countries have changed since 2006. The original data comes from the Democracy Index, which is compiled annually by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Four Levels of Democracy First, it’s important to understand the classifications made by the Democracy Index....

For example, a heavy-hitting millionaire might have the most impressive fortune in his or her home state — but venture a few miles across the state border, and suddenly they become a small fish in a much bigger pond. Today’s map comes to us from HowMuch.net, and it shows the incredible variance in the biggest fortunes on a state-by-state basis. The Rich List, by State Below is the full list containing the wealthiest person in every U....

If you’re putting money in offshore bank accounts in order to save on taxes, there are two main criteria you’re looking for: secrecy and accessibility. Based on pop culture and media reports, you might imagine a secretive bank in Switzerland or a tiny island nation in the Caribbean. And though there is some truth to that logic, the reality is that the world’s biggest tax havens are spread all over the world....

The religious profile of the world is rapidly changing, driven primarily by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populations among the world’s major religions, as well as by people switching faiths. With the help of data from Pew Research Center, we break down the religious composition of the major religions in countries worldwide. Religious Makeup of the World by Major Religions Determining the exact number of religions across the world is a daunting task....

Of course, we’re susceptible to hype as well, which is why we asked ChatGPT to write the intro to this article: Not bad. But, simple curiosity aside, it’s the practical considerations we’ll focus on today. This article serves as an overview of how experts think the markets will move, how trends will develop, and which risks and opportunities to watch over the coming 12 months. Let’s gaze into the crystal ball....

Are You Financially Literate? If you’ve ever paid attention to any report on financial literacy from around the world, you’ll likely know that the results aren’t exactly awe-inspiring. For example, according to one global survey, only about 33% of adults are financially literate. Americans tend to fare better on average, but not as much as you might imagine. In fact, as we showed in our infographic on the Financial Literacy Problem, one ongoing survey actually sees average U....

Almost overnight, foot traffic in physical stores disappeared, and supply chains were left scrambled. Now at a major fork in the road, many retailers are forced to make tough decisions that were completely unforeseen. While some global retail giants are laying down their weapons and filing for bankruptcy, others are innovating to save themselves, serving their customers in new and unexpected ways. Today’s graphic uses data from Kantar’s Brand Z™ report to illustrate the retailers that are growing through adversity, and those that may struggle to survive....