With the average adult possessing five to six liters of blood in the body, this fluid is vital to our lives, circulating oxygen through the body and serving many different functions. Despite its simple, deep-red appearance, blood is comprised of many tiny chemical components. This infographic visualizes the composition of blood and the microscopic contents in it. What is Blood Made Up Of? There are two main components that comprise blood:...

Even President Obama Thinks That Facebook Isn’t Cool Anymore (Techcrunch, 2014) Jack Dorsey Returns to Twitter as Chief, to Shrugs and Quips (New York Times, 2015) Instagram’s new stories are a near-perfect copy of Snapchat (Mashable, 2016) In hindsight, the years leading up to 2016 were downright sleepy in comparison with what would follow. Donald Trump’s meteoric, tweet-powered rise to the presidency. The Cambridge Analytica scandal. Congressional hearings on privacy and bias....

One such shake-up to ingrained investment habits is the changing landscape of income investing. In today’s infographic from New York Life Investments, we explain why traditional long-term bonds may not be as effective as they were in the past, and which additional income strategies investors can consider. The Status Quo For years, investors have relied on traditional longer-term bonds as the centerpiece in an income portfolio. These debt instruments usually pay out interest to investors on a predetermined schedule, providing a steady income stream investment....

10 Ways the Rich Avoid the Taxman Nobody likes taxes. However, when the super rich are stuck in forfeiting millions of dollars to taxes each year, they probably despise them even more than the average person. That’s where their dough comes in handy: they can afford to have their legions of legal and accounting advisors to move around their money around through common loopholes in the system. This infographic shows how the wealthy avoid paying massive amounts of tax that they would pay if they just took everything as straight up income....

Here’s 10 charts and maps that will help prepare your brain for what may come this evening. 1. Media “Consensus” is a Clinton Victory It’s been a roller coaster over recent months, but the media “consensus” view is that Clinton has the best odds at winning the race. The above chart from Josh Katz plots the chance of a Clinton victory over the last three months according to various publications....

Going as far back as the 1600s, English settlers arriving in the New World envisioned counties as a means of accessible government—a county seat was meant to be within a day’s buggy ride for every citizen. While the role of counties in local government has remained significant in modern times, their boundaries have changed drastically over the years. This animated map by Alexander Varlamov visualizes the history of U.S. county borders, and how these jurisdictions have evolved over time....

Canadian Housing Market, Bubble or Not? For Canadians, a topic of conversation that comes up often is the housing market. More specifically, whether or not Canada is in a bubble – and if so, will it burst? It is no secret that Canada has some of the highest real estate prices in the world. Real estate prices were not even slightly slowed by the late 2000s global recession; in fact, they kept climbing higher and higher....

Markets have been turned upside down by a surprise Brexit result and the resignation of David Cameron. While there is looming uncertainty around how this will affect the United Kingdom and Europe from an economic perspective, it might be just the tip of the iceberg in terms of long-run consequences. A Brexit opens the door for future events that would be previously unfathomable by popular opinion, and it gives vital ammunition to groups that are seeking their own referendums for independence....

For example, during the span of 2003-2011, the three major U.S. carriers (American, United, and Delta) all filed for bankruptcy, and this was subsequently after merging with other large airlines (US Airways, Continental, and Northwest) that each had their own solvency issues. Despite the rough ride a decade ago, just last year the industry raked in $35.6 billion in profits – a record-setting amount according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA)....

Although the damage of the opioid epidemic is well documented, what people might not know is that it has escalated in three distinct waves. We pull the latest statistics from the UN World Drug Report 2020 to uncover the scope of the opioid crisis in the U.S., and how national drug-related death rates compare to other countries. Three Waves of the Opioid Crisis According to the CDC, the opioid epidemic can be traced back to the 1990s, when opioids started being over-prescribed for pain relief purposes....

Many governments are investing in renewable energy sources like solar power, but who controls the manufacturing of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels? As it turns out, China owns the vast majority of the world’s solar panel supply chain, controlling at least 75% of every single key stage of solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing and processing. This visualization shows the shares held by different countries and regions of the key stages of solar panel manufacturing, using data from the International Energy Agency (IEA)....

For now, such a claim could perhaps be considered both bold and premature – but there does seem to be some compelling evidence that is mounting to back it up. The Asset Quilt According to the most recent “Asset Quilt of Total Returns” put together by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, commodities are the top returning asset class of 2018 so far. The chart, which shows the total returns of asset classes over the years, has commodities at an annualized return of 22....

Far from a new concept, misinformation and cherry-picked stories have been used throughout history as a form of propaganda or information warfare. However, the rise of social media as a hub for sharing articles has spread “fake news”—false or misleading information presented as legitimate news—all over the internet. Fueled further by increasing polarization, as well as the use of the term by former U.S. President Donald Trump to also refer to negative coverage (whether legitimate or misinformed), it seems more difficult than ever to separate trustworthy from misleading sources....

29 Things to Look For in a Microcap Stock Today’s infographic corresponds with the Howard Group’s Opportunity Knocks Challenge, which we are proud to sponsor. In this free challenge, investors can pick a portfolio of stocks from the public companies they represent – with play money of course. The investor with the best performing portfolio wins the trip of a lifetime valued between $11,000 and $15,000. There are some incredible trips available:...

Information is what allows buyers and sellers to make decisions in the market. However, if that information is inaccurate or incomplete, it can impact the health of the market. Information Failure Today’s infographic from the Aequitas NEO Exchange details the current “information failure” that is happening in the Canadian market. What’s information failure? It’s when some, or all, of the participants in an economic exchange do not have perfect knowledge....

One of the key traits that make human beings unique on planet Earth is that we’re aware of our own mortality. Scientific advances have given us insight into which behaviors may prolong life, and which activities carry the greatest risk of death. Naturally, there have been some unique attempts to create a unified structure around risk and benefit, and to quantify every aspect of the human lifespan. As today’s graphic from TitleMax demonstrates, even when we’re thinking about death, the human desire to codify the world around us is alive and well....

For better or worse, that statement applies to the financial world as well. It is said today that 75% of all financial market volume is automated, though there are lower and higher estimates out there depending on the report. The bottom line is that algorithmic trading is the dominant market player – and this has benefits and drawbacks for average investors. On the upside, markets are less volatile and presumably more rational because they are driven by computers instead of fallible humans....

Today’s infographic from Safe Company is a throwback to the 1980s and 1990s, making us nostalgic for the heyday of these popular gadgets. Tech Goes Mobile The gadgets of the 80s and 90s were all about taking existing technology and making it more enjoyable while on the go, rather than solely being useful in the home or office. Even if that meant devices that were “portable” in name only, it was a huge step forward....

The world’s most populous country has been the primary engine of economic growth for decades, but recently investor optimism around China has diminished significantly. With a sliding manufacturing sector and lower GDP growth, most mainstream pundits have shifted focus to whether the country will have a “soft” or a “hard” landing. Ever the contrarian, investor and author Gianni Kovacevic is not one to buy into this Kool Aid. In his new book “My Electrician Drives a Porsche?...

Profiting from World Events in 2014 While the market is supposed to have such themes and information baked into its pricing, in reality it is too complex, manipulated, and interrelated to pick up on all these indicators perfectly. Many world changing events and ideas create virtuous cycles that reinforce themselves in ways that experts can’t predict. As a result, investing in overarching trends can be an effective way to find growth in a portfolio....