This year has been shaped by uncomfortable macroeconomic headwinds. Trillions of dollars were erased in public company market capitalizations, investor confidence waned, and cost pressures squeezed consumer pocketbooks. Taken together, many of the world’s largest companies experienced sharp declines in market share. Still, a few companies in key sectors had positive growth over the year. As 2022 comes to a close, the above infographic shows the biggest companies in the world, using data from Companiesmarketcap....

We’ve covered this topic in the past when the world’s GDP was $88 trillion (2020) and then $94 trillion (2021), and now according to the latest projections, the IMF expects the global economy to reach nearly $104 trillion in nominal value by the end of 2022. Although growth keeps trending upwards, the recovery that was expected in the post-pandemic period is looking strained. Because of recent conflicts, supply chain bottlenecks, and subsequent inflation, global economic projections are getting revised downwards....

Presented by: Nevada Energy Metals, eCobalt Solutions Inc., and Great Lakes Graphite The Future of Battery Technology This is the last installment of the Battery Series. For a recap of what has been covered so far, see the evolution of battery technology, the energy problem in context, the reasons behind the surge in lithium-ion demand, and the critical materials needed to make lithium-ion batteries. There’s no doubt that the lithium-ion battery has been an important catalyst for the green revolution, but there is still much work to be done for a full switch to renewable energy....

Economic growth didn’t stop there, and GDP increased ten-fold over the last fifteen years to surpass US$10 trillion. In “real” terms using PPP, China is now actually the largest economy in the world. The rest of the world has benefited extensively from China’s coming out party. Cheap products flooded the shelves of the developed world, and China bought the world’s raw materials when no one else wanted them. Unfortunately, every good time must come to an end....

But with automakers spending billions to develop the technology—$75 billion by one count—the race is on to be the first to launch a fully self-driving vehicle. This visualization from our sponsor Global X ETFs, takes a look at the drive for a fully autonomous car. From the Flintstones to the Jetsons What does it mean to say that a car is autonomous? Does a human driver need to be ready to take over?...

The Economic Impact of a New Gold Mine From the perspective of economists, the impact of a new mine is truly an interesting opportunity. It is the rare situation where we are able to take something from nature, and turn it into new wealth for a variety of stakeholders including the community and regional economies. The University of Toronto, in association with the Ontario Mining Association, recently completed a study on the economic impact of a new gold mine in Northern Ontario....

However, the value of each metric varies greatly depending on where you live. Today’s data visualization from Max Roser at Our World in Data summarizes five basic dimensions of development across countries—and how our average standards of living have evolved since 1800. Health: Mortality Rates and Life Expectancy Child mortality rates and life expectancy at birth are telltale signs of a country’s overall standard of living, as they indicate a population’s ability to access healthcare services....

Charles Schwab has once again sent shockwaves through the financial services industry, announcing its intent to acquire TD Ameritrade. The all-stock deal — valued at approximately $26 billion — will see the two biggest publicly-traded discount brokers combine into a giant entity with over $5 trillion in client assets. Today we dive into the history of these two companies, and what effect recent events may have on the financial services industry....

The Oscar: How It’s Made, and What It’s Worth Presented by: JMBullion The “Academy Award of Merit”, more commonly known as an Oscar, has been awarded since 1929. The modern Oscar stands 13.5 inches tall with a weight of 8.5 lbs, and it is made of solid bronze with a electroplated coating of 24-karat gold. However, the world’s most beloved trophy wasn’t always made this way. Here’s the evolution of how an Oscar is made, and what people are willing to pay to get their hands on one....

The S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) was the third best-performing asset class in 2021, returning 37.1% and beating out real estate and all major equity indices. This graphic from U.S. Global Investors tracks individual commodity returns over the past decade, ranking them based on their individual performance each year. Commodity Prices Surge in 2021 After a strong performance from commodities (metals especially) in the year prior, 2021 was all about energy commodities....

So, which companies currently make these chips, and where are they located? The above infographic uses data from TrendForce to break down the top 10 semiconductor companies by country and market share. The Biggest Semiconductor Companies Before diving into the companies, it’s important to have context on their business. Also known as foundries, these semiconductor companies specialize in the fabrication or production of chips. “Fabless” chip makers—companies that design their chips and supply hardware but do not have fabrication plants—outsource chip production to foundries, primarily in Asia....

This is often the case with Ponzi schemes, a type of financial fraud that lures investors by promising abnormally high returns. Money brought in by new members is used to pay the scheme’s founders, as well as its earlier investors. The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi, an Italian who became infamous in the 1920s for claiming he could double his clients’ money within 90 days. Since then, numerous Ponzi schemes have been orchestrated around the globe....

Based on data from a new scientific survey, this visualization reveals that 28 trillion tonnes of Earth’s ice has been lost between 1994 and 2017. How Much Ice Is Being Lost Exactly? Figures at such scales can be difficult to wrap our heads around. For the record, one billion tonnes of water is equal to 400,000 Olympic swimming pools. It’s then a bit easier to comprehend why, when multiplied tens of thousands of times, this much melted ice—specifically, grounded ice—has resulted in global sea levels rising by 34....

While much of this growth has been concentrated in China and India, researchers expect the next wave of growth to occur in Africa. As of 2019, for example, the average woman in Niger is having over six children in her lifetime. At the opposite end of this spectrum are a number of countries that appear to be shrinking from a population perspective. To shed some light on this somewhat surprising trend, we’ve visualized the top 20 countries by population decline....

Today’s periodic table showing the origin of elements comes to us from Reddit user u/only_home, inspired by an earlier version created by astronomer Jennifer Johnson. It should be noted that elements with multiple sources are shaded proportionally to reflect the amount of said element produced from each source. Let’s dive into the eight origin stories in more detail. The Big Bang The universe began as a hot, dense region of radiant energy about 14 billion years ago....

As global GDP has grown over the last four decades, from $23.6 trillion in 1990 to $84.5 trillion in 2020, the proportional share of the world’s top companies by market capitalization has grown over five-fold. Though the world’s top 50 companies change year-to-year, there’s also a lot of overlap. Which Companies Dominated Each Decade? 2020’s largest company by market cap, Apple at $2.26 trillion, was the third largest company in 2010....

As a staple food, over half of the global population depends on the crop as a major part of their diet. In fact, rice is considered a vital part of nutrition in much of Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Caribbean, and is estimated to provide more than one-fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans. This graphic highlights the world’s 10 biggest rice-producing countries, using 2019 production data from the UN’s FAOSTAT and the USDA....

Even so, the results of this recent survey by Ipsos are eyebrow raising. In all 33 countries where polling took place, the majority of respondents said they believe a world war on the scale of WWI and WWII could break out between global superpowers in coming years. Here’s a look at how various countries felt about the possibility of an impending global conflict: Japan was the least sure of an impending global conflict—an opinion that is almost certainly shaped by the country’s historical experience in WWII....

10 Reasons to Go Long Alibaba Yesterday, Alibaba announced that underwriters exercised an option to purchase additional shares at the IPO price of $68, bumping the total amount sold from the originally planned $21.8 billion to $25 billion. This makes it the highest IPO in history. What warrants the company’s impressive valuation? Saxo Bank has pointed out a few things of interest in this infographic that was published just before trading began....

Today, Google processes about 3.5 billion searches per day. Because of its dominant market share, Google holds a vast archive of keyword searches that, when analyzed, provide an interesting glimpse into the key themes that have captured the world’s attention over the years. This graphic, using data from Google Trends, goes back 20 years and highlights some of the top keyword searches since 2001. Our editorial team dug through hundreds of top trending search terms from global and U....