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The fact is that billions of variables — both big and small — factor into any calculation of overall economic productivity, and these inputs are changing all of the time. Buying this week’s groceries or filling up your car with gas may seem like a rounding error when we are talking about trillions of dollars, but every microeconomic decision or set of preferences can add up in aggregate. And as consumer preferences, technology, trade relationships, interest rates, and currency valuations change — so does the final composition of the world’s $86 trillion economy....

But while the speed of order executions are infinitely more impressive across the board, the conceptual backbone behind the stock market itself hasn’t changed much. In fact, the model we use today for settling trades and ensuring proper share ownership is still based on the one initially created in the 17th Century. A Decentralization of Equities? Today’s infographic comes to us from Equibit, and it envisions what a decentralized securities platform could look like....

For this reason, companies around the world are now rethinking their warehouse and distribution systems, with automation taking center stage. Today’s infographic from Raconteur highlights the state of automation across global supply chains, while also providing an outlook for future investment. Long Time Coming Let’s start by taking a look at what supply chain technologies are priorities for global industry investment in the first place: *Based on survey of supply chain professionals in retail, manufacturing, and logistics fields As seen above, warehouse automation has already received more investment (55%) than any other supply chain technology on the list, as companies aim to cut delivery times and improve overall margins....

The country’s 50 richest families hold a collective wealth of $1.2 trillion. This ranking goes beyond nuclear family units and self-made fortunes, and it instead measures the wealth of multi-generational or extended families. Our visualization, which leverages the latest data from Forbes, reveals the wealthiest families in America and the enterprises that helped them earn their billions. Family Matters Say the name Rockefeller or Vanderbilt, and everyone knows who you’re talking about—but how do these household names hold up in the modern rankings?...

By 2050, there will be two billion people that are 60 years or older globally. Meanwhile, the amount of seniors (65+ years old) in the U.S. will double to 100 million by 2060. To meet the needs of this aging population, we will continue to need larger quantities and more varieties of prescription drug treatments – an industry that is expected to skyrocket to $1.2 trillion in size by 2024....

Today, medical breakthroughs like antibiotics and vaccines save millions of lives, and contribute to the industry’s mammoth size. Yet even with rapid advancements, a select group of rare diseases still fly under the radar — and together, they affect over 350 million people worldwide. What Are Rare Diseases? Today’s infographic from Raconteur breaks down occurrence rates of notable rare diseases, and their collective impact on pharmaceutical drug sales. But first, let’s look at how they’re defined....

The Evolution of Investment Bank Fees Investment banks traditionally make money from fees in four ways: debt capital markets, equity capital markets, mergers & acquisitions, and syndicated lending. This interactive infographic shows how that fee “pie” has changed in size and split over the last two decades. Note that for 2014, it only includes data for the first five months or so. Interesting note: 2007 was the best year for investment banking, and this was right before the Financial Crisis as things began to unravel....

No matter your system of government, the public sector plays a vital role in establishing your economic mobility and political freedoms. Measuring corruption—the abuse of power for private gain—reveals how equal a system truly is. For more than a decade, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International has been the world’s most widely-used metric for scoring corruption. This infographic uses the 2021 CPI to visualize corruption in countries around the world, and the biggest 10-year changes....

The average U.S. state is made up of 62 counties. With so many counties spread throughout each state in the nation, it’s not surprising that we can find counties that exemplify almost any part of the American experience. In this case, we’re comparing county-level data to look at the differences in economic opportunity within each state. More specifically, we are looking at the range of median household income, which is one proxy for the difference in economic status between counties....

However, despite the common perception that Africa is a large landmass, it’s still one that is vastly underestimated by most casual map viewers. The reason for this is that the familiar Mercator map projection tends to distort our geographical view of the world in a crucial way — one that often leads to misconceptions about the relative sizes of both countries and continents. A Geographical Jigsaw Today’s infographic comes from Kai Krause and it shows the true size of Africa, as revealed by the borders of the countries that can fit within the continent’s shape....

In addition to the time investment needed to formulate and create a business, there’s often a hefty capital requirement. A new business usually requires paying different fees for licensing, permits, and approvals, and many governments also have minimum on-hand capital requirements. And costs are relative. Though it might be more costly to start a business in some countries on paper, affordability also takes into account relative income. These graphics from BusinessFinancing....

During the initial stages of the pandemic, when panic and uncertainty ran rife, BEACH stocks–booking, entertainment, airlines, cruises, and hotels—were left scrambling. Collectively, $332 billion in market cap washed away. Now, it appears the tide might be turning for these companies, buoyed by vaccine breakthroughs and glimmers of hope for a return to normalcy. This infographic looks at the growth in market cap value across BEACH stocks one year from when the WHO officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic....

Today’s visualization from Viking Steel Structures outlines the 10 strongest metals on Earth and their applications. What are Metals? Metals are solid materials that are typically hard, shiny, malleable, and ductile, with good electrical and thermal conductivity. But not all metal is equal, which makes their uses as varied as their individual properties and benefits. The periodic table below presents a simple view of the relationship between metals, nonmetals, and metalloids, which you can easily identify by color....

Because of this, companies need to ensure their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives are up to snuff in order to be competitive. With this in mind, here’s a look at the top 20 most responsible companies in America, and what they’ve been doing to give back to their communities. The Top 20 Most Responsible Companies Newsweek and Statista used a four-step methodology to identify America’s most responsible companies. The process included a pre-screening, as well as in-depth CSR document review, and a consumer survey....

The average American spends as much as $1,200 every year on fast food — and roughly a quarter of the U.S. population eats three or more fast food meals per week. Today’s unique infographic, via TitleMax, shows just how dominant the quick serve food industry is, and which brands are leading the pack in terms of revenue and store locations. Billions Served All of the biggest fast food chains now top $1 billion in sales annually....

The pandemic brought strong headwinds for the oil and gas industry, and oil majors felt the blow. Global primary energy consumption fell by 4.5% relative to 2019 and oil demand declined by 9%. For a brief period in April 2020, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures went subzero, marking the largest one-day price plunge since 1983. Some expected the demand crash to have a lasting impact on the industry, but it’s safe to say that 2021 has proved otherwise....

The Axios Harris Poll polled a nationally representative sample of nearly 43,000 Americans to find out which 100 companies emerge as top of mind—for better or for worse. How is Brand Reputation Measured? The polling process started by asking respondents which two companies they felt excelled or faltered in the U.S.—in other words, which companies were the most “visible” in their eyes. The top 100 brands that emerged from this framework were then judged by poll respondents across seven dimensions, over three key pillars:...

Silver: The Undercover Super Metal Silver has a reputation for being gold’s less desirable sister, but make no mistake, silver may still be a golden opportunity to invest in. You might be surprised to know that silver plays a part in many everyday things you use, especially electronics. Silver has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of all metals. The use of silver is very prevalent in the photography, consumer electronics, medical, and high tech industries....

When asked to pick their favorite social media platform in a recent survey, more than a third chose Snapchat: This is slightly lower than last year when 41% of teens picked Snapchat as their favorite. Despite a small dip, the company still holds its dominance in the U.S. teen market over rivals Instagram and TikTok – at least for now. Teens are Keeping Snap Alive Snapchat has Gen Z to thank when it comes to keeping the company afloat....

Disneyland had a problem though. Only a small fraction of its guests were from the East Coast of the U.S., which meant Disney was missing out on a huge potential audience for his theme park. To expand the company’s reach and scope, he began looking for a location that would match his grand ambitions, and Florida, with its abundance of cheap land and warm climate was a natural choice. On November 22, 1963—coincidentally the day JFK was assassinated—Walt flew over to the Orlando to do some location scouting....