Chart of the Month – August 2023

August’s Chart of the Month shows the number of Santander cycles hired from 2015, when Santander began sponsoring the scheme in London, to 2023. It shows long term growth, culminating in 2022’s record-breaking year of 11,506,889 hires. However, more recently, usage has been low and recovery has been slow. The Santander Cycle hire scheme is owned by the Transport For London (TFL), a government body … Continue reading Chart of the Month – August 2023

Chart of the Month – July 2023

July’s chart of the month shows how Japanese stocks have performed since COVID. In 2023 alone, the Nikkei 225 has grown by 30%, triple that of the S&P 500, and far exceeding the growth of most European indexes. The Nikkei is now only 20% off its peak in 1990, growing 6% in June. Investors must ask: have Japanese stocks at last recovered from a 30-year … Continue reading Chart of the Month – July 2023

Chart of the Month – June 2023

June’s Chart of the Month highlights the stagnation in China’s manufacturing output after the pandemic. When China unexpectedly reopened at the beginning of 2023, many analysts expected an immense recovery. However, their forecasts have been disproven, particularly regarding China’s manufacturing activity, which has fallen after a slight increase (an index score below 50 indicates a contraction).  This is not because of a stunted reopening, but a … Continue reading Chart of the Month – June 2023

Chart of the Month – May 2023

This Chart of the Month revisits the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). An explanation as to how it works can be found in the July 2021 Chart. In that article, we asked whether the EU ETS could hold its value, and whether the increase in costs of pollution would prove too great a burden for firms and the poorest households. Now, we can try to answer … Continue reading Chart of the Month – May 2023

Chart of the Month – April 2023

April’s chart shows that inflation in the UK is lasting longer and staying higher than much of the OECD. We can see that, while inflation dropped 0.3% in the UK in March, inflation fell by 1.6% in the Eurozone; in the US, it peaked last June. Food inflation remains at 19%; energy inflation at 67%. Why is the UK struggling to take the wind out … Continue reading Chart of the Month – April 2023

Chart of the Month – March 2023

March’s Chart of the Month displays the percentage differences in tertiary education, participation in the workforce, and average wages, between women and men in the UK. It highlights the gender disparities that still exist within the labour market. For instance, in 2020 average wages for female workers were 15% lower than for men, yet they were 5% more likely to be in tertiary education. Over … Continue reading Chart of the Month – March 2023

Chart of the Month – February 2023

Strikes in the UK are at a record high. February’s Chart of the Month examines the causes behind this unparalleled increase of discontent in wages and its implications on the UK’s economic recovery. In the last 10 years, there have been two spikes in working days lost to strikes. Over several days in July 2014, millions of people took part in protests, including teachers, firefighters, … Continue reading Chart of the Month – February 2023

Chart of the Month – December 2021

In 2021, remittances to low and middle-income countries are predicted to total $589 billion. December’s Chart of the Month explains why these remittances (money sent by migrant workers back to their country) are so crucial to developing nations. Life for migrants has been tough since the pandemic hit. Many have been stranded from families overseas or been vulnerable to COVID-19 as their jobs were commonly on the … Continue reading Chart of the Month – December 2021

Chart of the Month – November 2021

UK vacancies are at a record high. November’s Chart of the Month examines the causes behind this unprecedented labour shortage and its implications on the UK’s economic recovery. During pandemic restrictions, domestic aggregate demand for consumer goods and services slumped. Businesses faced sharp falls in revenues and a loss of profitability. Without government support, many firms would have shut their doors forever. To prevent irreversible … Continue reading Chart of the Month – November 2021

Chart of the Month – October 2021

The lines show the number of publicly available electric vehicle (EV) charging points in each region of the UK, per 100,000 people. London is included as an outlier. The grey bars show the number of devices installed per month for the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme. It is read off the secondary axis, on the right-hand side of the graph. October’s Chart of the Month focuses … Continue reading Chart of the Month – October 2021