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Distribution of World Capitals by Elevation

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July 2, 2024 Article/Editing:

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Ranked: World Capitals by Elevation

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Capital cities are often the economic, cultural, and political heart of nations. In premodern times, these were often also where the ruler resided, so if you wanted to resolve a dispute or receive some favor, then you had to travel there to petition the ruler directly: in essence, going straight to the top.

In this visualization, creator Julia R. Peasley asks the further question, just how high up is that proverbial top for all the world’s 196 capital cities. Data comes from Wikipedia’s list of capital cities by elevation and includes only United Nations Member and Observer states.

From Sea to Sky

The top spot goes to Bolivia’s La Paz, which at nearly 12,000 feet (3,640 meters) above sea level. It’s the world’s highest capital city, which is not surprising once you realize that the country is bisected by the East Andes Mountain Range and that the mean elevation of the country is close to 4,000 feet (1,192 meters).

CountryCapitalElevation (ft)Elevation (m) 🇦🇿 AzerbaijanBaku-92-28 🇳🇱 NetherlandsAmsterdam-7-2 🇦🇬 Antigua and BarbudaSaint John’s00 🇧🇳 BruneiBandar Seri Begawan00 🇨🇻 Cape VerdePraia00 🇩🇯 DjiboutiDjibouti00 🇩🇲 DominicaRoseau00 🇩🇴 Dominican RepublicSanto Domingo00 🇫🇯 FijiSuva00 🇬🇦 GabonLibreville00 🇬🇲 The GambiaBanjul00 🇬🇳 GuineaConakry00 🇬🇼 Guinea-BissauBissau00 🇬🇾 GuyanaGeorgetown00 🇰🇮 KiribatiSouth Tarawa00 🇱🇷 LiberiaMonrovia00 🇲🇻 MaldivesMalé00 🇲🇨 MonacoMonaco00 🇵🇦 PanamaPanama City00 🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and NevisBasseterre00 🇼🇸 SamoaApia00 🇸🇨 SeychellesVictoria00 🇸🇬 SingaporeSingapore00 🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesKingstown00 🇹🇴 TongaNuku’alofa00 🇹🇹 Trinidad and TobagoPort of Spain00 🇹🇳 TunisiaTunis00 🇹🇻 TuvaluVaiaku00 🇻🇺 VanuatuPort Vila00 🇩🇿 AlgeriaAlgiers31 🇸🇷 SurinameParamaribo31 🇹🇭 ThailandBangkok31 🇧🇸 BahamasNassau72 🇱🇨 Saint LuciaCastries72 🇺🇸 United StatesWashington, D.C.72 🇧🇩

What Do Americans Find Unacceptable on Airplanes?

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July 2, 2024 Graphics/Design:

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What Do Americans Find Unacceptable on Airplanes?

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Flight etiquette has become a big topic as more and more people travel and as legroom and luggage space seem to be shrinking.

In this graphic, we bring the results of a survey that asked Americans about airplane behaviors they consider acceptable or unacceptable.

Methodology: The poll was conducted online from May 23 to 26, 2024, among 1,152 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel using sample matching. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected based on the 2019 American Community Survey. The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%. A Review of Flight Manners

More than 80% of Americans agree that it’s unacceptable for passengers to let their children play in the aisle or for other passengers to get drunk on the plane.

Meanwhile, 66% consider it unacceptable for passengers not to pay attention during the safety demonstration, but 20% consider it okay.

BehaviorAcceptable (%)Unacceptable (%)Not Sure (%) Let their kids play in the aisle5869 Get drunk9828 Leave their seat during turbulence78211 Watch a movie without headphones11819 Leave trash in the seatback pocket11799 Use both armrests when someone is sitting next to them117415 Eat strong-smelling food146817 Not pay attention during the safety demonstration206615 Exit the plane before people in the rows in front of them146521 Not set their devices to airplane mode166419

Leaving the seat during turbulence is not only dangerous but is considered a no-no for the majority (82%) of passengers. If you want to watch a movie, make sure you have your headphones to avoid complaints, as 81% of people say it’s unacceptable to listen out loud.

Acceptable Behaviors

Finally, here are some of the less contentious behaviors according to the poll results.

The majority of respondents (51%) consider it acceptable to ask to switch seats with

Stocks making the biggest midday moves: Tesla, Polestar, Paramount Global and more

Partner Insight: Investing in a sustainable future goes beyond simply avoiding ‘dirty’ industries

What is Aegon Asset Management’s climate informed approach and why is it beneficial for investment portfolios?

There’s a clear and present risk associated with climate change and what that means for the real economy, for asset owners and the implications for the future value of those assets. With the evolving regulatory landscape and the demand for solutions from investors, we’ve designed a framework to assess the risk, opportunities, and the potential impact on companies.

Our approach is forward-looking and designed to understand how companies adapt their strategy and business model to consider these evolving risks. In the context of fixed income, we’re looking at the sustainability of future cash flow, future debt repayment profiles and looking to identify companies we think have the greatest resilience and sustainability through that transition process.   

What is the climate transition research framework and what does it focus on?

Developed by our Responsible Investment team, the framework is asset class agnostic and made to assess a company’s strategy and transition towards a Net Zero aligned future. The process is twofold, there is a base assessment, followed by a sector-specific adjustment.

The base assessment looks at three key areas which include commitment to Net Zero with strong short- and medium-term targets covering scope 1,2, and 3 emissions, historical carbon reductions, and good integration of climate risks and opportunities within business strategy and capex decisions.

The sector specific adjustment is focused on what we call the high influence sectors.  These are the sectors deemed to have a stronger ability to influence the energy transition and the achievement of global climate goals and include higher carbon emitting sectors like oil and gas, utilities, and real estate. We include banks and insurance companies in this group due to their ability to direct capital and potentially influence corporate behaviour through capital lending.

Here, we categorise each company’s climate transition profile on a 1-5 basis from ‘Leader’ to ‘Laggard.’  Engagement is then focused on companies requiring the most improvement.

The idea is not to exclude parts of the economy. On the one hand, we could manage a portfolio like this by simply not investing in dirty utilities or real estate names and investing only in low carbon industries. However, the impact here would be minimal because it’s just avoiding carbon and passing it onto somebody else. The climate doesn’t benefit from that approach.

We

BNY names Jose Minaya global head of BNY Investment and Wealth

Minaya will join on 3 September and will report to Robin Vince, president and CEO of BNY.  Once Minaya joins, Smit will transition to chair of BNY Investments to help oversee the change. “I would like to thank Smit for her leadership”, Vince noted. BNY Mellon undergoes name change amid extensive rebrand Minaya said: “I am delighted to join BNY, a historic institution with a legacy of helping clients achieve their ambitions and advancing the future of finance, and to lead a globally renowned asset management and wealth franchise with deep relationships around the world.” Most rec…

BNY names Jose Minaya global head of investment and wealth as Hanneke Smits retires

Minaya will join on 3 September and will report to Robin Vince, president and CEO of BNY.  Once Minaya joins, Smits will transition to chair of BNY Investments to help oversee the change through to the end of 2024. Smits joined BNY in 2020 from Newton Investment Management, where she was CEO for four years. 30% Club’s Smits on pushing for parity and moving ‘beyond the boardroom’ Prior to Newton, she served on the Executive Committee at private equity firm Adams Street Partners from 2001 to 2014, having been Chief Investment Officer from 2008 to 2014. She is currently the glob…

The Most Expensive States to Maintain a Home

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July 2, 2024 Graphics/Design:

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The Most Expensive States to Maintain a Home

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Buying a house is the American dream, but maintaining that property in good shape can be challenging for homeowners.

This map shows the 15 most expensive states in the U.S. to maintain a single-family home.

Methodology: Bankrate aggregated the average costs of property taxes, homeowners insurance, and home maintenance costs (estimated at 2% per year of the value of a single-family home). Calculations also included energy, internet, and cable bills. All figures adjusted for inflation as of June 2024. Hawaii is the Most Expensive State to Maintain a Home

The average annual cost of owning and maintaining a single-family home in the U.S. is more than $18,000 yearly, a 26% increase compared to 2020.

With an average annual cost of $29,015, Hawaii is the most expensive state to maintain a home.

California comes in second with an average annual ownership cost of $28,790, followed by Massachusetts with $26,313.

RankStateAverage annual home ownership costs, 2024Percent change, 2020 vs. 2024 1Hawaii$29.0K38% 2California$28.8K32% 3Massachusetts$26.3K28% 4New Jersey$25.6K25% 5Connecticut$23.5K24% 6Washington$23.4K32% 7New Hampshire$23.3K29% 8New York$22.8K25% 9Rhode Island$22.0K27% 10Colorado$21.0K33% 11Vermont$19.8K29% 12Maryland$19.7K23% 13Oregon$19.2K24% 14Florida$19.2K33% 15Utah$19.1K44% U.S. Average$18.2K26%

Property taxes in New Jersey average $10,026 annually, the highest in the nation.

States with the Least Expensive Homeownership Costs

Kentucky is the least expensive place to own a home, with an average annual cost of $11,559, followed by Arkansas ($11,692) and Mississippi ($11,881).

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out this graphic, which shows what you need to earn to own a home in 50 American cities.

How thousands of Americans got caught in fintech’s false promise and lost access to bank accounts

For customers, fintech promised the best of both worlds: The innovation, ease of use and fun of the newest apps combined with the safety of government-backed accounts held at real banks. The collapse of middleman Synapse has revealed fintech’s promise of safety as a mirage. More than 100,000 Americans with $265 million in deposits have been locked out of their accounts. The implications of this disaster may be far-reaching. The most popular banking apps in the country, including Block’s Cash App, PayPal and Chime partner with banks instead of owning them. CNBC reached out to fintech customers whose lives have been upended by the Synapse debacle. They all believed their money was protected by an FDIC safety net. Natasha Craft, a 25-year-old FedEx driver from Mishawaka, Indiana. She has been locked out of her Yotta banking account since May 11. Courtesy: Natasha Craft

When Natasha Craft first got a Yotta banking account in 2021, she loved using it so much she told her friends to sign up.

The app made saving money fun and easy, and Craft, a now 25-year-old FedEx driver from Mishawaka, Indiana, was busy getting her financial life in order and planning a wedding. Craft had her wages deposited directly into a Yotta account and used the startup’s debit card to pay for all her expenses.

The app — which gamifies personal finance with weekly sweepstakes and other flashy features — even occasionally covered some of her transactions.

“There were times I would go buy something and get that purchase for free,” Craft told CNBC.

Today, her entire life savings — $7,006 — is locked up in a complicated dispute playing out in bankruptcy court, online forums like Reddit and regulatory channels. And Yotta, an array of other startups and their banks have been caught in a moment of reckoning for the fintech industry.

For customers, fintech promised the best of both worlds: The innovation, ease of use and fun of the newest apps combined with the safety of government-backed accounts held at real banks.

The startups prominently displayed protections afforded by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, lending credibility to their novel offerings. After all, since its 1934 inception, no depositor “has ever lost a penny of FDIC-insured deposits,” according to the agency’s website.

But the widening fallout over the collapse of a

CNBC

Merck Mercuriadis to step down as chair of Hipgnosis Song Management

According to HSM, Mercuriadis’ departure will become effective once the takeover by Blackstone is finalised. Hipgnosis Songs fund (SONG) was purchased by Lyra Bidco Limited, a company owned by Blackstone-managed funds, for $1.58bn, which Hipgnosis directors have unanimously backed and urged shareholders to approve. HSM is the company and investment manager for SONG, which Mercuriadis also oversees. Mercuriadis previously stepped down as CEO of HSM back in February, which came as discontent between the firm and then newly appointed SONG board entered the public realm. He said: “S…