In finance numbers are variously the lingua franca, the currency, the oil that keeps the world moving, and the things that either mean it's been a good month, quarter, or year for investors. But while everyone obsesses about monthly gross domestic product and inflation data, some numbers are outliers, with the capacity to surprise even the most seasoned observers. Here's a round-up of our 2023 favourites:
84,000
Number of registered delegates at COP28 over 14 days. Number of resolutions: 1.5.
US$ 25,911
Rise in Bitcoin price since January 1, 2023
Three
Germany managed to become the third largest economy in the world by default after Japan was dislodged by a slide in the yen against the dollar and the euro.
Fourth
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his Autumn Statement said that England’s 9-10-year-olds are now the fourth-best readers in the world. But they're the fifth-best spelers...
5%
Sam Bankman Fried's estimated chance of becoming President, according to ex Caroline Ellison. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 110 years and will be sentenced next year.
66%
Year-on-year fall in the number of UK prime ministers; 2022 had Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak in charge. 2023 has had just one. There may be a 100% increase in 2024!
280%
Rise in share price of Nvidia this year; the one stock you wish you'd bought!
4.9 million
Number of followers Argentina's new president Javier Milei has on Instagram. He describes himself only as "ECONOMISTA" in his bio. An account dedicated to his hair has 1.2 million.
43
Staff at Signa Holding, owner of New York's Chrysler Building, Britain's Selfridges department store and KaDeWe in Berlin. Now in receivership, the Austrian company had €27 billion (US$29.6 billion) in assets but only 43 staff, 36 of whom worked in "non-essential functions" like party planning, hunting, and serving on private jets. Non-essential indeed.
£32.1 billion
Money spent on rent in London in 2023; in 2023 £82.6 billion will be spent on rent in the UK overall – a 10% increase on last year.
INFINITY
Number of times fund managers have misspelled Warren Buffett as "Buffet" when asked by Morningstar which investor they most admire...
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