The third Monday in January is officially considered to be the most depressing day of the year, known as “Blue Monday”, when memories of Christmas are fading, temperatures are low, days are dark, and the next bank holiday cannot arrive soon enough. This year’s Blue Monday fell on the Monday that has just passed. The definition of Blue Monday was established in 2004 at the request of a UK-based travel booking company, and is allegedly based on a mathematical formula,

Over the years, as Apple has cemented its hold on the mobile phone market, the price of the iPhone has increased dramatically. Back in 2007, when Apple was still competing fiercely with BlackBerry, a device would've set you back around $500 — while the iPhone 13 Pro Max was priced around the $1100 mark on its release in 2021. And yet this doubling in prices can’t be observed in measured CPI, with US data showing a 70% fall in the

January is the New Jersey of months (apologies to any readers from the Garden State). After a heady December, many people face the New Year broke and cold (and hoping they have just a cold). During these dark days, I’ll forgive those who wish it could be Christmas every day. I’ll go further, and deliver some good news: it really is Christmas today — at least for many of the 260 million Orthodox Christians around the world. This is because

When I worked at the Bank of England, many years ago, a (very) senior official once asked why Bank staff felt the need to seasonally adjust the raw retail price index (RPI). If I’m going to be generous, I might say that this was a rhetorical question: he was merely encouraging a group of economists, many fresh out of university, to think through why some prices might vary in a systematic way through the year. Many macroeconomic data display seasonal

Ever heard of the phrase ‘naked wedding’? Until recently, I hadn’t either. But it turns out it’s increasingly popular in China, and it’s not what you first think! Instead, it’s the decision to do away with nearly all of the traditional ‘must-haves’ for a Chinese wedding, such as owning a house, a car, and an expensive wedding ceremony, in favour of a more frugal affair. At odds with China’s well-established customs, this is not always done out of choice, but instead

A cleaner wrasse is brave little fish that can be found picking off parasites from larger fish. Often from their mouths. And often from fish that would otherwise eat them. This is a good deal for both fish: the cleaner gets a meal and the bigger fish, or ‘client’, gets a clean. But why doesn’t the client just close its mouth (with the cleaner still inside) once the cleaning service is nearing its completion? This question that has puzzled evolutionary

No, this isn’t about Adele… No, really, it isn’t… If that’s what you want, stop reading — you’ll only be disappointed… Ok, well don’t say I didn’t warn you… This blog is all about Fathom, not Adele. I probably should’ve called it “Hello, it’s us” but the title got you this far, didn’t it? So, please, Go Easy On Me. The rest of this blog has little to do with economics but a lot to do with statistics and a

Within a month of its launch, Squid Game, a South Korean dystopian thriller, became the top-performing Netflix series to date. The show graphically explores the lengths to which desperate and debt-ridden people will go to escape the clutches of crippling personal debt. With ‘players’ invited to take part in a series of deadly children’s games, facing off against one another to become the sole winner of ₩45.6 billion (£28.9 million/$38.7 million) — a life-changing prize and experience for the last-man-standing.

Take your pick: memento mori (apparently whispered by a slave into the ears of triumphant Roman generals — remember you are mortal): sic transit gloria mundi (so passes the glory of the world, sonorously declared upon the coronation of a new pope); or the phrase quoted in the title of this TFiF, attributed by Wikipedia to ancient Persian scholars, and frequently intoned, usually accompanied with a sigh, by this author. Throughout our history, part of the wisdom of the human

Here is a science experiment you can do right now from the comfort of your home/office. Go find yourself a mirror, a small one held at arm's length will do fine. Look into the reflection of your left eye. Holding the rest of your head still, now glance at your right eye. Now left. Then right. Notice anything? Apart from the fact that you look great today (keep up the good work), there is something else. You will never be