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

When I was ten years old, my dream was to become an archaeologist. I grew out of it when I realised that mud, dust, and dirt are not my comfort zones. Though sad to realise that I would never discover the next hidden treasure myself, I found solace in learning about discoveries of ancient sites through the arguably more dirt-free platform of books, magazines, and documentaries. During a recent ‘hunt’ for the next intriguing read, I came across research studying

I’ve been called many names in my lifetime. As a child, my parents called me “Andrew”. At school, a bit more variation was introduced. Sometimes, I was “Andy”. Slightly shorter, made sense.  Occasionally, I was referred to as “Harris” (my surname) — there was another Andy/Andrew so it helped to avoid confusion. A few of my peers even referred to me as “Charlton” after the football team I support. Weird, but they’re a great team so I really should’ve been