From the beginnings of General Motors Acceptance Corporation to the introduction of the Diner’s Club charge card, the history of credit has been filled with game-changing innovations.

Today, new innovations in tech are continuing to shape the consumer credit industry – and with U.S. consumer debt sitting at $13 trillion, these changes could play a role in impacting how consumers access credit both today and in the future.

Preparing for college is exciting and expensive. Any parent who has painstakingly spent hours in Target and Bed Bath and Beyond finding the perfect dorm sheets, blankets, refrigerator, desk and lamp among the countless other items you’ll likely buy along with those, can tell you that sending a child off to college is not just emotionally draining it is financially draining. While you are making these important purchases to ensure your child is well-prepared and comfortable in her or his new living environment, there are some legal documents that need to be prepped as well.

Oxford economist Max Roser* of Our World in Datahas dedicated his career to promoting a statistically informed view of global development through research and data visualization. The following charts sum up world progress on many fronts for the last two centuries, proving that though things may seem chaotic at times the world is, in fact, safer than ever before.

Dubai’s transformation from a fishing village to a global real estate hub has been nothing short of remarkable. From having the world’s tallest building to man-made islands in the shape of a world map, the U.A.E.’s most populous city has never shied away from ambitious construction projects.

Today’s motion graphic video, from Knight Frank, is a unique overview of Dubai’s half-century long growth spurt.

 

For most investors, 2018 was both an eventful and frustrating year.

Between the looming threat of trade wars and growing geopolitical uncertainty, the market also skipped a beat. Volatility took center stage, and the S&P 500 finished in negative territory for the first time in 10 years.

Although many asset classes finished in negative territory, a look at fund flows – essentially where investors put their money – helps paint a more intricate picture of the year for investors.