Hi! After National Coffee Day yesterday, it would be remiss of us not to share this new data on how Americans drink their Joe. Today we’ve got charts exploring:
Got feedback for us? Tell us at daily@chartr.co!
The UK has had quite a month. After mourning the passing of their longest-reigning monarch, the country's economy has been in turmoil this week over plans for a raft of tax cuts. Last Friday, the new UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced a “new era” of growth with tax cuts worth 1.5% of GDP — the largest set of cuts in any UK budget for almost 50 years. Unfortunately, what followed was a new era of financial chaos.
Fuel on the fire
Markets saw the budget as inflationary... at a time when inflation is already soaring in the UK, as it is almost everywhere. Paying for those tax cuts would mean a lot of government borrowing, and no-one fancied being a lender. Investors sold UK government bonds, known as gilts, sending yields to just shy of 5% almost instantly. Sterling slumped — nearly reaching parity with the US dollar — as a vicious feedback loop emerged, with a weaker currency meaning more expensive imports, more inflation and probably more borrowing. In the end, the Bank of England stepped in to intervene.
Where the UK goes from here is extremely uncertain. The new government has come under harsh criticism, with even the usually-neutral IMF weighing in with blunt criticism. New polling data out today showed a whopping 33-point lead for the Labour party over the incumbent Conservatives.
Foam party
Crocs are still in growth mode. The company, known for its foam footwear, capitalized on its recent success earlier this year, acquiring shoe brand Hey Dude for some $2.5bn. Under the Crocs corporate umbrella, Hey Dude is now itself looking to open a new 730,000 sq ft distribution center in Las Vegas.
Although not a mainstream brand, Hey Dude has a quiet legion of fans, and crucially, many of those fans are young. In a biannual survey of US teens, Hey Dude ranked among teens' top 10 favorite shoe brands for the second year running — making them the perfect addition to the original Crocs line-up, which remains a Gen Z favorite. Indeed, Crocs has a 60% approval rating amongst Gen Zers, some 13% above the millennial market rate according to Morning Consult.
A Gen Z shoe empire
As we head into Croctober, when the brand will celebrate its 20th birthday, the sandal sellers are likely planning how to continue to scale Hey Dude — luckily they have a blueprint. Crocs became a veritable fashion statement after collaborations with Bieber, Balenciaga, Bad Bunny and others. Jibbitz gave comfort-seeking clog wearers the ability to customize their Crocs with charms (they also weren't cheap). Crocs, once the butt of many jokes, are quietly building a Gen Z shoe empire.
Related reading: Websites, apps, and tasty snacks — report reveals Gen Z’s favorite brands.
Ian's eye is moving up
Hurricane warnings are now in place for the South Carolina coastline as hurricane Ian re-intensifies. President Biden has warned that areas affected by the storm could see ‘substantial loss of life’, with at least 12 confirmed deaths after Ian made landfall in Florida as a major Category 4 hurricane. The storm saw maximum sustained winds at around 150-155mph, slightly short of the 157mph mark which would see Ian tipped into the most-extreme class, Category 5.
Each year the US is usually threatened by 2 to 3 major hurricanes (Category 3 or above) in the Atlantic Basin, with recent years seeing a higher number of Category 3, 4 and 5 hurricanes.
• High prices and higher borrowing costs are putting a dent in used car sales — retailer CarMax saw its earnings fall 54% on this time last year. The used car boom is over.
• The fastest bipedal robot in the world just burst onto the racing scene with a 100-meter dash time of 24.73 seconds. Robots are better at chess, but we've still got running (for now).
• The US will roll out 500k EV charging points by 2030, electrifying some 75,000 miles of highway.
• Women now marginally outnumber men in the U.S. college-educated labor force with a 50.7% share.
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