The Year in Review

This will be the last Daily Update of 2023, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and kind words over the year. 
 
EPIC's Daily Update has this year again covered all aspects of financial markets from central banks to the cost of living, the political landscape and of course the big one, inflation. The aim is to make them interesting, informative, helpful and – hopefully – entertaining at times! “We can write a Daily about that” is a line often heard around the office.

The email is popular with our clients and staff alike. We have picked out a few of our 2023 favourites in case you missed them.

• The Peasful Revolution: A Toast to Sustainability. A follow up to the famous (infamous?) ‘Avocadon’t Even Get Me Started’ piece from last year, covering the trend away from the energy-inefficient avocado in favour of more sustainable ingredients such as smashed peas for Peregrine and Ophelia to enjoy on their toast.
   
• T+1: A Day Early, A Dollar Short. The headache caused by the SEC’s decision to shorten the settlement cycle for most US dollar assets to one business day (T+1).
   
• Bean Counters. Our readers’ favourite headline of the year, in a piece covering shrinkflation which highlighted the scandal that there are 10 fewer beans in a can of Heinz Beanz compared with a year ago.
   
• Amazing Grace. The launch of the Grace Hopper platform by conviction holder NVIDIA, a significant advancement in the field of accelerated computing and generative AI.
   
• Star Wars Day. A theoretical analysis of the state of the Galactic economy at the end of the war following the destruction of the second Death Star.
   
• Penny for your thoughts. A piece about Left Digit Bias and why supermarkets charge £1.99 rather than £2.00.
   
• Tall Latte Index. Comparing the cost of a Starbuck’s Tall Latte around the world in absolute terms (Switzerland was the most expensive) and relative to median income (where Colombia was the winner at 86.1% of the typical daily income.)
   

Looking forward, 2024 is going to be the biggest election year in history. There will be more than 70 elections in countries that are home to over half the world’s population. Of course, the one that will get the most coverage will be the US election in November, meaning that a certain Republican will doubtless keep our headline writers busy.

We wish you all the best for an enjoyable holiday season and a Happy New Year!