New York Times (September 27)
“Governments, businesses and communities” need to get ready for El Niño. “There are more than two dozen climate models from agencies around the world that forecast El Niño conditions, and they often don’t agree. But this year they are more aligned than ever before in predicting that El Niño conditions will last through the end of 2026. This high level of certainty means that many of the expected impacts — intense rainfall in some regions, drought and wildfire in others and an increase in global warming — are very likely to occur.”
Tags: 2026, Agencies, Businesses, Certainty, Climate models, Communities, Conditions, Drought, El Niño, Forecast, Governments, Impacts, Predicting, Rainfall, Wildfire
euronews (August 12)
OPEC and the IEA, “two of the most influential voices in energy markets” released “opposing readings” for 2026, but more harmonious forecasts for 2027. “The IEA now expects the world to burn less oil in 2026 than it did in 2025,” predicting global oil demand will “fall by 1.6 million barrels per day (mb/d) in 2026.” In contrast, “OPEC still expects demand to grow” by 580,000 b/d. Both are, however, bullish on 2027 demand. “OPEC now expects demand to grow by 2.2 mb/d in 2027… while the IEA goes further still at 2.4 mb/d.” Interestingly, “the gloomier forecaster for this year delivers a more bullish read for the next.”
Tags: 2026, 2027, Bullish, Demand, Energy markets, Fall, Forecasts, Grow, Harmonious, IEA, Influential, Oil, OPEC
Investment Week (July 2)
While Nasdaq IPOs have drawn the most attention, “European initial public offering (IPO) proceeds increased by 76% year-on-year during the first half of 2026, according to data from PwC, as improving market conditions helped revive activity despite geopolitical uncertainty.” During the first half of 2026, proceeds from European IPOs increased 76% over a year earlier. In contrast, Brexit has weighed on the UK where IPO volumes “remained relatively modest.”
Tags: 2026, Brexit, Europe, Geopolitical uncertainty, Improving, IPOs, Market conditions, Nasdaq, Proceeds, PwC, Revive, UK
Barron’s (March 12)
“Wall Street is becoming increasingly worried” with the escalating war in Iran. Investors fear the war “could lead to a stagflationary environment where the Federal Reserve can’t step in to boost the economy due to stubborn price growth. Odds of no rate cut in 2026 surged to 46.1% on Thursday.” The odds had stood at just 5.1% a month ago.
Tags: 2026, 46.1%, Economy, Escalating, Fear, Fed, Investors, Iran, Odds, Price growth, Rate cut, Stagflationary, Wall Street, War, Worried
Fortune (February 6)
“The amount companies are spending on AI infrastructure now rivals that of some of the largest economies in the world and is comparable to the annual GDP of countries like Sweden and Israel.” Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft combined are expected to allocate “more than a staggering $630 billion” to CAPEX in 2026 for “such big-ticket infrastructure items as data centers, servers, and power systems that fuel the AI build-out race.”
Tags: $630 billion, 2026, AI, Alphabet, Amazon, CAPEX, Data centers, GDP, Infrastructure, Israel, Meta, Microsoft, Servers, Staggering, Sweden
Fortune (January 11)
“2026 begins with sharper risks for China: Geopolitical uncertainty, a struggling real estate sector, strained public finances, and elevated youth unemployment. Yet what draws companies to China—scale, innovation, and global influence— remain as compelling as ever.” The economics have changed and competition has increased. Success now requires greater discipline, but “for global businesses prepared to operate with this level of discipline, China can still be a lucrative market in the Year of the Horse.”
Tags: 2026, China, Competition, Discipline, Geopolitical uncertainty, Global influence, Innovation, Lucrative, Public finances, Real estate, Risks, Scale, Struggling, Year of the Horse, Youth unemployment
Reuters (January 5)
“The world economy is making a surprising habit of shrugging off unpleasant shocks…. Since 2020, the planet has weathered a global pandemic, inflation, sharply rising interest rates, and the outbreak of war without a major slump. In 2025, a tsunami of enthusiasm about artificial intelligence offset the disruptive effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade turmoil, keeping economies and financial markets humming. Opposing forces are preparing to battle for supremacy again in 2026. The stage is set for a turbulent contest between gain and pain.”
Tags: 2020, 2026, AI, Disruptive, Financial markets, Gain, Global pandemic, Inflation, Interest rates, Trade turmoil, Trump, Unpleasant shocks, War, World economy
New York Times (January 3)
“Researchers at M.I.T. concluded last summer that while organizations had invested from $30 billion to $40 billion into A.I., they had basically nothing to show for it. Ninety-five percent of organizations were getting zero return.” 2026 may be the year that “more disruptive uses of A.I. will make it out of the R&D stage. And we may get a better understanding of what this sort of advancement means across professions and industries.”
Tags: $40 billion, 2026, A.I., Advancement, Disruptive uses, Industries, Invested, M.I.T., Organizations, Professions, R&D stage, Researchers, Understanding, Zero return
Barron’s (January 2)
“If last year was full of fireworks that ultimately resulted in another big gain for the stock market, 2026 appears set to be a dud. Looking back at 2025, the fact that the S&P 500 index gained 16% feels like a small miracle. The Donald Trump experience has led to wild swings—who can forget the near bear-market in April after the president announced the first iteration of tariffs?” Looking ahead, “we’d expect a relatively flat year, with the S&P 500 finishing down about 2%.”
Tags: 16%, 2%, 2025, 2026, April, Bear market, Big gain, Dud, Fireworks, Flat, S&P 500, Stock market, Tariffs, Trump
Barron’s (December 30)
“Home prices rose more quickly than expected in October, according to S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index data released today. But the bigger picture shows that housing costs continue to improve, with forecasters expecting a pickup in sales in 2026.”
Tags: 2026, Forecasters, Home prices, Housing costs, Improve, Index, October, Pickup, Rose, S&P Cotality Case-Shiller
