Global growth is holding up better than expected, supported by front-loaded trade, strong AI-related investment, and generally easier financial conditions, yet momentum is set to soften as higher tariffs, persistent policy uncertainty, and easing labour markets gradually weigh on demand.

AI’s growing role in strategic foresight is reshaping how experts anticipate and prepare for multiple plausible futures, as shown by insights from 167 practitioners across 55 countries who increasingly rely on AI to accelerate trend analysis, scenario development and the identification of emerging issues.

Global financial markets posted strong gains in Q3 2025, powered by surging AI-driven technology demand, solid corporate earnings, and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s anticipated rate cut, which weakened the dollar and supported emerging markets, including Indonesia. Equity markets rallied globally—with the U.S., Japan, and North Asia.

Global economies are entering a period of profound transformation marked by persistent disruptions, rising uncertainty, and deep structural shifts. Seventy-two percent of chief economists expect global conditions to weaken over the next year as trade tensions, supply chain realignments, and rapid AI development reshape markets.