Trends Identified
A three-pronged approach
So what are CEOs doing to make their organisations more resilient in this era of ‘stable instability’? Our survey shows that they’re taking three specific approaches:A) Targeting pockets of opportunity: CEOs are focusing on a few well-chosen initiatives, primarily in their existing markets, to stimulate organic growth. They’re more wary about entering new markets or engaging in mergers and acquisitions (M&As), and diluting their resources too much. B) Concentrating on the customer:CEOs are looking for new ways to stimulate demand and foster customer loyalty, such as capitalising on digital marketing platforms and involving customers in product/service development. But they’re also aiming to keep their R&D costs down and make the innovation process more efficient. C) Improving operational effectiveness:CEOs are balancing efficiency with agility. They’re trying to cut costs without cutting value or leaving their organisations exposed to external upheavals. They’re also delegating power more widely and collaborating with organisations to share resources and develop new offerings.
2013
16th Annual global CEO Survey
PWC
A Space Odyssey
Forget Mustique and Tahiti. If you’re willing to drop a cool $200,000 to $300,000, get ready to spend your next vacation in space. Last year, we spoke about flying cars, this year you’ll have to set your sights a little higher. Space travel is set to accelerate as several companies—SpaceX and Boeing, among them—launch crewed test flights to space. The implications of such private space flights are tremendous. It will mean the conversion of a highly regulated, government monopolized industry into a fiercely competitive one, populated by private players and venture capital firms. As competition intensifies, expect space tourism to take-off and space organizations like NASA to use the revenues generated by private space flights to fund their scientific research.
2019
Top 10 Trends For 2019
Forbes
A smart and automated road transport grid
Widespread adoption of connected and smart autonomous vehicles deliver substantial energy use savings, but is only a transformational sustainable transport solution if the autonomous cars are themselves low, or even better, zero-emissions vehicles.
2017
Innovation for the Earth - Harnessing technological breakthroughs for people and the planet
PWC
A radical new recycling process will breathe new life into old plastic.
In five years, the disposal of trash and the creation of new plastics will be completely transformed. Everything from milk cartons and cookie containers to grocery bags and clothing will be recyclable, and polyester manufacturing companies will be able to take in refuse and turn it into something useful again.
2019
5 in 5 - Research predicts five innovations that will change our lives within five years.
IBM Research
A potential us trade war
Will Trump scrap NAFTA? Will he engage in a trade war with China? Those are the questions many investors are likely wondering, and as with most things Trump, it's difficult to know whether his antitrade Tweets and talks are genuine or if they're a negotiating tactic.
2018
6 global trends that can derail your portfolio in 2018
CNBC
A New Optimism: Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies
Ask five experts to assess the global economy, and they are likely to provide as many different answers. Whether related to trade imbalances and currency fluctuations or to skyrocketing energy costs and increasing regulations, uncertainties abound. Yet the CEOs in this survey are optimistic about their prospects for growth and are investing today to secure future success. Is their optimism unbridled? No. It is an optimism grounded in reality and tempered by caution.
2005
8th Annual global CEO Survey
PWC
A new malaria vaccine finally offers real hope - High hopes for a malaria vaccine
One unsung success of the 21st century has been the fight against malaria. In 2000 the disease killed 47 people per 100,000 of those at risk. In 2015, the most recent year for which figures are available, that had dropped to 19—a fall of 60%. Even so, malaria kills 430,000 people each year. Some 70% of those who succumb are children under five.
2018
The world in 2018
The Economist
A new era of global demographic decline
Global growth to 2050 is not expected to decline dramatically from its average historical levels. However, regional growth rates are expected to begin to decline across every region after 2030. Much of the global growth in recent decades has been driven by population growth. Long-term population estimates, however, reveal that growth in the global population is expected to see a dramatic decline from an average of 1.3% in the 1980-2014 period to 0.5% across the 2015-50 period. The slowdown in the growth rate of the global working-age population will be even starker, with a drop to 0.3% in the 2015-50 period, compared with an average growth rate of 1.7% in the 1980-2014 period.
2015
Long-term macroeconomic forecasts Key trends to 2050
The Economist
A new demographic mix
The global population is aging. After rapid population increases during the 20th century, birth rates have stalled—and even reversed—in many regions. By 2035, one in five people worldwide will be 65 or older.
2017
Twelve Forces That Will Radically Change How Organizations Work
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
A new age of discovery for biology - An age of discovery is in prospect for biology, predicts Feng Zhang, neuroscience professor at MIT and co-inventor of CRISPR
In the era of modern science, hardly a week goes by without a big advance in biology. Although such progress will continue in 2018, it will not bring a cure for cancer, a remedy for Alzheimer’s or a pill to slow ageing. That is because biology, as a field, is largely still about exploring and not yet about engineering. Some of the greatest scientific successes of the past century have come by marrying science and engineering, from the Apollo mission to the Large Hadron Collider. Similarly, the Human Genome Project required both basic research and technology development. The disciplines at the heart of these successes—mathematics, engineering, and material and computer sciences—have propelled the technology economy, giving rise to nearly all of the most dominant companies in the world today.
2018
The world in 2018
The Economist