Juggling Dynamite

The winds of change are blowing around the globe.

74 countries representing half of the world’s population held national elections last year.

Many of them — including the US — saw a replacement of the ruling incumbent by the opposition, often one promising a more nationalistic agenda.

With so many new leaders and their accompanying new policies, what is the outlook for the global economy and financial markets in 2025?

To discuss, we have the great fortune of speaking today with Richard Koo, Chief Economist at the Nomura Research Institute as well as author of numerous best-selling books on economics.Here is a direct video link.

For the last 50 years, Americans have flocked to the warm, sunny South. But, as climate change makes extreme heat, hurricanes, wildfire and flooding worse, will that trend ever STOP? Well, some regions might just be showing signs of a reversal, and they hold lessons for what other areas might expect as the world continues to warm. Weathered is a show hosted by weather expert Maiya May and produced by Balance Media that helps explain the most common natural disasters, what causes them, how they’re changing, and what we can do to prepare. Here is a direct video link.

The Great Fire of London in 1666 prompted the creation of the first fire insurance companies, which later evolved into broader property insurance. Home insurance became more widespread in the 19th century, particularly in the United States and Europe, as urbanization and industrialization increased.

The Hartford Fire Insurance Company began offering policies in the U.S. in 1852. Post-World War II suburbanization (1950s–1960s) saw a significant increase in home and vehicle ownership, driving the widespread adoption of home and auto insurance.

The availability of affordable insurance has shaped capital allocation decisions and enabled complacency about property ownership and risk exposure.

A world where insurance is prohibitively expensive and hard to obtain is a new paradigm that should increasingly change how we allocate resources and value assets.

As Californians lose their homes and their livelihoods, finances will become a crucial issue for many people needing to rebuild and carry on. Bloomberg Business reporter Leslie Kaufman says this is an “existential test” for the state’s insurance system. She tells Hari Sreenivasan what it might mean for Americans as we face a future of increasingly extreme weather events. Here is a direct video link.