| Trends and forecasts that are headed in the right direction. Social saunas will make people less lonely: I see hope in the “New Sauna Wave,” which established itself in Europe and now is gaining momentum in the US. Places like the rapidly growing nonprofit London Community Sauna Baths have all the health benefits of the hot air and cold plunges that manoverse podcasts espouse, but are primarily focused on community use and socializing. Even a little social contact goes a long way toward longevity and happiness. — Madison Darbyshire, Bloomberg Weekend Non-alcoholic drinks will keep getting better: Sales of zero-proof beer, wine and spirits in the US alone are approaching $1 billion a year, according to NielsenIQ. The industry is expected to keep growing, driven by increasing numbers of “flexi-drinkers,” who imbibe alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages depending on the occasion, and by Gen Zers choosing to mitigate their alcohol consumption. — Hannah Elliott, Bloomberg Pursuits Your kids will spend less time on their phones — in Australia at least. World-first legislation banning under-16s from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other digital platforms comes into force Down Under on Dec. 10. While tech-savvy kids will no doubt find ways to get around some of the restrictions, it can only help cut screen time. If it works, expect others to follow: Similar legislation is in the works in New Zealand and Denmark. — Ed Johnson, Bloomberg Weekend GLP-1 makers are dropping prices and will help patients be healthier: Novo Nordisk has been steadily expanding access to its star drug, Ozempic. Recent deals with CVS, Walmart and Costco offer monthly out-of-pocket prescriptions for $499, around half the list price. The drug has been credited with not only weight management but improving cardiovascular health, kidney disease and substance disorders. The price cut is also reducing the use of unregulated gray market drugs. — Tiffany Ap, Bloomberg Weekend  The “babel fish” is here: Douglas Adams’ most enduring and impossible invention — a small animal you can put in your ear that translates whatever you’re hearing into your native tongue — is now here, in the form of Apple’s AirPods Pro 3. Within a few short years, we’ll live in a world where everybody has simultaneous-translation bots in their ears, allowing an exponential leap in cross-cultural conversation and understanding. Learning a language is incredibly hard, just like losing weight. If technology can make both vastly easier, that’s a clear win for society. — Felix Salmon, Bloomberg Pursuits Bike lanes are bustling: North Americans may still be known for their attachment to cars, but they’re increasingly coming around to healthier, more sustainable alternatives. For at least the fifth year running, use of shared bikes and scooters keeps going up in Canada, the US and Mexico. Scooters on sidewalks and too-fast e-bikes are valid concerns; it’s too bad the very infrastructure that could improve the streets for everyone is being undercut by hostile governments. But as far as demand goes, the riders have spoken. — Nicole Flatow, Bloomberg CityLab  The stock rally looks poised to continue: After taking a battering following President Donald Trump’s April tariff announcement, stocks have been following the US economy higher. Economic data have come in above expectations more often than not in the last three months. It makes sense then that stocks are hitting repeated record highs on the back of an AI investment cycle that shows no sign of stopping. — Edward Harrison, Macro Strategist and author of The Everything Risk newsletter Prefab homes will make building houses cheaper: Factories have long promised a better way to construct new buildings. Pre-fabricated modular construction — in which segments of buildings are built in factories and assembled on site — can cut construction times from years to months. New experiments in fabricating hospitals, rebuilding areas after natural disasters and providing rapid rehousing for homeless people are demonstrating the potential savings. — Kriston Capps, Bloomberg CityLab Decentralized energy is gaining momentum as Big Tech’s push for resilient, distributed power elevates its strategic importance. Bloomberg’s Decentralized Energy Index (BDEAET) is up 60% year-to-date. Think virtual power plants, microgrids, energy storage systems and small-scale solar. These systems can eliminate single points of failure, integrate diverse power sources, and increase scalability and flexibility. Beyond strong returns, these systems drive meaningful social impact, bringing reliable electricity to off-grid communities — Breanne Dougherty and Jessica Lin, Bloomberg Intelligence Car crashes are going to become much less common: More than 1 million people around the world die from road injuries each year – drivers, passengers and pedestrians. But that figure is likely to fall if robotaxis continue to expand. The data from Waymo is encouraging: Their vehicles crash much, much less often than human drivers. And unlike human drivers, there’s the possibility that they continue to get better. — Walter Frick, Bloomberg Weekend  A whole new generation will get into motorsport: Motorsport is set to grow by $11 billion between 2025 and 2029, according to market research firm Technavio. Led by F1, with its $2 billion sponsorship market, the sport in general is growing, igniting interest in unsung corners like the World Rally Championship and Extreme H’s hydrogen-powered World Cup. Better yet? The audiences that have seen the most growth are also the most valuable: the young and the feminine. Some 43% of total F1 fans are under 35 years old, up from 30% in 2018; 42% of fans are female, versus 37% in 2018, according to F1. — Hannah Elliott, Bloomberg Pursuits Tennis isn’t going anywhere: There was reason to believe tennis would retire or at least take a medical time-out after two of its greatest superstars hung up their racquets; on the contrary the only sport with “love” in it is on a tear. A new batch of outstanding players – including Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and others — are playing scintillating tennis and attracting robust followings on social media. In short: More people are playing tennis, more outlets are covering it and more money is being made from it than ever. — Brendan Newman, Bloomberg Weekend We’re figuring out a better way to sauté: Like everything else, gas stoves got dragged into the US culture wars; talk of bans from safety regulators got conservatives fired up about the American right to burn fossil fuels in kitchen appliances. But anyone familiar with induction cooktops will immediately grasp their superiority: They’re faster, more controllable, and so, so much easier to clean. The lack of indoor air pollutants? That’s just gravy. — David Dudley, Bloomberg CityLab Libraries will become engines for neighborhood revival: Cities across the US are using libraries to revitalize “sleepy” downtowns, with multi-use branches that offer everything from tool lending to yoga. In Donelson, Tennessee, a sleek new library branch transformed a once-overlooked strip mall into a walkable town center. In Cedar Park, Texas, a light-filled library has already drawn half a million visitors in under a year. With bold design, community-driven programming and green infrastructure, new and renovated libraries will likely play a bigger role in economic development and civic pride. — Arvelisse Bonilla Ramos, Bloomberg News We’ve owned up to the economic malaise: For many years, as free trade ravaged blue-collar jobs and soaring immigration added to strain on schools, hospitals and housing for low-income areas, economists blithely asserted that the big picture was positive and local problems could be worked out. Trump’s election in the US, as well as surging support for Reform in the UK and National Rally in France, has revealed the gap between the optimism of the economics textbook and the malaise confronting many living with the consequences of its prescriptions. The problem has been identified. That’s a first step to working on the solution. — Tom Orlik, Bloomberg Economics Women’s sports will only get bigger: 2025 was a big year for women’s pro sports leagues, with large-scale events including the European Soccer Championships and the Cricket and Rugby Union World Cups. The Lionesses’ victory in the Euros this summer drew a record live audience of 12 million people across all BBC platforms — I’ve watched at a pub and the joy was deafening. Arsenal, my local team, is also staging every Women’s Super League home match at Emirates Stadium this season. The momentum is sure to build in the US too, thanks to Netflix’s acquisition of the US rights to the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031. — Nicole Torres, Bloomberg Pursuits Coffee is getting even better: I don’t know where you are in the world, but I can tell you this: The coffee where you are is the best that it’s ever been, and it’s only getting better. Sometimes ambitious new third-wave coffee shops open up in areas that used to only have over-roasted gutrot, sometimes a McDonalds or a Dunkin’ will revamp its entire supply chain and make its offering enviably good. Sure, better coffee invariably means more expensive coffee. But this is one luxury all of us can afford. — Felix Salmon, Bloomberg Pursuits When the world feels unstable, innovation often follows: Periods of geopolitical tension are often associated with arms races, trade barriers and conflict. But there is an upside: They have often fueled leaps in technology — from World War I’s advances in aviation, medicine and communications to the Cold War’s space race and technology revolution. Today, geopolitical friction is mobilizing vast investments in AI, quantum computing, biotechnology, semiconductors and other technologies — proof that volatility can sometimes be a catalyst for progress. — Jennifer Welch, Bloomberg GeoEconomics What’s making you optimistic? Send your predictions, trends and ideas to weekend@bloomberg.net. |
