Of Interest
you are currently viewing:ICYMI: Report Shows 'Annoyance Economy' Rips Off Consumers for $165 Billion AnnuallyMarch 4, 2026--Spam and robocalls cost Americans over $32 billion annually, junk fees cost consumers $90 billion annually, and health care headaches cost $41 billion.
Groundwork Policy Fellow Chad Maisel and Stanford economist Neale Mahoney find that tactics such as obstructing cancellations can raise corporate profits by up to 200%. The annoyances are increasingly inescapable: Americans receive more than 130 million scam and illegal marketing calls each day, and over 20 billion spam texts each month. By draining money, time, and energy, the Annoyance Economy amplifies the cost of daily life and hits families hardest who are already stretched thin. As Americans face an affordability crisis, the Trump administration has let the "Annoyance Economy" flourish scrapping airline refund rules, repealing CFPB overdraft protections, and cutting enforcement against scams and abusive practices. Source: groundworkcollaborative.org |
5 Things to Know About GEMs
February 9, 2026--The Global Emerging Markets Risk Database (GEMs) Consortium is a joint initiative of 29 multilateral development banks and development finance institutions that pools 40 years of credit risk data on their lending operations in emerging markets.
It provides the related statistics at no cost to members and to the public at gemsriskdatabase.org and on other platforms like Bloomberg and Data360.
Mapped: Which Countries Rely Most on Imports
February 4, 2026-Key Takeaways
Globally, imported goods and services are equal to 28% of GDP.
Despite importing $3.4 trillion of goods, the U.S. has one of the lowest import-to-GDP ratios because of its massive and diverse economy.
FSB warns of financial stability challenges in repo markets
February 4, 2026-Repo markets are critical to the functioning of the global financial system and have been involved in several recent episodes of stress, including the March 2020 dash for cash and September 2022 gilt market episode.
Report warns that leverage, demand and supply imbalances, and high levels of concentration within repo markets have the potential to create strains.
The WFE creates Listing Stringency Index that enables comparison of markets
February 4, 2026-The World Federation of Exchanges, the global industry association for exchanges and CCPs, has published a paper introducing its Listing Stringency Index (LSI), a standardised framework that can be used to analyse the relative stringency of listing regimes and make informed decisions.
Mapped: Which Countries Are Expected to Grow the Most in 2026?
January 27, 2026--Key Takeaways
Guyana is forecast to see 23% real GDP growth in 2026, the highest rate globally, supported by a massive oil boom.
Global real GDP growth is projected to be 3.1% in 2026, slightly lower than the 3.2% forecast for 2025.
Mapped: AI Adoption Rates by Country
January 22, 2026--Key Takeaways
The UAE has an AI adoption rate of 64.0%, the highest globally in 2025.
Even though the U.S. is a global leader in AI infrastructure and frontier model development, it ranks 24th in AI adoption based on analysis from Microsoft.
'Frontier Market' Economies Haven't Lived Up to Potential Since 2010
January 20, 2026--Investment growth has halved, more than in other low- and middle-income economies
"Frontier market" economies-a cluster of mostly middle-income economies regarded as the proving ground for the next generation of economic superstars-have largely failed to live up to their potential in recent decades, a new World Bank study has found.
Investing in Blue Foods: Innovation and Partnerships for Impact
January 19, 2026--The future of global food systems hinges on their ability to harness the full spectrum of natural and human potential. Thisa href="https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Investing_in_Blue_Foods_2026.pdf" TARGET="_blank">report focuses on one of the most promising food systems opportunities: the development of the blue foods sector, which has the capacity to drive economic growth, improve nutrition and strengthen climate resilience.
G20 Growth Outlook: 2026
January 14, 2026-The Group of 20 (G-20) constitutes around 85 per cent of the world output-bringing together the world's largest advanced and emerging economies. Any shift(s) in the growth rates across these economies offer us a glimpse into the broader trajectory of the world economy - which is set for uneven growth in 2026.
Global Cooperation is Showing Resilience in the Face of Geopolitical Headwinds
January 9, 2026-The Global Cooperation Barometer 2026 reveals strong pressures on multilateral institutions are causing global cooperation to evolve rather than retreat.
While multilateral forms of cooperation declined, smaller and more agile coalitions of countries -and, at times, companies - were instrumental in maintaining overall cooperation levels.
