Meeting

World Economic Update

Wednesday, January 7, 2026
Yuriko Nakao/Reuters
Speakers

Chief Economist and Head of Global Investment Research, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Co-Chief Investment Officer, Bridgewater Associates, LP

Professor of Law, Yale Law School; CFR Term Member

Presider

Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations

The World Economic Update highlights the quarter’s most important and emerging trends. Discussions cover changes in the global marketplace with special emphasis on current economic events and their implications for U.S. policy.

This series is presented by the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies and is dedicated to the life and work of the distinguished economist Martin Feldstein.

Top Stories on CFR

Venezuela

President Trump has set his sights on Venezuelan oil, but there are many economic and political obstacles to significantly ramping up the country’s oil production.

United States

In the context of global threats to the United States, a long overdue defense modernization bill, and the ambitions of Trump’s signature defense priorities, perhaps the budget request should have been expected.

Conflict Prevention

The world continues to grow more violent and disorderly. According to CFR’s annual conflict risk assessment, American foreign policy experts are acutely concerned about conflict-related threats to U.S. national security and international stability that are likely to emerge or intensify in 2026. In this report, surveyed experts rate global conflicts by their likelihood and potential harm to U.S. interests and, for the first time, identify opportunities for preventive action.