Stock markets had a stellar run in 2025. From North America to Europe and Asia, markets racked up some of the biggest gains in years. The globally-focused MSCI ACWI Ex-US index had its strongest performance since 2009, when the global financial crisis was in full swing. The index, which tracks non-US stocks in more than 40 markets, was on Wednesday on track to finish 2025 up about 30 percent, compared with the nearly 18 percent return of the benchmark S&P 500. The bullish streak marks a break from the decade-plus trend of US stocks dominating global indexes.

Malicious attackers have turned to AI to invade enterprise networks. To combat attacks, organizations need to embrace AI in turn. Join this VB Live event to learn more about the powerful, proactive AI security solutions that are enabling intelligent threat detection and response, security operations and maintenance, and more. Check off another consequence of COVID: It's directly responsible for the uptick in security risks for organizations. Many companies were forced to accelerate digital transformation, adopting brand-new technologies and policies to meet pandemic challenges.

Making matters worse, improvements in infrastructure and technology have made telecoms largely comparable in terms of coverage, connection speeds, and service pricing, meaning companies must transform their businesses if they hope to compete. For many global telecoms, shoring up market share under today's pressures while also future-proofing operations means having to invest in AI. The telecom industry is expected to invest $36.7 billion annually in AI software, hardware, and services by 2025, according to Tractica. Through its ability to parse large data sets in a contextual manner, provide requested information or analysis, and trigger actions, AI can help telecoms cut costs and streamline by digitizing their operations. In practice, this means leveraging the increasingly vast gold mine of data generated by customers that passes through wireless networks -- the amount of data that moves through AT&T's wireless network has increased 470,000% since 2007, for example.

Making matters worse, improvements in infrastructure and technology have made telecoms largely comparable in terms of coverage, connection speeds, and service pricing, meaning companies must transform their businesses if they hope to compete. For many global telecoms, shoring up market share under today's pressures while also future-proofing operations means having to invest in AI. The telecom industry is expected to invest $36.7 billion annually in AI software, hardware, and services by 2025, according to Tractica. Through its ability to parse large data sets in a contextual manner, provide requested information or analysis, and trigger actions, AI can help telecoms cut costs and streamline by digitizing their operations. In practice, this means leveraging the increasingly vast gold mine of data generated by customers that passes through wireless networks -- the amount of data that moves through AT&T's wireless network has increased 470,000% since 2007, for example.

Over the past few decades, technology has dramatically increased the productivity of the average worker, and through them, the profitability of the average large business. It's a trend that has payed enormous dividends for those companies that have been able to adapt, but in the past couple of years the trend seems to have slowed, and corporate profits have stagnated. Industry researchers from Accenture Research and Frontier Economics recently forecasted a dramatic return to growth in corporate productivity and profit. Called How A.I. Boosts Industry Profits and Innovation, their report foresees a number of improvements to profitability, thanks to A.I. moving into the workplace. The most dramatic predictions of the bunch have to do with overall growth in the economy.