Making 2017 predictions are nearly as ubiquitous as diet commercials, and way more fun! Here are some 2017 predictions from a highly respected international consultancy and a renowned psychic.

Predictions: A Management Consultant

A.T. Kearney’s Global Business Policy Council recently announced 10 predictions for 2017 that may impact global businesses.

1. A crippling cyber-attack will be launched on critical infrastructure in a major economy.
2. Brexit and Trump’s election will inspire more wins at the ballot box for European populists. Keep an eye on elections in The Netherlands, France and Germany, along with a possible election in Italy.
3. Tensions between the United States, Russia and China will grow as each pursues a muscular, nationalistic foreign policy, while other nations, especially in Europe, turn inward.
4. Anti-globalization will continue to fragment the global economy, resulting in lower economic growth and increased resistance to immigration.
5. Frontier markets will make little progress in the face of trade protectionism, increased interest rates and a stronger dollar.
6. Global climate change policy coordination will suffer, with the U.S. seeking to cancel its ratification of the Paris Agreement or simply ignoring it.
7. The Zika pandemic will go global as governments and other organizations struggle with their responses, and a vaccine fails to emerge.
8. Virtual reality will proliferate at an unprecedented rate, expanding well beyond gamers to include social interactions. Expect its demographic usage to widen as it spreads to mobile platforms and becomes less costly.
9. Oil prices will remain below $60 per barrel.
10. The new space race will accelerate between private companies, China and multi-country collaborations.

Predictions: The Psychic

It’s easy to dismiss the psychic, but what if it’s a psychic whose 2016 predictions included Brexit, Trump’s victory and terrorist attacks at a luxury resort and art gallery?

For 2017, Craig Hamilton-Parker, a British seer, predicts, among other things:

• Denmark and Italy pulling out of the EU amid a crash in the Euro currency
• A volcanic eruption in Italy
• Economic chaos in Europe with riots in Rome, Madrid, Berlin, Paris and Prague
• A volcanic eruption in Iceland causes a toxic gas cloud over Norway
• Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, falls from power
• Terrorists stage a toxic or biological attack on a school in Europe
• A worldwide flu epidemic
• An assassination and kidnap attempt on the pope in the Vatican

If his list is a bit gloomy, Hamilton-Parker also offers hope, predicting that this year and next there will be miraculous, spiritual things revealed that spell the end of this Age of Materialism.

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