The World Bank's chief economist, Indermit Gill, urged developing economies to leverage lower-cost AI tools to drive growth in sectors like health and education, despite facing the weakest average growth performance in three decades.
South Korea and Taiwan now account for over half of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, a dramatic shift from a year ago when China and India dominated. This change is driven by an AI-fueled surge in semiconductor exports and corporate earnings in both economies, leading to significant stock market rallies.
Russian G20 sherpa Denis Agafonov highly values the Global South's contribution to the G20, noting their increasingly confident voice and role in driving economic growth, following a sherpa meeting in Washington.
China's high savings rate and current account surplus are misunderstood as detrimental; instead, they finance worthwhile investments abroad, increasing China's wealth and future income, contrary to G7 and IMF views advocating for reduced savings and consumption-led growth.
The World Bank projects a 16% increase in commodity prices for 2026, driven by the US-Israeli war against Iran, soaring energy and fertilizer costs, and record metal prices. Developing economies will see inflation average 5.1%—a full percentage point higher than pre-war expectations—while growth slows to 3.6%. The report warns 70% of commodity importers and over 60% of exporters worldwide could experience weaker growth than projected in January.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol warned on France Inter that the situation around Iran has triggered the largest oil crisis in history. He cautioned that when combined with the gas crisis in relations with Russia, it becomes a colossal crisis affecting not just oil and gas but also fertilizers, petrochemicals and sulfur, with developing economies and employment most at risk.
