| I recently spoke to a group of investors that couldn't think of a single positive trend in the United States right now. They talked about the national debt, the weak dollar, the war in Ukraine, the lack of affordability, and other problems that the corporate media obsesses over each day. They would be optimistic about the future, they told me, if it were warranted. But they couldn't think of anything - not one thing - that would justify it. So I mentioned a few things about 2025 that they may have overlooked: - U.S. economic growth hit 4.3% in the third quarter, the highest level in two years.
- Global GDP growth rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
- Inflation, after hitting a 40-year high in 2022, is under 3%.
- Total U.S. household net worth is at a record. (This is skewed by high-income households, but the Federal Reserve also reported that the net worth of the bottom 50% of households is up 112% since 2020.)
- Household leverage is near its lowest level since the 1960s, with net worth high relative to debt.
- The southern border is secure. The 2017 tax cuts were extended. And interest rates are coming down.
- The U.S. generated over half its electricity from non-carbon sources, and battery storage targets were exceeded.
- U.S. murders took the biggest drop on record.
- Overdose deaths continued a steady decline.
- And more than 20 states enacted laws banning or restricting cellphone use in K-12 classrooms, so children could focus on learning.
- On the international stage, the war in Gaza ground to a halt. The remaining hostages were returned. Hamas and Hezbollah were greatly weakened. And Iran's nuclear weapons program was destroyed.
- Bolivian voters elected centrist Rodrigo Paz as president, ending two decades of socialist misrule. The economist campaigned on the slogan "capitalism for all."
- And 8 million people worldwide escaped extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $3 a day.
- In the world of science, clinical trials for new cancer immunotherapies showed promising survival outcomes, and AI-powered diagnostic tools became widely adopted, enabling faster and more accurate disease detection.
- GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy continue to revolutionize the treatment of diabetes and contributed to a drop in the national obesity rate.
- The FDA approved a twice-a-year injectable shot for HIV prevention, the closest development to an AIDS vaccine.
- Scientists achieved breakthroughs in genetic therapies, including the first-ever treatment for Huntington's disease.
- The FDA cleared new blood tests that show promise in detecting early signs of Alzheimer's disease years before symptoms emerge, allowing for earlier treatment and care planning.
- Quantum computing made its debut in mainstream industries, optimizing complex logistics for global supply chains. (Google announced that a new machine could run an algorithm 13,000 times faster than a top supercomputer would be able to in the realm of classical physics.)
Of course, some of the best things in 2025 were those that didn't happen. The U.S. is not at war. The Trump tariffs did not tank the economy. And no hurricanes made landfall in the United States for the first time in a decade. I often wonder how the typical news junkie makes sense of the world. They see the terrible headlines. And they see the stock market hitting new all-time highs. When stocks sell off - as they will periodically - many will throw in the towel and sell at a loss. Why? Because the market makes no sense to them. They don't understand the present and, therefore, have no confidence in the future. If you want to increase your returns in 2026, here's my advice. Don't just upgrade your information. Elevate your perspective. Good investing, Alex | 
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