A month into 2023, the gloom and doom news cycle has already covered a lot of ground. With the exception of Apple, every company on the FAANG list (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft) announced sweeping layoffs in January. We’ve lost (to date) at least 44 unicorns. And the stock market has looked a little like a holiday yo-yo routine — with all sorts of greens and reds as stocks move up and down. The news had almost everyone stepping into the year with plenty of caution and some trepidation.
But we also have sources for optimism about 2023. For one, we’re starting to see evidence that the recession may be milder than expected, at least in the near term. And the World Health Organization has declared that we are transitioning out of the global COVID-19 pandemic state, offering hope in many areas — including the economy. Even if we put current events aside, history and human nature provide good reasons to believe that the economy, innovation, and our investments will be fine if we navigate them with acumen and care.
