I’ve been in the holiday mood since right after Halloween. If you’re like me, holidays also mean thinking about the possibilities of the future. So, after watching Hocus Pocus and switching to Polar Express, I found myself doom-scrolling through economic forecasts.

The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook paints a sober picture. Global growth is expected to slow to just 3.1% in 2026, with the outlook described as “dim prospects” amid persistent downside risks. In plain English: the economic pause many of us felt this year isn’t ending anytime soon.