My mother, a great worrywart herself, taught me to worry as well. And I feel it very much a responsibility to share my worries.

On the surface, perhaps correctly, one could argue there is little to worry about. Our economy is doing well with employment levels continuing to be strong, stock market indices are at or near record highs and locally there is every prospect for major projects to have a dramatic and positive impact on our region. So, I get the legitimacy of the argument: “What, me worry?”

However, such an attitude overlooks the very real geo-political crises with which the world is currently faced. I was recently lucky enough to participate in a small conference at which a person with an incredible grasp of world affairs was speaking. His stature gives him access to the most senior global decision makers and therefore insights very few would possess. We talked through the risks with the Russia/Ukraine war, the conflict in the Middle East, the continuing and increasing threat of a belligerent North Korea and the prospect for China moving against Taiwan.

Dealing with these in reverse order, there was some consensus President Xi has his hands full with internal issues. The Chinese economy is struggling with historically low economic growth, real estate is still in deep trouble, local governments are heavily indebted, the one-child policy is beginning to hit very negatively on demographics and the AI race against America is a huge focus.

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