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WCRC Intelligence

The AI trade economy: chips and servers now carry almost half of world trade growth

The World Trade Organization has doubled its 2026 goods-trade forecast, and the reason is artificial intelligence. Semiconductors, servers and other AI-enabling goods made up 47% of merchandise trade growth in the first half of the year.

By WCRC Leaders Editorial Desk

The AI adoption gap: what the World Bank's new numbers say about emerging markets

Emerging Asia makes much of the world's AI hardware. Its firms and workers use far less of the technology than their counterparts in advanced economies, and new World Bank data show how wide that gap is.

By WCRC Leaders Editorial Desk

The $6 trillion question: is AI spending outrunning AI revenue?

Bain & Company says AI must generate about $6 trillion a year by 2031 to pay for the computing it needs. Set against this year's capital spending and the revenue of the leading labs, the figure shows how much of the AI investment case still rests on markets that do not yet exist.

By WCRC Leaders Editorial Desk

AI-native vs AI-retrofit: the growth gap incumbents should study

Companies built around AI are growing roughly three times faster than software firms adding AI to existing products, according to data in the State of AI Report 2026. The finding is striking. It is also easy to misread.

By WCRC Leaders Editorial Desk

Factories expanding, households retreating: the US confidence split

American manufacturers reported a ninth straight month of expansion in September. In the same month, consumer confidence fell sharply. Leaders planning for 2027 need to decide which signal to trust.

By WCRC Leaders Editorial Desk

Boards are deploying AI faster than they can secure it

Two surveys published in early October point to the same governance gap. AI agents are already in production across most large organisations, while the controls built to manage them lag far behind.

By WCRC Leaders Editorial Desk