25 talking points for better conversation at cocktails based on what I found interesting this week.

1. India will become the world's most populous country in 2023.

2. In 2021, the US Dollar was used in 40% of all global payments by total transaction value. In second place was the Euro. The RMB came in fourth — just 2.7% — behind even Sterling.

3. France plans its biggest-ever military exercise in 2023, involving 12,000 troops and including NATO allies.

4. Estimates suggest North Korea stole approximately $1 billion in the first nine months of 2022 from decentralized crypto exchanges alone.

5. Canadian MPs have agreed to probe allegations that China covertly funded 2019 election candidates in an attempted campaign of foreign influence.

6. Today, Africa has 1.4 billion people.

7. By the end of this century, the UN projects that Africa, which had less than one-tenth of the world's population in 1950, will be home to 3.9 billion people, or 40% of humanity.

8. By 2050, about 40% of all the people under 18 in the world will be African, a proportion that will reach half by the century's end.

9. Goldman Sachs estimates that a US ban on chip exports to China on national security grounds will shave around a quarter of a percentage point off China's economic growth in 2023.

10. All 14,000 University of Barcelona undergrad and postgrad students will take a mandatory climate crisis course from the 2024 academic year. It will also devise a training program on climate issues for its 6,000 academic staff.

11. In 2016, British stocks collectively were worth $1.5 trillion more than France.

12. Italian archaeologists announced an extraordinary discovery of more than 20 bronze statues created over 2,000 years ago, almost perfectly preserved in the mud of hot springs in Tuscany.

13. Singapore is the only nation currently that permits the commercial sale of lab-grown meat.

14. EVs dominate the list of finalists for 2023 North American Car, Truck, and SUV like never before, holding six of the nine spots.

15. Dementia rates are declining: The prevalence of dementia among Americans 65+ fell from 12.2% in 2000 to 8.5% in 2016—nearly a one-third drop, according to a RAND study.

16. Disney World's most expensive one-day tickets for Magic Kingdom will soon cost $189, up from $159.

17. In November alone, 48k+ tech workers have been let go — many from Twitter and Meta.

18. Bird, a scooter company, said it might need to file for bankruptcy if it can't raise more money.

19. 68% of US adults favor legalizing marijuana, tied for a record high.

20. Amazon launches new telehealth service.

21. 244: Number of Lexus dealerships in the US.

22. Steve Jobs' old Birkenstocks sold for nearly $220,000.

23. Calgary Flames' Harvey the Hound is the worst mascot in the NHL, according to hockey fans.

24. New York City FC will finally have a permanent home at a 25,000-capacity venue in Willets Point - Queens.

25. Senegal has announced that Sadio Mané is out of the World Cup with a leg injury.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc