9. In other foreign policy news, the West will yield to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands that NATO curb its eastward spread, and will also promise not to sanction the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Infuriated by the ease of his victory, Putin will invade Ukraine anyway. The U.S. will threaten grave repercussions if he takes more of the country than he wants to.
10. Pfizer Inc.’s share price will exceed the forecasts of analysts, who’ve predicted 2022 revenues, fueled by vaccine sales, of around $100 billion. Furious that developers of successful products earn lots of money, Congress will pass a special tax surcharge on Big Pharma’s Covid-related revenues.
11. Speaking of Congress, here are next year’s election results: As widely predicted, the Democrats lose the House of Representatives, albeit by a margin much smaller than expected. To the relief of progressives, the party astonishes pollsters by maintaining a 50-50 Senate. Republicans flip Georgia, win North Carolina in a walk, and hold Pennsylvania by a hair. But Democrats flip Wisconsin and, to their own surprise, hang on in Nevada.
12. In other political news, former President Donald Trump will publicly condemn G.O.P. candidates who refuse to proclaim the 2020 election illegitimate. The result of this pressure will be ... the surprisingly strong Democratic vote mentioned in the previous paragraph.
13. Back to professional sports. The Green Bay Packers will claw their way past Tom Brady in the playoffs and win the Super Bowl over the Kansas City Chiefs. (I can’t keep picking Brady to win. I just can’t.)
14. Despite efforts to tighten security for Tor users, worries will grow that due to the interference of state actors, transactions are no longer secret. Added to longstanding concerns that Tor’s concealment protocols significantly narrow bandwidth and increase latency, the problems will lead users who want anonymity to seek alternatives, increasing pressure on more popular browsers to offer a mode that’s truly private.
15. In other technology news, as observers have predicted, Apple’s newest iPhone will not have a lightning port; instead, the device will charge only wirelessly. Puzzled consumers will hunt for charging stands, only to find them sold out everywhere. Congress will open an investigation into pricing policies of greedy charging stand manufacturers.
Meanwhile, facing a surge in consumer demand, automakers will spend lavishly as they redesign all vehicles to include multiple charging pads. Airlines will redo their planes. Hotels will redo their guest rooms. Buyers of new homes will demand built-in wireless chargers, and owners of existing homes will frantically renovate. So will apartment houses. And restaurants. And coffee shops. And medical waiting rooms. The ensuing iPhone-charger-driven economic boom will last throughout 2023 and beyond, all the way to the 2024 election, when ... oops, sorry, the crystal is cloudy again.
Have a safe and wondrous new year.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.