BREAKING: 331 S&P 500 companies mentioned AI during their Q2 2026 earnings calls, the 3rd-largest reading on record. This figure has more than quadrupled since Q3 2022. This also marks the 4th consecutive quarter in which more than 300 companies have mentioned AI. Not surprisingly, 97% of Information Technology firms mentioned AI during their Q2 earnings calls. Financials and Communication Services followed, at 91% and 90%, respectively. Only Utilities, Materials, and Consumer Staples had fewer than half of companies mentioning "AI." AI is dominating corporate conversations.

BREAKING: Global debt jumped by more than +$10 trillion in H1 2026, to a record $365 trillion. Emerging-market debt drove the increase, rising +$6.5 trillion, to a record $110 trillion, with most of the surge coming from governments and non-financial companies. Excluding China, emerging-market and developing-economy debt soared to a record $38 trillion. Global debt now stands at ~310% of global GDP, although the ratio has fallen -25 percentage points from its early-2021 peak, largely because inflation has boosted nominal GDP rather than because of deleveraging. Meanwhile, developed economies paid more than $3.3 trillion in interest on marketable government debt over the last year, exceeding estimated global spending on AI at $2.6 trillion, defense at $3.1 trillion, and clean energy at $2.3 trillion. This comes as annual government interest payments across the G7 alone surged +85% YoY. The global debt crisis is in uncharted territory.