Global investment opportunities are set to widen meaningfully in 2026, as easing monetary policy, a weakening US dollar, and profit growth outside the United States reshape capital flows, according to a Franklin Templeton report.

The asset manager report titled ‘Global Investment Outlook 2026 and Beyond’

said that global markets are entering a phase where returns are likely to “broaden” across regions and asset classes,

moving away from the US-centric leadership seen recently, even as American equities—particularly technology stocks—remain resilient.” “In 2026,

opportunities across global capital markets,

we foresee broadening opportunities across global capital markets, driven by attractive profits growth outside the United States and by global monetary policy easing.”

the report said. Franklin Templeton identified three cyclical forces defining the near-term landscape—widening, steepening, and weakening.

‘Broadening’ reflects expanding opportunities across geographies and asset classes; ‘steepening’ points to yield curves as short-term rates fall faster than long-term yields; and ‘weakening’ refers to the US dollar.

which the firm expects to remain under pressure. Yield curves are likely to steepen as central banks cut policy rates, reducing the appeal of cash and pushing investors towards equities, credit and longer-duration fixed income. “

Falling short-term interest rates will incentivise investors to move out of cash holdings and into risky assets.”

The report said that cyclically sensitive sectors, such as finance, industry, and smaller companies, could benefit.

The US Federal Reserve resumed rate cuts in September 2025 after a nine-month pause and is expected to continue easing into the first half of 2026.

even as inflation remains above target. Franklin Templeton said this policy backdrop reinforces its broadening thesis, encouraging investors to look beyond traditional safe assets.

The US dollar has already fallen about 10% on a trade-weighted basis this year, and the report suggested the decline may not be over. “

Weakening of the US dollar tends to reinforce a broadening of returns across capital markets, by region, sector, and asset class.”

it said, highlighting positive implications for emerging market debt and equities.

Looking beyond 2026, Franklin Templeton outlined three long-term themes likely to shape portfolios over the coming half-decade—the age of intelligence,

The report also highlighted the mainstreaming of private markets and the emergence of big government.

Artificial intelligence remains central to the long-term investment case, but the report stressed that AI deployment is still in its early stages. “

Its contribution to growth, social welfare, and investment returns is just beginning.”

Franklin Templeton spoke, pointing to continued opportunities in data centres, advanced semiconductors, and AI-enabling infrastructure.

A key constraint—and opportunity—lies in energy. The need to feed AI’s vast energy appetite is one of the most compelling investment themes.

The report noted, flagging rising electricity demand and spillover benefits for engineering, industrial metals and power infrastructure. Private markets are also expected to play a larger role as investors search for income and diversification in a lower-rate environment.

Franklin Templeton identified commercial real estate debt, infrastructure, and secondary private equity offerings as his preferred areas as cash yields declined. Simultaneously,

The report cautioned that an increase in government intervention could potentially reduce returns. “We have entered an era of big and intrusive government,

which risks lowering returns and increasing risk across capital markets over the remainder of this decade.”

it said. Franklin Templeton said investors will need to adapt their portfolios to a world where leadership is dispersed.

Policy uncertainty remains elevated, and innovation—particularly in technology, private assets, and digital finance—continues to be the dominant long-term driver of returns.

A makeshift memorial has been erected to dozens of people killed in last night’s massive ski resort fire, which killed almost 40 people.

Two teams of police officers, some carrying large bags, entered the cordon shortly after 7 pm local time.

Mourners are leaving flowers and lighting candles at a growing makeshift memorial in a circle on the Rue Central near the bar tonight.

Many people were seen making the sign of the cross in tribute, including dozens of bouquets.

Media from all over Europe, including Italy and France, have begun to arrive at the site, next to a small petrol station in the middle of Crans-Montana.

Swiss ski resort fire update:

At least 47 people died in a Crans-Montana bar blaze. Read more.

‘I escaped a Swiss ski resort fire by breaking a window – but my friends are dead or missing.’

A woman lays flowers near the spot where a fire broke out in a crowded bar (Image: AFP via Getty Images). )

Despite the -4°C temperatures, people stood and stared at the scene for several minutes, clearly stunned.

Hundreds of people, many with tears in their eyes, have gathered around a makeshift memorial near the bar.

They stand in a circle around it, more than 20 people deep in some places. Others stand on top of a nearby parking garage and an elevated intersection to get the view.

A temporary monument emerged in Crans-Montana (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Despite the crowds, it is incredibly quiet, with most people standing silent, while others occasionally whisper.

They include 42-year-old Ivan Wiesen and his wife Julianne, who drove about 20 minutes from their home to show solidarity with the victims.

Ivan, 40, told the Mirror: “We saw emergency vehicles at around 2am this morning. It’s very terrible. People here are in shock. I think a lot of young people have died.”

People crying at the scene of the fire at “Le Constellation” bar (Image: AP)

Mourners can be seen hugging each other in a circle, some in tears. Antonio Somma, an 18-year-old ski instructor, is a regular at the bar and lives a few yards away.

He and his friends were on their way from the second bar when the accident happened.

Antonio told the Mirror: “A friend of mine was in the bar. He is in a coma in a hospital in Stuttgart. He is 18 years old.

Local residents Julian and Evan Wyson are heartbroken (Image: Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)

“I found out this morning. It was difficult to hear. We don’t have any information other than that he’s in a coma, but we’re hopeful he’ll get better. We arrived at 1.30 a.m.,

shortly after it happened. It was shocking. We didn’t believe it was real at first.

A mourner gestures in front of flowers and candles placed near the spot where a fire broke out in a crowded bar (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

“I go to this bar often. It’s usually for people over 18 but we know they let underage people in.

A friend of my mother’s works at the hospital and says some of the victims are between 14 and 17 years old. Everyone here is hurting. We’re here to think about the people inside.

I don’t know how we’ll recover.”

Witnesses said they saw waitresses come in with flares before the fire broke out (Image: X)

Nearly 40 people have been killed and 115 injured, most of them seriously, after a fire broke out during New Year’s celebrations at a bar in a Swiss alpine resort, police said.

Authorities did not immediately have an accurate count of the dead.

Mourners gather in front of flowers and candles placed near the site (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The Crans-Montana resort is known as an international ski and golf resort, and overnight,

Its crowded Le Constellation bar transformed from a scene of revelry into the site of possibly one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies.

Valais canton police commander Friedrich Geisler said during a news conference that work was underway to identify the victims and notify their families, adding that the community was “devastated”.

A video shows the ceiling catching fire after a waiter allegedly placed a sparkler in a champagne bottle.’ (Image: X)

Valais canton Attorney General Beatrice Pillaud said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire, which broke out less than two hours after midnight Thursday. Experts had not yet been able to go inside the debris.

Scenery in Crans-Montana (Image: Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)

“There is no question of any attack at any time,” Ms Pillaud said. He later said it was “completely unknown at this time”

how many people were in the bar, adding that its maximum capacity would be part of the investigation.

When asked if anyone had been arrested in connection with the fire, he said, “At this point, we don’t have any suspects.”

“The investigation has been launched, not against anyone, but to shed light on the circumstances of this dramatic fire.”

Mexican authorities have seized dozens of motorcycles worth about $40 million in the search for a former Olympic snowboarder on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list.

Canadian Ryan Wedding, 44, has been accused of running a multinational drug trafficking network and also faces charges in connection with the murder of a federal witness.

US officials believe he is staying in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel, and up to $15 million (£11 million) has been offered for information leading to his arrest.

Mexican authorities executed multiple search warrants this month and seized a large number of motorcycles believed to belong to Wedding.

The FBI estimated the bike’s value at around $40 million (£30 million) in a statement this week.

Other items seized include artefacts and medals.

The FBI said the seizures were made with the assistance of Mexican authorities.

the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Los Angeles Police Department.

Wedding competed for Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he finished 24th in the men’s parallel giant slalom event.

The former player has been compared to other famous drug kingpins, including Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Pablo Escobar.

Last month, a wedding took place, and the accused is charged with conspiring to murder a witness in Colombia to help avoid extradition to America in January.

Ten other defendants were arrested on charges in the federal indictment, which was unsealed in California.

Read more from Sky News:
Four people were killed in a US attack on an alleged drug boat.
A decade of county lines leaves its mark on children

Authorities have accused Wedding of working with the Sinaloa Cartel to transport large quantities of drugs into the United States and Canada.

Wedding, whose aliases include El Jefe, Public Enemy and James Conrad King, was accused in 2024 of running a drug gang that moved about 60 tonnes of cocaine a year.

They used long-haul lorries to transport drugs between Colombia, Mexico, Southern California, and Canada.

Authorities say he and his co-conspirators used a Canadian website called The Dirty News to post a photo of a witness so he could be identified and killed.

The witness was then followed to a restaurant in Medellin and shot in the head in January.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said last month, “Whether you’re a street-level drug dealer… or an international drug kingpin, we’re coming for you.”

The incoming mayor uses a symbolic version of New York City history to use two family Qurans in public ceremonies on Friday.

Zohran Mamdani on Thursday became the first New York City mayor to be sworn in using the Quran.

Mamdani is the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of the largest metropolis in the United States.

Mamdani used his grandfather’s Quran and a 200-year-old copy borrowed from the New York Public Library (NYPL) for the private swearing-in ceremony held at a disused subway station beneath Times Square.

He then planned to use two copies of the Quran that belonged to his grandfather and grandmother for a day-long ceremony at New York City Hall on Friday.

The historic Quran, on loan from the library, once belonged to Arturo Schomburg, a Black historian and author who sold his collection of 4,000 books to the NYPL in 1926.

His collection became the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Schomburg was born in Puerto Rico in the 1870s to parents of German and Afro-Caribbean descent

. He later moved to New York and was a major player in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s—a period of intense cultural and intellectual flourishing within New York’s Black community.

The Library praised Mamdani’s decision to use Schomburg’s Quran due to its association with “one of New York’s foremost scholars and its simple, functional qualities.”.

The library said the Quran’s small size and its black and red ink suggest it was designed for everyday use.

The edition is neither signed nor dated, but its “minute naskh” script and its binding, which includes a gilt-stamped medallion filled with a floral composition,

suggest that it was made in Ottoman Syria in the 19th century,” the library said.

“The importance of this Quran goes beyond the beauty of its pages,” said Hiba Abid, curator of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies. “

The Quran is close to the people because of its simple craftsmanship and its place in the country’s largest public library system.

Anthony W. Marks, president and CEO of the library, said the selection of Curran and its association with Schomburg “symbolises a larger story of inclusion, representation and civic-mindedness”.

Mayors in New York are not required to take the oath.

Mamdani is one of the few American politicians who took the oath with the Quran.

Mayors in New York are not required to take the oath of office by placing their hands on a religious scripture, but several past mayors have used a copy of the Bible.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg used a 100-year-old family Bible during a ceremony, while Mayor Bill de Blasio used a Bible that once belonged to US President Franklin D.

Roosevelt. Mamdani’s predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, also used the family Bible for his oath.

Mamdani’s faith and her background as a Ugandan-born American of South Asian descent were front and centre during her campaign, which focused on celebrating New York’s diversity.

In the viral social media video, Mamdani also spoke candidly about the impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and the subsequent rise in Islamophobia in the US.

Other videos depict the everyday experiences of New Yorkers, including its many Muslim and immigrant communities.

Mamdani has also been a strong critic of Israel’s policies towards Palestinians and its genocidal war in Gaza.

Critics, such as New York Representative Elise Stefanik, emphasised Mamdani’s background as a democratic socialist and leftist politician and called the incoming mayor a “jihadi communist” and a “terrorist” sympathiser.

However, Mamdani pledged to never hide from his background during a campaign speech. He said during his campaign,

“I wouldn’t change who I am, how I eat, or the beliefs I’m proud to call mine.” “I will no longer find myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light.”

A fire in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana in the early hours of New Year’s Day killed dozens of people and injured about 100, according to authorities.

Here’s a look at some other nightclubs, bars and music venues that have resulted in large numbers of deaths:

March 2025: A fire and resulting stampede at the overcrowded Pulse Club in Kocani, North Macedonia, killed 63 people, most of them young revellers, and injured more than 200.

A pyrotechnic flame engulfed the club’s roof, triggering the fire.

– April 2024: A fire broke out at the Masquerade Night Club in Istanbul, Türkiye; workers and staff became trapped while the venue was closed for renovation, leading to 29 deaths.

It was located on the ground floor and basement floor of a 16-storey residential building.

– October 2023: A fire at a nightclub in the southeastern Spanish city of Murcia spread to two other clubs, killing 13 people.

– January 2022: A nightclub in sorong A fire broke out after two groups attacked each other inside a building in Indonesia’s West Papua province. Nineteen people were killed.

– January 2022: Major fire at Liv’s Night Club in Yaoundé. Explosions rock Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, killing 17 people.

The government suggested that fireworks set the roof on fire and spread it to areas where cooking gas was stored.

– December 2016: Thirty-six people died in a fire in a warehouse in Oakland, California, which had been converted into a residence and event venue for dub artists.

“Ghost Ship”. During an electronic music and dance party, the fire quickly spread, trapping victims on the illegally constructed second floor.

– October 2015: A fire broke out during a rock band’s pyrotechnic display.

The Kolektiv Night Club in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, saw 64 deaths and approximately 190 injuries.

– January 2013: More than 200 people died in a Kiss nightclub fire.  The incident occurred in the city of Santa Maria in southern Brazil.

Investigators said soundproofing foam on the ceiling caught fire and released toxic gases, killing attendees of the university party instantly.

– December 2009: About 152 people died in a fire at the Lame Horse nightclub in Perm, Russia. It started when a plastic ceiling decorated with branches caught fire at an indoor fireworks display.

– January 2009: An indoor fireworks display following the New Year’s countdown caused a fire at the Santika Club in Bangkok.

The fire at the Santika Club in Bangkok,

The fire at the Santika Club in Bangkok, Thailand, left 67 people dead and several others injured. Burns, smoke inhalation, and crushing caused the victims to die.

– September 2008: 44 people died in a fire at the jam-packed King of Dancers nightclub in Shenzhen, China, when a fire broke out in the ceiling after a fireworks show.

– December 2004: In Buenos Aires, Argentina, 194 people died when ceiling foam caught fire at the crowded Cromagnon Republic club.

Club owner Omar Chaban was sentenced to 20 years in prison for starting the deadly fire and bribery. Others received lighter sentences.

– February 2003: 100 people died and more than 200 were injured in a fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, in the United States.

The band set off fireworks, which ignited flammable foam inside the club.

– January 2001: A fire in a cafe in the Dutch city of Volendam where people were celebrating the New Year killed 14 people and injured more than 200.

– December 2000: 309 people died in a fire caused by a welding accident at a disco in the central Chinese city of Luoyang.

In October 1998, an arson attack at a crowded youth disco in the Swedish city of Gothenburg resulted in the deaths of 63 people and the injuries of approximately 200 others.

Four people were later convicted of starting the fire.

– March 1996: 162 people died in a fire at the Ozone Disco pub in Quezon City, Philippines.

A large proportion of the victims were students partying to mark the end of the academic year.

– In March 1990, an arson attack at the Happy Land nightclub in the Bronx borough of New York City claimed the lives of 87 people.

It started when a man angry at his girlfriend threw gasoline on the club’s only exit and set it on fire, then jammed the metal front gate so people were trapped.

– December 1983: 78 people died and more than 20 were injured in a fire at the Alcalá dance hall in Madrid, Spain.

– May 1977: A fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, kills 165 and injures more than 200.

– November 1942: 492 people die at Boston’s Coconut Grove Club in the deadliest nightclub fire in American history.

A fire at one of Boston’s most prominent nightspots led to new requirements for sprinkler systems and accessible egress.

– April 1940: 209 people died when a fire broke out in the decorative Spanish moss on the roof of the Rhythm nightclub in Natchez, Mississippi.

Boards were placed on the windows to prevent people from entering.

Watch a BBC report from the scene of a Swiss resort bar fire.

Southern Switzerland has killed several dozen people

How many people died?

Video shows Swiss ski resort bar on fire

What caused the fire?

What do we know about Le Constellation Bar?

Police Cantonal Valais

Since being handed over to Britain in the 18th century, Brits have been flocking to Gibraltar to enjoy its southern Mediterranean climate, low taxes, cheap drinks and practically zero crime and illegal immigration.

The British Overseas Territory (BOT) on the southern coast of Spain is renowned for its British-style pubs and cheap alcohol prices, which are generally cheaper than in the UK due to its duty-free status.

Prices for a pint can be quite low, with some pubs offering happy hour deals, such as £2.95 per pint.

Food prices in pubs for typical pub grub, such as fish and chips or cottage pie, are also generally considered reasonable and excellent value for money compared to many hotspots on the UK mainland.

However, due to Keir Starmer’s “sellout” after Brexit, many locals fear that this much-loved way of life is “under threat.”

Earlier this month, the Prime Minister finalized a UK-EU post-Brexit deal for Gibraltar.

This deal will create a “fluid border” by shifting checks to Gibraltar’s airport and port. This effectively integrates Gibraltar with the Schengen Area.

The agreement means that Spanish and EU authorities will carry out border checks for entry into EU territory.

Under the agreement, British tourists entering Gibraltar will have to show their passport twice, once to a Gibraltarian and then to a Spanish guard.

This is part of the “dual” entry system, which former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has condemned as a “ridiculous disaster.”

Residents have shared their frustrations and concerns about Starmer’s new deal, with many worried that criminals will take advantage of it and destroy the low crime rates.

Tony ‘Dale’ Farmer, who runs the Quarterdeck Tavern, decorated with Union and St George flags, said to Sun, “I like the border because it keeps the conflict away.

You look at Spain and all their problems and think, Why would we want to bring it here?”

A mother of two and 33-year-old customer service worker, Zyja Poggio, said Gibraltar is “the best place to live in the world” currently: ”

“The children can walk themselves to school, and I can go jogging at 3 in the morning without fearing my safety.”

“But once the border opens, anyone can come and go and that worries me because our way of life will be at risk.”

Recent data shows that there has been a significant influx of Britons moving to Gibraltar, with at least 3,000 new resident permits granted in just three months.

UK citizens now make up a large proportion of the total population, around 10,000 to 13,000 people, or about 30 to 40%.

However, the popularity of the inquiry became so intense that Prime Minister Fabian Picardo was forced to suspend new applications from the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA) in October.