For 23 years, The Economist has issued bold predictions for the coming year in its thick December special issue. Last year, its crystal ball, in the issue called "The World in 2008," was a little foggy.
"About 2008: sorry," reads a note from the issue's editor, Daniel Franklin, in the prediction edition for 2009. Who would have seen the financial crisis coming, Mr. Franklin asked? "Not us. The World in 2008 failed to predict any of this," he said.
He listed a long series of other missed predictions, including oil prices, Canadian army movements, Italian government changes and Russian military policy. "Oh, and we expected that by now Hillary Clinton would be heading for the White House," Mr. Franklin wrote.
In an interview, Mr. Franklin shrugged at the bad calls. "It's nice to be right, but it's not the only point of this," he said. "Part of it is to say what's going to be on the global agenda." In store for the coming year, The Economist says, is an older work force, a recession and a boom in Blu-ray disc sales.
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