5 ‘outrageous’ 2023 predictions: Billionaire energy group, gold to $3,000

A new year means making resolutions that likely won’t stick, along with making fantastic predictions that will likely never come true. The latter is exactly what Denmark-based Saxo Bank does each year. We have the most outrageous predictions for 2023 in this week’s Five For Friday. 

#5: Country bans meat production

The global agenda to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 is quite a ways away. But to make inroads, Saxo predicts one country is going to make a huge push toward carbon neutrality by unveiling plans to ban all domestic meat production by 2030. Food production is responsible for 35% of global greenhouse gas emissions and meat production creates twice the greenhouse gas emissions of plant-based foods, according to a study published in Nature. Saxo says Sweden could be best positioned to make the pledge after setting a legally-binding target of net-zero emissions by 2045. 

#4: Billionaires form trillion-dollar energy coalition

In recent years, billionaires Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson have set their eyes on colonizing space. But this year, Saxo says the ultra-wealthy will work to address the future of energy. They say it’ll be driven by exploding energy demand, “not just from the current and planned electrification via EV’s of our transportation fleets, but also due to the ongoing digitalisation of human activity and the exponential growth in data storage.” Saxo says tech billionaires will form a trillion-dollar coalition, which would be the biggest research and development mission since the Manhattan Project developed the atomic bomb. They even gave the predicted group a name, Third Stone. 

#3: International tax-haven ban

The International Monetary Fund estimates corporations avoid $500 to $600 billion in taxes each year by parking money in tax havens like the Cayman Islands or Bermuda. Saxo says governments are going to need the missed revenue to fund their agendas, which includes infrastructure and green energy projects. They claim the International Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development will get together and ban tax havens. Saxo believes the move would have a devastating effect on private equity and venture capital firms that rely on the practice to save money. 

#2: Gold goes to $3,000

Last year, Saxo said inflation would hit 15%, but prices stalled before hitting that mark. But with prices still high and the stock market taking hits, Saxo thinks 2023 could be a fantastic year for gold. The investment bank predicts the precious metal will skyrocket to $3,000 per ounce this year. Gold’s highest price in history is just over $2,000, but adjusted for inflation it topped $2,500 in 1980. This prediction has some weight considering all the pontificating about a coming recession, when gold serves as a safe haven. 

#1: Nations implement price and wage controls

With inflation remaining an issue, Saxo predicts governments will make massive moves to stabilize prices. They say 2023 will see some nations institute price and wage controls to avoid destabilization of their economy. But Saxo predicts this will end in disaster by disincentivizing production and not addressing the root causes of inflation. 

Take a look at the predictions from Saxo we highlighted last year to see how they turned out. Spoiler alert, Spotify’s stock did drop considerably but not due to an NFT-based music service.