CEOs are increasingly worried about an economic downturn, inflation, and an asset bubble bust

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• In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady reports on what leaders rank as their most urgent risks.
• The big story: Saks Global files for bankruptcy.
• The markets: Mixed globally, with Bitcoin rallying to a two-month high.
• Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.

Good morning. The World Economic Forum published its 2026 Global Risks Report this morning, ahead of its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland next week. This annual survey of more than 1,300 global leaders and experts shows a fascinating divide in perceptions of short-term and longer-term risks. Most are anxious about physical conflict in the short term, ranking “geoeconomic confrontation” as the most pressing global risk over the next two years. Misinformation and disinformation came second, with societal polarization coming third. Collectively, economic risks showed the largest jump, with more concerns about an economic downturn, inflation and an asset bubble burst