Other Tomorrowist Trends in the News: Jan. 23, 2025

Each week, the Tomorrowist team publishes a video podcast and a deep-dive article on a single important trend facing businesses. But business leaders need a holistic view of the changing business landscape. Here are a few stories from around the web focused on other Tomorrowist-worthy trends that readers shouldn’t miss.

Americans Are Ditching Traditional Health Care for Something Cheaper—and Riskier (Vox)

What to Know: A growing number of U.S. citizens are turning to health cost-sharing ministries as an alternative to traditional health insurance. These groups allow members to pool money directly in order to cover each other’s medical costs without the overhead of traditional insurance. But critics say these groups are less reliable because they lack insurers’ size and consumer protection regulations.

Why It Matters: Most U.S. workers receive health insurance through their employer. But health cost-sharing ministries can offer lower costs, which makes them appealing to younger, healthier people. If these workers opt out of traditional insurance, it could increase premiums for those who remain in the system.

Fed Cuts Were Supposed to Lower Mortgage Rates, but They’re Back Above 7%. Here’s Why (NPR)

What to Know: The Federal Reserve’s decision to cut short-term interest rates hasn’t impacted mortgage rates due to stubbornly high inflation and a strong economy. Experts say mortgage rates could decline somewhat in the future but are unlikely to return to the low levels seen in 2021.

Why It Matters: While mortgage rates aren’t particularly high by historical standards, the increase follows an era of lower rates coupled with surging home prices. Without lower interest rates, those high prices could impact consumers’ ability to purchase homes, which could have broader economic impacts in the years to come.

As WEF Gets Underway, the List of World Leaders Not Attending Davos Speaks Volumes (CNBC)

What to Know: The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, has been a key moment of regular international collaboration for more than a half-century, but its place may be shifting as many prominent world leaders are skipping the event entirely this year or opting to participate only virtually. Germany will be the only G7 nation sending its head of state to attend in person.

Why It Matters: While the event will still host hundreds of important global officials and dozens of heads of state, the absence of many key leaders reflects the event’s declining influence as globalization and establishment politics wane in popularity in many nations. If these sorts of events struggle to bring world leaders together, what will the future of international collaboration look like?

TikTok Got a Reprieve, but Americans and Chinese Are Still on RedNote (The New York Times)

What to Know: The possibility of a ban on TikTok led some U.S. users to migrate to Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote. While TikTok is still available in the U.S., at least for now, it appears RedNote’s new users are happy to continue experimenting with the Chinese social media app.

Why It Matters: If RedNote continues to grow, brands and creators may want to expand their presence to the burgeoning app. But while the app has drawn comparisons with TikTok, the network has several unique challenges and limitations, meaning that users won’t be able to simply cross-apply their TikTok strategy to the new network.