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Although Omicron has investors on edge as a new year kicks off, sabotaging forecasts pinned on the pandemic’s welcome end, opportunities for positive returns will still be available in 2022. What trends in stocks, bonds, real estate investment trusts and cryptocurrencies will determine how rewarding these investments are during the year?

With digital banking set to escalate, what five 2022 trends will lead the charge? More control for consumers and small businesses, banks’ digital-transformation strategies continuing to accelerate, more “digital-only” banks, continued growth of embedded finance and banking-as-a-service (BaaS)—all with the human touch still much in demand.

The digital twin, a digital replica of the real thing, is a versatile tool for financial decision-makers on the never-ending hunt for new technologies that will improve the customer experience. From reducing costs and designing bank branches to tightening cybersecurity, the dynamic digital twin is a win for bank strategists and planners.

As every tech firm knows, data is its most valuable asset – but worthless unless used efficiently and continually learned from. Fintechs must grapple with so many disparate seams of data in order to function smoothly and it’s not easy. Raw data is ugly, it’s complicated and it’s scattered across many file sources, languages and formats. What’s more, big data is getting bigger and more complicated every day.

Data is the new oil, and there’s no shortage of it. Rendering it useful while respecting privacy rights is the main challenge. That’s where synthetic data, created via artificial intelligence and machine learning to simulate real-world data, comes in. It is proving invaluable to financial firms seeking to optimize the vast power of data.

The 2021 Pandora Papers are the third in a series, following the 2016 Panama Papers and 2017 Paradise Papers, of explosive documents exposing the offshore financial activities of the rich and powerful. The 2.94 TB of damning data compiled by the Consortium of Investigative Journalists unmasks the elites’ efforts to conceal their riches.

With another new year close at hand, what main trends should investors carefully consider when making investment decisions for 2022? Sustainability, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and cannabis are four themes likely to stand out during a year that will hopefully surpass 2021’s economic rebound and record-breaking progress.

Deciphering coding is a stumbling block for businesses striving to stay relevant and maximize technologies. Fortunately, low-code and no-code solutions make the process of creating websites or applications easier and cheaper. How can banks cut through tedious coding and achieve optimal results with help from low-code/no-code platforms?

“Waste not, want not” expresses the rationale behind the circular economy model, which aims to maximize the use and value of all resources in circulation, today and into the future. Closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, this model is increasingly incorporated in government, business and citizen plans and initiatives.

The trend away from fossil-fuel reliance and toward renewable-energy deployment is entrenched, and solar energy leads the renewables pack. Supply-chain bottlenecks and rising costs of raw materials may hamper its growth, but experts are optimistic about its future, expecting public and private sectors to continue to drive its adoption.