Sometime in 2017, we were in discussion with Ted Sazon—a Merrill Lynch alumnus of 23 years—about a discernible pattern of significant global “bad news” occurring at the end of each decade. This trend arguably started in 1929 with the Wall Street Crash that led to the Great Depression.

This was followed by World War II, which began in 1939 with the invasion of Poland. The end of the 1960s brought the Cuban Missile Crisis, which pushed the world to the brink of nuclear war. In 1979, the Iranian Revolution disrupted supply chains and spiked oil prices, impacting the entire globe. The end of the 1980s saw the rise of the AIDS epidemic, which killed 40 million people, and the dissolution of the USSR (the precursor to current conflicts in Crimea and Ukraine).

The late 1990s witnessed the Asian Financial Crisis and the dot-com bubble, followed by the 9/11 disaster in 2001. From 2007 to 2010, the Global Financial Crisis took hold, triggered by the collapse of the housing market and mortgage systems.

Back in 2017, I was still skeptical of these patterns—until the 2019–2022 Covid era occurred, dampening world demand for almost everything. Is it an end-of-decade curse?

So, what augurs for 2027–2030? Well, for one, the highly disruptive Iran War began in 2026, carrying potentially grave implications for the near future. Additionally, the birth of advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the disruptive influence of social media are already reshaping the world in major ways.

The Elliott Wave Principle (EWP) calculates “probabilities,” not certainties. Based on the wave counts of Robert Prechter—a leading EWP author and practitioner—the EWP predicts an incoming negative disruption to the current “world order, lifestyles, and economic situation.” EWP suggests we are currently on a “fifth of a fifth of a fifth” wave pattern, which typically leads to increasing global belligerence, militarism that spawns wars, and subsequent economic slowdowns and bankruptcies.

These “tops” in major US stock indices could lead to a massive fall in the DJIA (Dow Jones Industrial Average) of 30 percent to 60 percent. Prechter indicates that these EWP wave patterns mirror those that led to the 1929–1932 Great Depression.

Sazon, who manages his own funds and assists 600 “believers” pro bono, observes that today‘s “tops” follow the same patterns seen in 2007, 2019, 1997, and 1987—all of which preceded decade-end misfortunes. He notes that the March 2026 DJIA moving average (between 21 and 55 days) has already triggered a “sell signal.” This could implode into a larger meltdown, especially given the current geopolitical climate.

Ted Sazon views current US “highs” as a mirage, participated in narrowly by the “Magnificent Seven”—overvalued tech giants and AI firms. These all-time highs are reportedly a prelude to a downturn; the higher the climb, it seems, the harder the fall.

Regarding the Philippines, Sazon douses water on optimistic stock forecasts that place the PSE (Philippine Stock Exchange) at 6,700–7,000. Instead, given current bearish sentiment, he suggests it could fall toward the 4,000 level. That same scenario threatens the Philippine peso, which could slide from ₱62 to ₱65 per US dollar—with ₱70:$1 not being an impossibility. (Many analysts have consistently argued that the peso is currently overvalued.)

A 30 percent to 60 percent drop in global asset values, led by a US downturn, would be considered apocalyptic—matching the gravity of Depression-era figures. This should give us all pause. Aside from the Iran War, which is far from over, social and technological shifts may prove unfavorable to mankind through 2030.

One major concern is the rising trend of “autocratization.” There are now 90 autocratic nations compared to 89 democracies, marking a shift toward strongman rule since the turn of the century. These 90 nations control 70 percent of the global population, while democracies control only 30 percent. According to the Berlin Social Science Center, these governments are characterized by repression, a lack of fair elections, and policy control by a select few.

Furthermore, the rise of AI and algorithms has shifted power from governments to those who control data and computing power, such as OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. AI, robotics, and algorithms will fundamentally alter the labor market, creative arts, news, and mass surveillance. They determine who holds power and what society values. Worse, uncontrolled AI could lead certain nations to achieve "unwanted superiority" in industrial and nuclear defense, allowing them to impose their will on others.

Given current war zones (Iran-Israel-USA, Russia-Ukraine, and China-Taiwan), the threat of runaway technology, and a rising preference for leaders with fascistic tendencies, are the EWP and Prechter correct? Is this a valid warning of an impending global financial disaster as the decade closes? Does the end-of-decade curse continue?