Ten Unexpected Things 2026 May Bring

Every year around the holidays, I’m reminded of the late, great Wall Street strategist Byron Wien’s annual “Ten Surprises” list, his contrarian takes on issues of the day published every new year. Always thoughtful and entertaining, Wien would lay out 10 scenarios he believed the average investor would consider improbable, but that he deemed more likely than not in the coming year.

The last and 38th edition of Wien’s list was published in January 2023, 10 months before he passed. I have missed his list, so I decided to compile my own this year, a humble tribute to the master.