In the news. Japan’s eldercare system is testing a nontraditional workforce solution: recruiting bodybuilders, mixed martial artists, and retired sumo wrestlers into physically demanding caregiving roles. While unusual, the approach is strategic because it taps into new talent pools for a sector facing rising demand and labor shortages: Japan’s rapidly aging population means that one in six residents is now 75 or older, The New York Times reports. In facilities where caregiving has long been undervalued or invisible, these new athlete workers are helping make care feel more human. [NYT]

“Task sharing naturally builds trust and connection within communities. It also eases the burden on providers, helping retain and expand the workforce while increasing access to mental healthcare.”

—Laura Murray, founder of CETA Global

On McKinsey.com. McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) research shows that bringing care closer to everyday life can help scale mental healthcare solutions. In Santiago, Chile, MHI has worked with local organizations to train nonspecialist providers working in schools and primary-care centers, using a task-sharing model designed to expand access beyond traditional clinical settings. MHI experts—including Erica Hutchins Coe, Javier Valenzuela, and Kana Enomoto—highlight how community-based interventions can improve outcomes. As of this year, 24 task-sharing providers have supported more than 2,700 individuals and family members, closing up to 45% of the gap in mental health access for target populations in the Chilean capital.

Expand access to mental healthcare

In the news. “Understanding geopolitics is no longer an optional risk management exercise but a central element of corporate strategy,” says World Economic Forum Managing Director Maroun Kairouz. Governments are increasingly using industrial policy, export controls, investment screening, and public–private capital alignment to reshape markets. As a result, public priorities and private capital are becoming more intertwined across industry and infrastructure. For CEOs, Kairouz says these shifts require a strategic pivot: “Long-term value creation now depends on managing political stability as much as on financial performance.” [WEF/Time France]

On McKinsey.com. As shifting geopolitical dynamics reshape trade patterns and investment priorities, CEOs who anticipate change and redirect capital early can create durable new growth pathways. McKinsey’s Cindy Levy, Ezra Greenberg, Matt Watters, Shubham Singhal, and Ziad Haider outline five steps CEOs can take to turn geopolitical volatility into an advantage, from identifying priority trade corridors and growth pockets to managing the near-term earnings impacts from geopolitical disruption.

Turn geopolitics into an advantage

Rebuilding the infrastructure of global finance

In the news. Top central banks and more than 40 commercial banks are testing Project Agorá, an initiative designed to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and available around the clock, Reuters reports. The project is exploring how tokenized commercial bank deposits can work alongside central bank money on shared infrastructure to improve how international payments are settled across currencies and time zones. The effort reflects a broader push by policymakers and financial institutions to modernize payment systems that can be slow, costly, and limited by differing national banking frameworks. [Reuters]

On McKinsey.com. In McKinsey’s Global Banking Annual Review, authors Klaus Dallerup, Miklós Dietz, Pradip Patiath, Vik Sohoni, and Valeria Laszlo examine how global banking is being reshaped by new technologies, shifting capital flows, and changing patterns of financial intermediation. The report argues that as transaction banking and digital financial services grow in importance, banks will need to adapt business models, including by placing greater emphasis on fee-based and capital-light businesses. For banking leaders, the challenge is not only responding to technological change but also positioning institutions for new patterns of global financial activity.

Prepare for banking’s next shift