Axios published a column by Jim VandeHei in which the author says recent events have strengthened his concerns about the year ahead. According to the column, VandeHei writes that the nation and the world face "a record number of wild risks" that lie outside their control.

VandeHei wrote that his view has been reinforced by daily conversations with CEOs, government insiders and top investors, according to the Axios column. The excerpt available for this report does not identify the specific revelations he refers to or the specific risks he describes.

The excerpt also says that it "feels likely - not certain" that something happens between now and a point the text cuts off, so the expected development and its timeframe cannot be confirmed from the published excerpt.

Because the piece is an opinion column, its account of private conversations and its assessment of risk reflect the author's own views. The excerpt does not include independent sourcing for those claims, and the full argument is not available in the text used for this report.

Sources: Axios: Chain-reaction chaos threatens to unleash new on the world.