Davos

Original Davos Man unveils half a succession plan

22 May 2024

World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab will give up executive duties at the group which hosts the annual Swiss conflab. The 86-year-old chairman will doubtless remain its public face. But the shift should make it easier for the WEF to eventually identify his replacement.

The spectre of Donald Trump hangs over Davos

12 Jan 2024

The former US president is not among the 2,800 business and political leaders converging on the Swiss resort. But his possible return to power will pervade debates about Ukraine, China, and climate change. In 2016, Davos laughed off the idea of a Trump presidency. Not this time.

Viewsroom: Davos in Singapore, Bob Dylan sells out

10 Dec 2020

The World Economic Forum’s decision to hold its annual chinwag in Southeast Asia instead of Switzerland this coming spring isn’t as simple as it sounds, Davos vets Peter Thal Larsen and Una Galani tell Rob Cox. Meantime, Anna Szymanski breaks down the folk bard’s catalogue deal.

The world’s most important person who missed Davos

27 Jan 2020

It wasn’t a billionaire or a world leader – at least not yet. But the Democrat who will take on Donald Trump for the U.S. presidency in November cast an unavoidable specter over the week’s proceedings. The race and its potential outcomes are as open as they were four years ago.

Donald Trump wins most insufferable title at Davos

21 Jan 2020

It’s a high bar, but the U.S. president is in an acutely braggadocious mood. He signed a China trade deal, stocks are at record highs and Iran’s top general is dead. Impeachment aside, the global elite will be even more annoyed by him because he has real things to brag about.

Brazil’s Bolsonaro clears low Davos bar

22 Jan 2019

In his first overseas appearance since taking office, the president made a brief and vague sales pitch for a “new Brazil”. Business optimism about the country is running high, and modest changes can help deliver early wins. The longer term presents a more demanding challenge.

Beware the Davos bubble’s dubious emissions

29 Jan 2018

Each January, the Swiss mountain gathering provides a snapshot of elite thinking. Often it proves to be wide of the mark. This year the global economy, Italy’s election, the importance of crypto-currencies and Saudi reform produced what may be the surest examples of groupthink.

Trump reworks “America First” for the global elite

26 Jan 2018

For the finale of the World Economic Forum, the U.S. president laid out in unexpectedly statesmanlike fashion how favouring the interests of his citizens could benefit the rest of the world. The demand for reciprocity remains, but the inclusive-sounding vision is an improvement.

Viewsroom: Trump solar tax is more burn than balm

25 Jan 2018

The U.S. president seems to be trying to right past trade wrongs. But business has long since moved on, meaning tariffs on washing machines and solar panels will do more harm than good. Also, Merkel and Modi disappoint in snow-ravaged Davos. Plus: Spotify’s Wall Street snub.

Xi Jinping wannabes flub their lines at Davos

25 Jan 2018

Leaders including Emmanuel Macron of France and Germany’s Angela Merkel predictably spoke up for global cooperation ahead of Donald Trump’s finale. Unlike the Chinese president last year, however, their rhetoric fell flat. Competition for investment further muddles the message.

Banks have new reasons to fear digital disruption

24 Jan 2018

Wannabe fintech disruptors are out in force at Davos. Regulation and poor returns helped protect big lenders up to now. Renewed interest in financial services from the likes of Amazon and Apple poses a bigger threat. Banks will need to either join forces or partner with Big Tech.

Mnuchin opens door to new era of currency wars

24 Jan 2018

The U.S. Treasury secretary said a weaker dollar was good for his country in some ways. True, but the break with what his predecessors have asserted since 1995 raises the risk the greenback will be used as a trade weapon. That would be bad news for foreign holders of U.S. debt.

Make in India clashes with America First in Davos

23 Jan 2018

Narendra Modi and Donald Trump share strongman characteristics and both have a zero-sum approach to trade. The Indian premier needs to boost manufacturing just as the U.S. president wants to do the same. The Asian nation has the most to lose if it fails to realise its vision.

Davos gathering gets #MeToo balance mostly right

22 Jan 2018

This year’s summit in the Swiss ski resort is chaired entirely by women, with gender a big theme at panels and parties. But the summit's low female attendance reflects the global imbalance of power. Tighter quotas would make Davos more politically correct but less formidable.

Cox: Klaus Schwab remakes Davos as The Apprentice

22 Jan 2018

To ensure intrigue when world leaders and CEOs are locked in the Swiss mountain resort, the World Economic Forum mastermind is employing reality TV tricks that made Donald Trump a star. This year's gathering may rival the business show for ratings-boosting drama. But it's risky.

Xi Jinping offers a lesson on the “Davos discount”

21 Jan 2018

The Chinese president’s 2017 oration was hailed as a new era in global leadership. What followed was a backlash against Beijing’s influence abroad, and little progress on domestic challenges. This ought not to surprise. Promises to the elites of Davos may be less than they seem.

Viewsroom: Donald Trump goes to Davos

19 Jan 2018

The U.S. president heads to the Swiss Alps confab that’s the antithesis of his “America First” ideology. He’ll have competition: keynote speaker Narendra Modi, with his “Make in India” policy. Plus: BlackRock’s Larry Fink pushes social activism. And why Ford is stalling.

Trump will be party pooper-in-chief at Davos

10 Jan 2018

The U.S. president’s “America First” agenda is the antithesis of the Swiss conflab’s global ethos. His visit to the mountain resort may be a bid for reconciliation, or a pitch for strongman status. Either way, his presence is a stark rebuke to Davos elites who got him badly wrong.