The Story
The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland starts today. Don't go back to sleep.
I'm up...but refresh my memory.
Every year, the world's elite (CEOs, world leaders, billionaires) jet off to the Swiss Alps and brag about how smart they all are. They also talk about issues like globalization, and how it affects the economy, the planet, jobs, and tech. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be there. So will Prince William, and biz leaders like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
What's the buzz this year?
China…as in whether the US and China can play nice on the world stage. The two largest economies have been in a trade war. And it's starting to take a hit on China's economy, which last year grew at its slowest pace since 1990. Cue: investors starting to sweat over how long this tension will last and the effect on the global economy. Trade talks are set to start up again next week.
The US…as in it's day 32 of the partial government shutdown. So President Trump had to decline his invite to tend to business at home. Here's the update on the shutdown: over the weekend, House Dems added $1 billion in border security funding in a spending bill to reopen the gov. Trump declined. Then he offered up another deal: three years of protection for Dreamers and people with temporary protected status, in exchange for $5.7 billion for the border wall. Dems declined. And...now you're all caught up.
The UK…as in Brexit is still a bloody mess. After UK parliament rejected PM Theresa May's deal, she had to come up with a plan B...in less than a week. Yesterday, she revealed the new plan to lawmakers. It looked a lot like the original one. Reminder: there's less than 10 weeks before Brexit goes into effect. We'll be here, keeping calm and carrying on.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution…as in some people think we're in the middle of one. It pretty much means that tech is changing the way we live, work, and interact, but it's not all rainbows and robotic unicorns. Unlike the last few Industrial Revolutions, companies, governments, and people might not be able to keep up with all these new changes. Expect this topic to come up.
theSkimm
Davos has long been a go-to networking event for the rich, powerful, and famous – and where they can talk policy and try to set agendas. But with geopolitical tensions and some key leaders sitting this one out, the tone is expected to be more somber this year.
|