| Hello and welcome to Davos, where the World Economic Forum's annual meetings are getting under way. I'm Craig Stirling, a senior economics editor, and today we're looking at Davos' s reaction to Trump's return. Send us feedback and tips to ecodaily@bloomberg.net or get in touch on X via @economics. And if you're in Davos, don't forget to drop by Bloomberg House. Register here.
Davos Man, the loaded term for World Economic Forum attendees, loves big ideas. This year, there's a new one: embrace Donald Trump, and fast. When the incoming US president left the scene after his first term in office four years ago, there was a collective sigh of relief from the global elite that gathers annually in the Swiss mountain resort. Now, with the 2025 meetings kicking off on the same day that Trump takes office, executives are rushing to falling into line, as Bloomberg's Sridhar Natarajan and Ted Mann explain here. "I'm reminded of what happened when Napoleon escaped from Elba," said Lloyd Blankfein, the former longtime chief of Goldman Sachs, likening their realignment to the old story about how French newspapers changed their tune in 1815. Initially characterizing Napoleon as a "monster" and an "ogre," the papers switched as he neared Paris to announce that "His Majesty" was arriving.  Trump invites a question during a news conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2020. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg With Trump's return, C-suites just about everywhere sense a vibe-shift. "A businessman's job isn't to change the world but to cope with it," said Wilbur Ross, the private equity billionaire who was commerce secretary in the first Trump cabinet. A procession of CEOs has already made its way to Mar-a-Lago, the incoming president's residence and private club in Palm Beach. Among recent visitors: Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Apple's Tim Cook and Coca-Cola chief James Quincey. Aside from the change in regime, it's not surprising that many executives are shifting stance, given the president's pro-business agenda. In Davos itself, Investcorp Executive Chairman Mohammed Alardhi told Bloomberg Television today that compared with gloomy predictions for a recession last year, people are now far more upbeat — and "the world is feeling a bit better." "We think the new administration is pro-growth," he said. "It's inevitable that they will also do something about taxes and regulation. This is all good for business, and what we saw in the first administration of Trump was good." Blankfein reckons the president wouldn't mind likening the his new-found favor among the business elite to Napoleon's return. "Trump might even appreciate the comparison," he said.  | | | - The biggest threat to the world economy in the next year is the prospect that inflation turns out to be persistent, BlackRock Vice Chairman Philipp Hildebrand said, adding that the European Union needs a regulation "wake-up call."
- Hildebrand, who is a former head of the Swiss National Bank, also said that it's unclear how far SNB officials will need to lean on rate cuts.
- The global landscape for foreign direct investment will change thanks to Trump, according to the head of Ireland's inward investment agency.
- Meta will continue to use its fact checkers outside of the US "for now" even as the Instagram and Facebook owner does away with the practice at home, the company's head of global business Nicola Mendelsohn said.
- Investcorp, the Middle East's largest alternative asset manager, could look at a deal with a strategic investor or an initial public offering in the next few years, according to its executive chairman.
- Saudi Arabia's membership in the BRICS bloc of emerging economies is still being assessed more than a year after the kingdom was invited to join the alliance, the country's economy minister said.
Tune in to Bloomberg Television for hard-hitting interviews with Bank of America's Brian Moynihan, Commerzbank's Bettina Orlopp, European Central Bank Governing Council members Joachim Nagel and Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Reserve Bank of South Africa Governor Lesetja Kganyago, Aramco CEO Amin Nassar and Novartis CEO Vas Narashimha, among many others. At Bloomberg House, the CEOs of UBS and UniCredit — Sergio Ermotti and Andrea Orcel — will both make appearances, as will Alphabet's Ruth Porat and Open AI's Sarah Friar. In the conference center, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy will take center state. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his challenger Friedrich Merz will also be addressing delegates. We'll be keeping an eye on a multitude of other panels as participants ponder everything from the status of the US dollar to the future of banking. Elsewhere in the World Economy | - China's deflationary pressures were most severe in its industrial sector for a second straight year.
- Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will size up the need to raise interest rates on Friday amid heightened expectations of a hike — and barring a market shock triggered by Trump's first few days in the White House.
- Switzerland is set for some self-reflection on its relationship with money, if the country's Bitcoin evangelists get their way.
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment