Category Archives: Davos 2008

Getting Results in Davos

I’ve been on a mini-crusade while in Davos: every time I meet someone with a truncated RSS feed or no RSS feed at all, I get all evangelistic on them about the wonders of full RSS. And guess what – … Continue reading

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The Millennium Development Goals Take Center Stage in Davos

If Bono did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. The big press conference at Davos today was full of important people making important statements about how very important it is that we meet the Millennium Development Goals; … Continue reading

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Sharing a Cab with an Ayatollah

My Only In Davos moment this morning: sharing a cab from the train station to the conference center with an honest-to-goodness ayatollah, Mahdi Hadavi. He was a panelist at a session I attended yesterday, on faith and modernization, moderated by … Continue reading

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Why I Still Think WSJ.com Will be Free

I’ve said repeatedly on this site that Rupert Murdoch should and will make WSJ.com free. So how am I feeling now that he seems to have said precisely the opposite in Davos? Not quite as wrong as you might think, … Continue reading

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Gates: Underwhelming

Bill Gates, dishevelled as ever, launched into a hugely-anticipated speech this evening in Davos, the closest thing that this conference has to a keynote. Gates managed to splash the speech all over the front page of today’s WSJ even before … Continue reading

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Davos Surprise: Rick Warren

The biggest surprise of Davos so far for me? Rick Warren. Being a cosmopolitan atheist type, I’d heard of him, of course, but thought he was, well, author of a bestselling self-help book and pastor of a megachurch somewhere. What … Continue reading

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The Power of Collaborative Innovation In Action

The theme of Davos this year is "the power of collaborative innovation". As it happens, I’m talking to one veteran delegate who explains that I’m wearing a piece of collaborative innovation around my neck. In years past, the World Economic … Continue reading

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SocGen: The Cause of Monday’s Sell-Off?

Was a single 30-year old French equity-derivatives trader directly responsible for the emergency 75bp rate cut that Ben Bernanke announced on Tuesday morning? It’s entirely possible. The fraud at Societe Generale was uncovered over the weekend, at which point the … Continue reading

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Optimism over Africa

Paul Collier and other old Africa hands gathered in Davos on Wednesday to talk about "Africa’s governance dividend". The past few years have seen Africa’s strongest growth in living memory, and the mood was cautiously optimistic – risks of a … Continue reading

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Musharraf on the Islamic Bomb

Pervez Musharraf, speaking at Davos, is a bit peevish: We are a nuclear state. Why does the world insist on calling this an Islamic bomb? There is no Hindu bomb or Jew bomb or Buddhist Bomb or Christian Bomb. This … Continue reading

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Davos Round-Up

Ned Phelps: Nice guy. And prescient, too: he put all his Nobel Prize money into bonds. Esther Dyson: Speaks fluent Russian. Mike Arrington: Rocked up in faded bluejeans and dirty white sneakers. Masters of the Universe not visibly impressed. Rupert … Continue reading

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Davos Moment of the Day

Igor Shevchenko, a Ukrainian lawyer, introduces himself to Walter Isaacson of the Aspen Institute; it just so happens (really!) that Shevchenko has a copy of Isaacson’s biography of Henry Kissinger in his bag. Isaacson signs it, of course, and then … Continue reading

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But What Does He Think About Motherhood and Apple Pie?

I just walked into the opening press conference at Davos, where the co-chairmen of the World Economic Forum are talking about what they are looking to talk about and achieve. Tony Blair is beaming admiringly at Henry Kissinger, but the … Continue reading

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Davos: Bearishness Rules

I’ve only just arrived in Davos, and already I’m wondering how I’m going to be able to cope: the scene here is far crazier than at any other gabfest I’ve been to. The smart people just blow it off altogether … Continue reading

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