Monday Morning Briefing: A look at the 2019 World Economic Forum

2019 World Economic Forum

Davos, Switzerland hosts just over 3,000 delegates representing 114 countries from Jan. 22 to Jan. 25. An array of homefront crises will keep several world leaders away from the forum, which takes place against a backdrop of trade wars, rising nationalism and fretting over what happens next to the global economy. Follow the latest news and insights from the 2019 World Economic Forum in Davos.

From our commentators at Breakingviews: What do Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron, Narendra Modi and Theresa May have in common? All of them are skipping the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. Each of the leaders came to the Swiss Alps last year to deliver their takes on globalisation - or at least flog their nations as the world’s optimal destinations for capital. Breakingviews' Rob Cox writes, 'while there’s always a chance one or more of the leaders will make a surprise visit, the absence of many big kahunas does not necessarily make the annual shindig any less valuable.'

The annual Edelman Trust Barometer shows only one in five people believe the economic, political and social system is working for them, while nearly 60 percent think trade conflicts are hurting their companies and putting their jobs at risk.

“Poor people suffer twice from being deprived of basic services and also paying a higher burden of taxation,” Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International said. The Nairobi-headquarted charity said in a report that a new billionaire was created every two days last year, just as the poorest half of the world’s population saw their wealth decline by 11 percent.

United States

President Donald Trump pursued a business deal to erect a tower bearing his name in Moscow throughout 2016, his attorney Rudy Giuliani said on Sunday, raising new questions for congressional investigators looking into possible ties between the president and Russia.

“No, Amnesty is not a part of my offer. It is a 3-year extension of DACA. Amnesty will be used only on a much bigger deal, whether on immigration or something else,” the U.S. president said on Twitter. Trump also said he would not seek the removal of millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States, while bashing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats for turning down an offer he made, including for Dreamers, the immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.

Nick Sandmann is now a public figure. He’s the student from the private, all-boys Covington Catholic High School in northern Kentucky, seen in a video with classmates appearing to confront a Native American Vietnam veteran near the Lincoln Memorial. He issued a statement Sunday that the viral video of the incident gives the false impression that the teens were instigators.

Business

China's 2018 growth slows to 28-year low, more stimulus seen

China’s economy cooled in the fourth quarter under pressure from faltering domestic demand and bruising U.S. tariffs, dragging 2018 growth to the lowest in nearly three decades and pressuring Beijing to roll out more stimulus to avert a sharper slowdown.

6 min read

Oil reaches 2019-high on strong China crude use, but economic slowdown looms

Crude prices rose to their highest so far in 2019 after data showed refinery processing in China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, climbed to a record last year despite a slowing economy.

3 Min Read

Data dependent? Five questions for the ECB

The European Central Bank holds its first meeting of the year on Thursday as concern grows about weak economic growth at home and risks abroad from global trade tensions. Having ended its stimulus scheme in December, ECB chief Mario Draghi is likely to be pressed on how the central bank will address further economic weakness. Here are some of the key questions on the radar for markets.

6 min read

Nissan's Ghosn offers to wear electronic ankle tag for bail

Ousted Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn has offered to wear an electronic ankle tag and hire guards to monitor him in an unusual bid to secure his release on bail after two months of detention in Japan for alleged financial crimes.

4 min

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