Introduction: Econonic outlook in focus on final day of Davos
Good morning from Davos, where the final day of this year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is getting underway.
Today, world leaders and business chiefs will be considering what lies ahead in 2024, after several days spent discussing crucial issues such as support for Ukraine, the potential and risks of AI, the Middle East crsisis and the global energy transition:
Davos will wrap up with the traditional set-piece panel on the global economic outlook, where key figures including Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, and Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank.
Lagarde’s views on the outlook for interest rates will be interesting, after global stocks and bond markets weakened this week as hopes of early cuts to borrowing costs faded.
The experts here in Davos fear that the the global economic outlook is fraught with uncertainty. A WEF survey of top economists this week found that over half expect the world economy to weaken this year.
Any escalation of the Middle East conflict risks further disruption to shipping and could push up energy prices – both adding to inflation and slowing growth.
During his visit to Davos, foreign secretary David Cameron has been reiterate the 4 things that must happen for a peaceful solution to the Israel-Hamas war: a Palestinian-led government in Gaza and the West Bank, a concrete plan to help reform and support the Palestinian Authority, a major reconstruction plan for Gaza, and a political horizon towards a two-state solution.
But the news overnight that Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has told the Biden White House that he rejects any moves to establish a Palestinian state when Israel ends its offensive against Gaza is a sharp pushback against pressure for a two-state solution.
The agenda
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9am CET / 8am GMT: A session on the electoral outlook for 2024
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10.15am CET / 9.15am GMT: A session on how to deal with emerging risks and rapid shocks?
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10.15am CET / 9.15am GMT: A session on the prospects for the Middle East in 2024
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11am CET / 10am GMT: The Global Economic Outlook, with Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of Singapore, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance of Saudi Arabia, David Rubenstein, Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group, Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, and Christian Lindner, Germany’s Federal Minister of Finance
Key events
The UK’s economic outlook has darkened this morning, with the news that retail sales plummeted 3.2% year on year in December, as customers cut back.
Heather Bovill, deputy director at the ONS, explains:
“This was the largest overall monthly fall since January 2021, when the reintroduction of pandemic restrictions knocked sales heavily,” said
“Food stores performed very poorly, with their steepest fall since May 2021 as early Christmas shopping led to slow December sales.
Here’s the full story:
Last night in Davos, Google announced it has started construction on a new $1bn (£789m) data centre in the UK.
The news came as chancellor Jeremy Hunt met business leaders at WEF, as he tried to promote “British excellence” in the technology sector.
The new facility will be cited at a 33-acre site at Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, purchased by Google in October 2020.
Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Google’s parent company Alphabet, said:
“The Waltham Cross data centre represents our latest investment in the UK and the wider digital economy at large.”
Google says the centre would boost the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), and create jobs, initially due to the construction process.
Introduction: Econonic outlook in focus on final day of Davos
Good morning from Davos, where the final day of this year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is getting underway.
Today, world leaders and business chiefs will be considering what lies ahead in 2024, after several days spent discussing crucial issues such as support for Ukraine, the potential and risks of AI, the Middle East crsisis and the global energy transition:
Davos will wrap up with the traditional set-piece panel on the global economic outlook, where key figures including Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, and Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank.
Lagarde’s views on the outlook for interest rates will be interesting, after global stocks and bond markets weakened this week as hopes of early cuts to borrowing costs faded.
The experts here in Davos fear that the the global economic outlook is fraught with uncertainty. A WEF survey of top economists this week found that over half expect the world economy to weaken this year.
Any escalation of the Middle East conflict risks further disruption to shipping and could push up energy prices – both adding to inflation and slowing growth.
During his visit to Davos, foreign secretary David Cameron has been reiterate the 4 things that must happen for a peaceful solution to the Israel-Hamas war: a Palestinian-led government in Gaza and the West Bank, a concrete plan to help reform and support the Palestinian Authority, a major reconstruction plan for Gaza, and a political horizon towards a two-state solution.
But the news overnight that Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has told the Biden White House that he rejects any moves to establish a Palestinian state when Israel ends its offensive against Gaza is a sharp pushback against pressure for a two-state solution.
The agenda
-
9am CET / 8am GMT: A session on the electoral outlook for 2024
-
10.15am CET / 9.15am GMT: A session on how to deal with emerging risks and rapid shocks?
-
10.15am CET / 9.15am GMT: A session on the prospects for the Middle East in 2024
-
11am CET / 10am GMT: The Global Economic Outlook, with Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of Singapore, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance of Saudi Arabia, David Rubenstein, Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group, Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, and Christian Lindner, Germany’s Federal Minister of Finance
