Deutsche Bank smashes profit estimates and boosts shareholder returns

Deutsche Bank on Thursday smashed fourth-quarter earnings expectations, reporting net profit of 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) and announcing a further 1.6 billion euros in shareholder returns for 2024. The quarterly net profit figure marked an almost 30% fall from the same quarter a year ago but was significantly higher than the 785.61 million euros … Read more

Inside the secret parties of the elite world

Countries and companies rent out storefronts on the Promenade in Davos, Switzerland during the World Economic Forum CNBC DAVOS, Switzerland — For as long as countries and companies have rented out chalets and storefronts on the Promenade of the small Swiss ski village that hosts the World Economic Forum, ancillary programming hosted beyond the reaches … Read more

UN’s Usher highlights financing challenge for companies in green transition

Greenwash activists take part in the final day of four days of The Big One climate protest activities organised by Extinction Rebellion (XR) on 24 April 2023 in London, United Kingdom. Mark Kerrison | In Pictures | Getty Images The head of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative believes there is still a “real … Read more

CEOs bemoan archaic systems in Europe that curb climate solutions

Steam rises from the Niederaussem coal-fired power plant operated by German utility RWE, which stands near open-pit coal mines that feed it with coal, on November 13, 2017 near Bergheim, Germany. Lukas Schulze | Getty Images News | Getty Images In order to drive the progress and development of innovative solutions that tackle climate change … Read more

What leaders at OpenAI, DeepMind, Cohere have to say about AGI

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, during a panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2024. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Executives at some of the world’s leading artificial intelligence labs are expecting a form of AI on a par with — or even exceeding — human intelligence to … Read more

Blockchain, tech behind bitcoin, can be used to track AI training data

Vertigo3d | E+ | Getty Images DAVOS, Switzerland — Blockchain could be used to prevent bias in the data that artificial intelligence models are being trained on — and that could be a “killer use case” for the technology, executives told CNBC. One of the concerns about the AI models — the kind that underpin … Read more

At Davos, leaders talked big on rebuilding trust. Can the World Economic Forum make a difference?

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP): Business and political elites descended on the Swiss Alpine snows of Davos to suss out “rebuilding trust” in a splintering world. If there’s any takeaway from the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting — boldly touting that theme — it’s that we still have a long way to go. From full-blown wars in … Read more

Germany the ‘tired man’ of Europe, finance minister admits

BERLIN, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 15: German Finance Minister Christian Lindner gives a statement to the media at the Chancellery following the weekly government cabinet meeting on November 15, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The topic was a ruling by the German Constitutional Court declaring that the coalition government’s shift of federal money in 2021 originally earmarked … Read more

Saudi Arabia goes big in Davos as it looks to become a top AI tech hub

A pop-up showcasing Saudi Arabia’s Neom development features among the most prominent on the Davos promenade in 2024. CNBC DAVOS, Switzerland — For years, the United Arab Emirates has been the Middle East’s go-to tech hub, thanks partly to its lack of personal income tax, flexible visa policies, and competitive incentives for international businesses and … Read more

Davos leaders see a new normal in 2024

President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde attends a session on the closing day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, on January 19, 2024.  Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty Images European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said she does not expect a return to economic “normality” in 2024, … Read more