The New York Times-20080125-Davos Diary- -Business-Financial Desk-
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Davos Diary; [Business/Financial Desk]
The High Price of Getting In
Receiving an invitation to the World Economic Forum is considered an honor for most -- but it does not come cheap. Representatives of governments, nonprofit organizations and the news media attend free. But corporate executives must pay for the privilege, and do so dearly.
To be eligible for an invitation, one must pay an annual fee of 42,500 Swiss francs, or nearly $39,000. On top of that is $20,000 or so to attend the conference. (That is just the cost of admission -- private planes, limousines and fancy ski outfits are, of course, extra.)
The cost rises to about $412,000 (450,000 Swiss francs) to win the prestigious title of strategic partner. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN
Market Troubles
Keep Few Away
Shares plummet and American central bankers meet for an emergency rate cut? Apparently that's no reason for the world's top bankers and financial policy makers to cancel the annual schmooze-fest. Mark Adams, the forum's director of communications, said he had had 16 phone calls by 4 p.m. Tuesday. In fact, only 13 of some 2,400 guests canceled at the last minute, Mr. Adams's team had determined by 8 p.m. Tuesday, and apparently none because of the tumultuous markets. KATRIN BENNHOLD
A Rosy Picture
When a government official starts talking about good economic fundamentals, you know something has gone wrong.
Its long-term economic fundamentals are healthy, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said of the United States in a speech Wednesday.
She spoke of idealism and optimism, not just for the American economy, but also for the Middle East, trade talks and a solution for climate change as well.
FLOYD NORRIS
An Obama Fan
The sharpest focus of the World Economic Forum may be on the future of the beleaguered economy, but room remains for some of the world's most influential financiers to talk politics.
At a lunch Wednesday, George Soros, the billionaire and former hedge fund manager who is a regular participant at Davos, revealed a regard for Senator Barack Obama as a Democratic candidate in the United States' presidential race. But, diplomatically, he kept the door open to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, too. ALAN COWELL
Pessimistic Bulls?
Optimistic Bears?
The title of the dinner debate was apt: Recession, in the forum's program folder in bold red letters as if to drive home the point. After a day of debates dedicated to (or inevitably turning to) the United States economy's sorry outlook, two chief executives joked that it felt like an act of masochism to end the day like this (rather than at the simultaneous wine-tasting or story-telling dinners).
But for all those who had wondered whether the bull as a species in financial markets had died out for good, it was a welcome surprise to find a dozen of them here. KATRIN BENNHOLD Bill Gates 2.0
In his speech to a standing-room-only crowd Thursday evening, Bill Gates of Microsoft took the first steps toward transforming himself from software baron to social philosopher.
His new effort is based on a public challenge he issued in his address to executives, urging them to pair the self-interest that is the hallmark of capitalism with interest in the welfare of others. Mr. Gates quoted an early work of Adam Smith to buttress his claim that humans are just as interested in ensuring others' fortunes as their own.
I'm an optimist, but I'm an impatient optimist, he said in the speech. The world is not getting better fast enough, and it's not getting better for everyone. JOHN MARKOFF
Sovereign Funds:
A Close-Up View
If there were a phenomenon tailor-made for discussion at Davos, it might be the rise of sovereign wealth funds. The economic forum was founded for discussions of economics and geopolitics.
On Thursday, there was a panel discussion on the rise of those government-run investment funds. Here's what one participant, Stephen A. Schwarzman, below, of the Blackstone Group, said: Our experience with sovereign wealth funds is they are smart, long term, highly professional. All they are looking for is higher rate of return.
(We should note that the largest shareholder in Mr. Schwarzman's buyout firm is one such fund.) PETER EDMONSTON
Still Time to Deal
A merger is like two people falling in love, Klaus Schwab, the founder of the economic forum, was once quoted in Wired magazine as saying. Sometimes we are the place where the people first meet. Sometimes we are the place where they do the proposing. And sometimes we just provide the beautiful sunset.
While the conference at Davos may be best known for its discussions of weighty ideas, sometimes this Swiss town is the setting for deal making. Last year, Davos was the backdrop for conversations between Barclays and ABN Amro, leading to a fevered bidding war that Barclays lost. That ill-fated pairing was hatched when Barclays's chief executive, John Varley, and ABN's chief, Rijkman Groenink, holed up in a hotel room to hash out proposed terms of a deal. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN
The Hot Tickets
The hot ticket at Davos remains the party given by Google. This year, the British D.J. who has been called the Minister of Sound is presiding. (But the better party is often the one by Accel Partners, the venture capital firm.) ANDREW ROSS SORKIN
[Illustration]PHOTOS (PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEL SAGET/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE -- GETTY IMAGES); (PHOTOGRAPH BY VIRGINIA MAYO/ASSOCIATED PRESS)