The World Economic Forum annual meetings start today
Get ready for the return of the World Economic Forum at Davos for the first January in three years. Guests are heading to the small Swiss town in their private jets for the annual jaw-fest that will feature conversations themed around ‘Cooperation in a Fragmented World’.
The lineup: Speakers include the EU’s Ursula von de Leyen, the IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva and Egyptian International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat in conversation with John Kerry and Mark Carney. Perspectives will reflect the shifting of a world “that has become introspective and less joined-up”, says Reuters, while the conversations will focus on the ‘polycrisis’, disparate shocks that interact so that the whole is even more overwhelming than the sum of the parts, reports the Financial Times, echoing the WEF 2023 Global Risks Report.
“Annual confab of capitalist elites” — with a difference: This year, says Bloomberg, the changing attendees list is reflective of reshaping caused by the recent global upheaval. While the hosts of Wall Street leaders and tech giants are back to pre-covid levels, what’s more interesting is who won’t be there. Sanction-barred Russian bn’aires will be replaced by those from the Gulf, India and the Philippines. Recognisable political faces will be scarce: German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz will be the only G7 leader in attendance and neither US President Joe Biden nor UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will make appearances, in a “sign of how politically toxic Davos can be for politicians trying to appear down with the people”, suggests Politico.
Representing Egypt: International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat will take part in four panels over the week while Planning Minister Hala El Said will feature in a discussion about reforms in the MENA region on Thursday.
The cost of deglobalization: The IMF has warned that deglobalization could wipe out up to 7% off the world’s GDP in a new report. With geopolitical friction increasing, the global economy will suffer from higher import prices, fragmented markets, and more restricted access to tech and labor, all things that will lower productivity across the world, the Fund says.
EMs and low-income countries are set to bear the brunt. If trade barriers are compounded with reduced technological sharing, GDP could take an 8-12% hit in some countries. Emerging markets and low-income countries will be disproportionately affected. “Since they are further from the technological frontier, [EMs] lose disproportionately when access to embodied technology and R&D is lost,” the IMF wrote.
But there’s good news: If countries get their acts together and reverse the current trend, the hit to the global economy may be as slight as 0.2%.
Want your houseplants to live longer? Some people try talking to them. A survey of 1,250 plant owners cited by the Washington Post found that half talked to their plants. Why? Two-thirds thought that conversation helped them grow. Though the science on whether talking to them helps plants grow is dubious, there is evidence to suggest that they respond to their surrounding vibrations and grow differently depending on the type of noise they are exposed to. Marigold and chickpea plants were observed in varied environmental settings, and results showed that those exposed to “light Indian music” developed better — growing taller with healthier leaves — than those bombarded with traffic noises, according to one study cited by the Post. Other research revealed that the sounds of other organisms, including birds, insects, and water can also affect the life cycle of plants.
Think talking to plants is a sign of mental health problems? Think again. For some psychologists though, there may be some mental benefits of trying to strike up a conversation with your Hydrangea. “As we are talking to our plants, we are talking to ourselves — and formalizing our thought process,” the newspaper quotes social worker and director of the Stress Trauma and Resilience Program at Ohio State University, Kenneth R. Yeager, as saying. Moreover, some scientists argue that indoor plants have a calming effect on humans, “helping them feel rejuvenated.”