The G-20 financial experts and ministers say it is essential to support vulnerable developing economies. Youssef Boutros Ghali is Egypt s finance minister. He chairs the IMF s international monetary and financial committee. That s a very posh way of saying the most important committee in the IMF. He says what governments do about the …

There isn’t a lot to be cheerful about these days – even more so when it comes to traveling on business. No doubt about it. Assuming you are even being allowed to “get on the road the duration of trips is being cut, the class of travel is being downgraded and the stars on hotels …

DAVOS: Let me start by saying sorry. There is no way to get through this blog without a dose of shameless namedropping. How else can I tell you what the great and good have been telling me. For instance, this morning it was a short coffee bar chat with HRH Prince Andrew, on British industry …

DAVOS: If Angelina or Brad had been at Davos this year, they would have been given the treatment ‘Royal celebs’ deserve. But they are not here, so in the absence of glitz we have to find other ‘stars’ to hang onto. Thankfully there are plenty of alternative delegates worthy of our attention. For instance, economists …

The news is grim tonight on the economic front. Fifty-four thousand jobs have been announced to have been lost today. Countries are on the brink, for example, Iceland. And chief executives have been thrown out. It seems the corporation elite will no longer be the stars of the show this year at the World Economic …

If we needed reminding about why this week’s World Economic Forum is important, look at the pages of newspapers. Job losses, bank write downs, economic collapse and no end in sight. In previous years at Davos there has been the feeling that the delegates have been deciding the best way to improve the world; rarely …

I like to arrive in Davos a few days before the World Economic Forum begins when I can experience the picturesque Swiss town without the thousands of delegates. During the Davos week, getting a hotel room here is impossible. Many stay in apartments, or worse, in nearby towns (oh the shame of it!) This year …