In the News (from Time Business): “Capitalism needs a fundamental overhaul. …The most rational arguments have pointed out that not only is capitalism the best system yet devised for enhancing the well being of the greatest number of people, but that it is also immensely supple and flexible. But a surprising number of attendees (and these are the world’s most direct beneficiaries of the current system) seems to agree that something is wrong.

“The Arab Spring must end happily. …The powers at the very core of the World Economic Forum are interested in the Arab Spring as a matter of paramount global importance. (That said, among the regular attendees, the Eurozone is of far more interest. At one panel discussion on ‘The Future of North Africa,’ the auditorium was about 10% full. For a ‘Future of the Eurozone’ panel taking place immediately after, it was standing room only.)

“The Eurozone crisis will continue to muddle along, but muddling may be enough. The European finance ministers in attendance are all staying on message: Eurobonds are not happening, austerity measures are the way forward now, greater fiscal union is the end goal, and Greece will not default or leave the Eurozone. Interestingly, for the first time in a long time, most of the policital/policy/media hive mind is cautiously optimistic that the Eurozone may actually be starting to heal itself.

“China is still the star. Brazil has come to Davos in a big way. As has Mexico, and India, and Azerbaijan. But the panels on China are packed, and everybody wants to talk about China, and while the cult of the Chinese technocrat has long been on the rise, we are now reaching the full flower of absolute reverence. American business people speak in hushed tones about the new generation of Chinese leaders as if they are supermen: They are well-educated, worldly, wise, and compared to the haplessness and paralysis that western governments have demonstrated over the past two years, they are paragons of good governance.

“Americans and Europeans are pointing fingers at each other. Why is the global economy not in full recovery? The Europeans complain that none of this would have happened if the Americans had not taxed the global financial system when its housing bubble burst. To which, the Americans respond that that may be true, but they claim to have put their house in order and the only thing that’s holding America’s economy back now is European uncertainty. Then, arguments commence.”

My Comment: So far, most important is to demonstrate to the world that somewhere the smart guys are concerned about it day and night
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