#DAY3 WEF2020

"Trump has left town where he let loose on his enemies. After his lack luster keynote speech, the fiery exchange at least gave White House reporters in Davos their money’s worth. Speaking of money, by Quartz’s count the US administration’s two-day trip to the Alps cost American taxpayers at least $4 million, and likely much more.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR TODAY

Less than zero. Klaus Schwab talks to Satya Nadella in the Salon at the Congress Center at 10:30 am. In terms of real, measurable action to improve the state of the world, the Microsoft boss might get quizzed on how the $1.3 trillion market cap company will go carbon negative by 2030. Still wrapping your head around negative emissions? Here’s our handy primer.

Countries in crisis. Davos feels far removed from the mass protests that have convulsed countries around the world recently, but three sessions will bring them to the forum. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó—recognized as the country’s true president in more than 50 countries—gives a special address at 9:30 am, in a last-minute addition to the agenda. (His trip defies a travel ban, and he risks arrest upon his return.) At 1:00 pm, Lebanon’s foreign minister discusses “the return of Arab unrest,” and at 2:45 pm the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government talks to Iraq’s finance minister and the Saudi foreign minister on “an unsettled Middle East.”

The disunited states of Europe. On a day that’s likely to deliver some hard truths for the continent, at 11:15 am the Polish president, Turkey’s foreign minister, Italy’s minister for European affairs, and NATO’s secretary-general discuss the future of the “brain dead”—as France’s Emmanuel Macron put it—military alliance. German chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte weigh in with keynotes later, at 2:15 pm and 4:00 pm, respectively. In the evening, the prime ministers of Georgia and Finland, ECB head Christine Lagarde, and representatives from the EU hold a dinner at the Kongress Hotel where they will discuss the goal of “uniting Europe.” (Easier said than done.)

Micah White, again (and again). Missed the co-founder of Occupy Wall Street’s talk yesterday? No problem. The activist—who has been ridiculed for his defense of mingling with elites—will speak on two panels today, at 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm. The first is on civil unrest in Latin America, with Ecuador’s foreign minister; the second is on “how to turn protest into progress,” with financier Bill Browder and Canadian indigenous teen activist Autumn Peltier.

George Soros holds court. The billionaire philanthropist continues his tradition of hosting a dinner where he delivers a dystopian speech about the state of the world. Last year, Soros warned about the rise of China and Xi Jinping’s danger to open societies, and the year before he ripped into Donald Trump’s policies as well as the power of Big Tech.

Party planner. It’s many delegates’ last night in Davos, which generally means good business for the after-hours piano bars. Before it comes to that, we hear the Salesforce tiki lounge has Lenny Kravitz, while Cloudflare’s competing soirée targets a younger crowd with Jason Derulo. Wherever you find yourself, remember there is always a more exclusive party somewhere else in town, and you’re not invited.

WHO WON DAY TWO?

Thirty years after his last appearance here, Britain’s Prince Charles returned to Davos for the WEF’s 50th anniversary—lured, he said, by “the urgent need to shape the next 50 years.” To that end, he made a direct appeal to delegates to lend their “ingenuity and practical skills” to the tasks of rapid decarbonization and the transition to sustainable markets. He also met Greta Thunberg, who was born roughly 35 years after His Royal Highness made his first speech about the environment.

It will be a busy year for the prince, who said he’d be holding a series of roundtables on areas “including, but not limited to, aviation, water, carbon capture and storage, shipping, forestry, plastics, financing, digital technology, the bio economy, nature-based solutions, renewable energy, battery storage, electric vehicles, fisheries, integrated healthcare, cement, steel, traceability in labeling, and agriculture—at the end of which I shall probably be dead.” (The line earned a genuine laugh in the crowd.) For delivering a succinct, reasoned, and well-received message to take action, and for keeping a stiff upper lip and a sense of humor in the face ofstress on the royal family recently and the planet generally, the winner of Davos on day two was Charles, Prince of Wales.

MORE HIGHLIGHTS FROM YESTERDAY

Awkward conversation topics. What panel discussion or keynote address could possibly compete with news of the apparent hacking of Jeff Bezos’ phone via malware embedded in a WhatsApp message from Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman? It was the biggest talking point on the sidelines of Davos, though probably not in the many Saudi-sponsored lounges along the Promenade. Earlier reports of Russian spies (disguised as plumbers) laying the groundwork for hacking ops in Davos last year are somewhat tame by comparison.

DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE

Each day, we’re asking a different delegate whether the following people, things, and ideas are overhyped, under hyped, or properly hyped. Today’s contestant: Dmitry Konov, CEO of Russian petrochemical producer Sibur.

Blockchain: Overhyped. “The idea is great, the technology is mostly there, but the application of the concept to particular cases has been very poor.”

A four-day workweek: Overhyped. “But flexible working hours are properly hyped.”

Greta Thunberg: Overhyped. “She has her thoughts, observations, and worries—she’s right about many of them. There are also things that she doesn’t take into account. Some of the solutions that she’s calling for can bring a worse result for her aspirations.”

ESG investing: Properly hyped. “Maybe even underhyped, because I think it’s already the mainstream and will become more influential and important in the coming years—faster than people think.”

CHART INTERLUDE

Glass half full. Despite a somewhat somber mood around the Congress Center this week, the official program suggests there isn’t so much to be worried about. "