Cautious optimism

Acurious sense of cautious optimism was the final mood as many delegates at the World Economic Forum rushed to take advantage of the brilliant sunshine on the last day and headed for the heavy snow on the ski slopes, before finding their flights home.

After several years of deep financial crisis and economic recession, many had come to Davos this year expecting to hear more ongoing problems: the failure of monetary governance in Europe; the political stand- off in Congress crippling Obama’s hopes of reviving the American economy; and the threat of military action in West Africa leading to more years of violence just as Nato prepares to leave Afghanistan.

Part of the worry was that the coincidence of government changes in all parts of the world might mean that policy makers were uncertain or unable to respond effectively.

The second Obama administration has yet to reveal its priorities; Xi Jinping has not defined his policies for China; and elections in Germany and Italy might add to the shift in policy that started with Francois Hollande taking over from Nicolas Sarkozy in France.

In addition, the bankers know that the national financial regulators have lost the unified global focus which worked well in 2009 to 2011 in the huge global effort to re- organise the financial services sector in the aftermath of the crash.

Positive tone