Executives attending the World Economic Forum are without doubt more confident about the economic outlook than they have been since the financial crisis erupted in 2007-08. But do not underestimate the ability of the Davos business elite to find new things to worry about.
The optimism reflects positive news on the economy – particularly from the US and Britain.
“The macroeconomic environment is the brightest it has been since before the crisis, when the storm clouds started to arrive,” said Ken Jacobs, chief executive of Lazard, the investment bank. “The best part is the US, where there is a good-to-sustainable recovery under way and we have a US-led global recovery for the first time since the early 1990s.”