Lobster in the mountains, riots on the Nile

[cali]

By Ben Hirschler

DAVOS, Switzerland | Sat Jan 29, 2011 9:40am EST

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The global elite, dining on Norwegian lobster and reindeer at the end of the World Economic Forum on Saturday, felt pretty chipper despite growing concerns about the inequality of the economic recovery.

While they believe the global financial and euro zone debt crises are abating, the real world intruded with a different and much more acute crisis in Egypt that made their debates about inequality and food security less theoretical than anticipated.

This year's four-day talkfest in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos was a fragmented affair.

The issue expected to dominate discussion, the euro zone debt crisis, turned out to be a relatively damp squib, with a growing consensus among bankers and policymakers that a resolution of the issue may be near.

If there was one common strand in Davos this year it was growing divisions -- whether between fast-growing emerging markets and sluggish developed world economies, or between rich and poor within countries.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/29/us-davos-mood-idUSTRE70S27D20110129?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true

[SoCalDem]

1. The "lah-ti-dahs" just don't get it, do they? n/t

[lonestarnot]

2. No hope for them really.

[aquart]

3. Whose "growing concerns"?

Certainly not theirs.