INSIGHTS
JAN
22
COSTA’S CORNER
Baby its cold outside!

As the Northeast goes through another typical wintertime freeze my thoughts go to those poor souls that are freezing in Davos, Switzerland.
For the next four days World leaders of business, politics and science will meet and discuss any number of topics with little to no resolution.

Davos typically attracts a who’s who in the business world and a smattering of politicians that feel it’s a smart move to cozy up to these business leaders. You never know when you will need a job after your current job ends.
This year will be a little different. President Trump, British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron will not be attending due to domestic situations that have become their top priority.
It’s an opportunity to rub elbows with competitors and peers in the same room and exchange ideas. It’s a place where dozens of presentations are given and thoughts are provoked but as we are beginning to see, it’s the same thought provoking presentation as last year and the year before that.
Nothing substantial ever seems to come out of these meetings and given the high-powered attendees, that’s a true shame.
Every major player on the Global stage is usually here and if there ever were a time to try and address global problems, this would be it. Yet, little is ever accomplished.
For years they have been talking about the divide between the haves and have-nots. Or how the distance between the wealthy and the middle and lower classes is widening. How poverty is an endless cycle and yadda yadda yadda.
Yet, companies in the US fight a $15 national minimum wage saying it’s inflationary and will hurt the small business owner. Since when has any company had any empathy towards the plight of the small business owner?
The point of this rambling is that while Davos is an important meeting of the minds, those minds seem to end up doing very little.
Ironically, talk is not cheap in Switzerland. Tickets for the four-day even can run as high as $20,000.

Typical weakness today, not going to back in.

50% Stocks
25% Fixed Income
25% Cash