Davos updates: Trump speech looms as Greenland threats fuel global tension

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said at a panel on Wednesday morning that he thinks there'll be some "big failures" in the AI market, but it won't amount to a bubble.

"But that being said, I would much rather say that we need to spend more money to make sure that we're competing properly against China," Fink said.

There are two big factors at play here, Fink said. The first: Can the West grow economies fast enough to overcome deficits?

"That can be one big issue, especially with the rising deficits of the US," Fink said.

Secondly, another limiting factor is whether Western economies can make a J-curve of demand happen for AI and other technologies.

"The key to that is making sure that the demand only comes if technologies diffuse for more applications, more utilizations," Fink said. "If technology is just the domain of the six hyper scalers, we will fail."

Tax us — that's the message from nearly 400 wealthy people, who've signed an open letter addressed to the leaders gathering at Davos.

The letter's co-signees called out a "handful of global oligarchs with extreme wealth," accusing them of harming society as a whole across governance, tech, innovation, and the environment.

The solution, per the letter, comes down to one thing — taxing the superrich.

Signatories include the actor Mark Ruffalo, film producer and activist Abigail Disney, and musician Brian Eno.

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"I believe President Trump is going to be about 3 hours late," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a morning presser. "I haven't seen the updated schedule."

ICYMI: Trump had to switch planes after an electrical fault was detected on board Air Force One.

David Steinbach, Hines' global chief investment officer, didn't mince words when describing the overall real-estate environment.

"It's been a really bad few years, honestly," Steinbach told me. "Really beginning in 2022."

Rising geopolitical tensions and the siloing of regions can make the environment even trickier. Especially for a company with over $90 billion of assets across 30 countries. Still, Steinbach told me that Hines raised about 50% more discretionary capital year over year in 2025.

"There's a risk and opportunity, right? The risk is it's now different. And that's probably not changing anytime soon," Steinbach said. "The opportunity is a lot needs to be built now, because you've got supply chains that need to get re-looked. You got very directive investments in-country."

"That's creating a lot of demand as well," Steinbach added.

On the schedule for Wednesday: Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.

Trump ran into some travel trouble en route to Davos late Tuesday. He was forced to switch from Air Force One to a backup plane after an electrical fault was detected on board. Flight maps show Air Force One making a U-turn over the waters off Long Island, then landing back in Washington, D.C.

The president is now back on the road and on his way to Switzerland.

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The police in Zurich deployed a water cannon after anti-Trump protests got chaotic, according to multiple reports from local media outlets.

Videos from the scene showed protesters holding up banners, including one that read: "TRUMP NOT WELCOME."

Zurich is a two-hour drive from Davos. It's likely that the president will face much less resistance at the ski resort, where executives are clamoring to meet him.