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As it happenedended1516994410

Davos 2018: Donald Trump booed over 'fake news' comments as global summit draws to a close - as it happened

Delegates also debated cyber warfare, human rights and the merits of guaranteed basic incomes

Boos from the crowd as Donald Trump makes jibe at the press at the World Economic Forum in Davos

Donald Trump has made his first speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos today, bringing his "America First" message to political and business leaders from across the globe.

The US President has preached a doctrine of trade that is "fair" to his country, pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and pushing for new deals on trips abroad.

Mr Trump landed in Davos on Thursday and met with leaders including Theresa May, following a week of warnings by top European figures on the dangers of isolationism and nationalism. He flew back to the US after his Friday speech.

That's a wrap, folks! Thanks for reading, and joining us on this wild ride through the final day of Davos.

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Delegates also debated cyber warfare, human rights and the merits of guaranteed basic incomes. A panel has already heard today that depression must be "destigmatised" to counter a problem that affects 320 million people worldwide.

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Reaction is coming in to Mr Trump's speech.

Jay Flatley, executive chairman of California-based genome sequencing company Illumina, said the US President's speech was "a very calming presentation, considering how it could have gone." 

Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winner in economics, found it far from convincing and argued that the new US tax cuts will create a bubble in the housing market. He said: "I've never known an economy to grow long-term by real estate speculation."

Kristian Jensen, Denmark's finance minister, provided some early international feedback, writing on Twitter: "Honestly speaking, a rather ordinary speech from @realDonaldTrump. We didn't need a sale speech for ???? but a vision for a renewed cooperation about growth." 

Jon Sharman26 January 2018 15:42
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2018's WEF summit is now closing, with a concert by the Davos Festival Chamber Choir.

Jon Sharman26 January 2018 15:51
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Our tech reporter Aatif Sulleyman has rounded up what was said about bitcoin at the WEF, where it attracted both criticism and praise from business figures and world leaders in Davos.

The cryptocurrency has continued to divide opinion, with experts disagreeing on its staying power and whether it’s worth using at all. 

"I’m impressed with the technology, but it seems to me that it’s technology for something else," said Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert J. Shiller during a panel debate.

Jon Sharman26 January 2018 16:00
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During his Davos speech, Donald Trump described an America that is "roaring back" - just as his government was releasing figures showing a year of economic growth well short of what he told people to expect. 

Mr Trump's speech to the World Economic Forum overstated US economic performance on a number of fronts.

A look by AP at several of his claims and how they compare with the facts: 

TRUMP: "Since my election, we've created 2.4 million jobs. And that number is going up very, very substantially." 

THE FACTS: Actually, job growth is going down. Looking at annual totals, rather than since the November 2016 election, US companies and other employers added 2.1 million jobs in 2017.

That was actually the lowest job growth in seven years. It's not surprising that job gains are slowing, which typically happens when unemployment has fallen to very low levels and there are fewer people to hire.

Right now, it is 4.1 per cent, the lowest in 17 years. Still, Trump's assertions that hiring is picking up is wrong. 

TRUMP: "The tax cut bill is expected to raise the average American's household income by more than $4,000."

THE FACTS: Most mainstream economists are sceptical of this figure. The average household will see its income rise $1,610 in 2018 because of cuts in income tax, according to the Tax Policy Centre. 

The $4,000 figure refers to an estimate by White House economist Kevin Hassett that the cut in the corporate tax rate, to 21 per cent from 35 per cent, will lift household income by that much on average.

This is based on the idea that companies will use their higher profits to invest more in machinery and other tools that will make workers more productive and therefore able to demand higher pay. That may happen, but it would take years to occur and most economists expect the benefit, if any, for most workers will be smaller.

TRUMP: "After years of stagnation, the United States is once again experiencing strong economic growth." 

THE FACTS: This is an exaggeration. The economy is doing better by some measures but data released right as Mr Trump finished speaking shows it hasn't yet accelerated meaningfully since his inauguration.

Since the Great Recession ended in 2009, the economy has expanded at an average annual pace of 2.1 per cent, which makes it the slowest recovery since World War II.

The Commerce Department said on Friday the economy grew 2.3 per cent in 2017, Mr Trump's first year in office. Most economists expect better in 2018. But the US hasn't yet entered a sustained period of faster growth. 

Mr Trump was gunning for 3 per cent or better - and confident about his chances. He reached that goal in two quarters and frequently pointed out that President Barack Obama never saw 3 per cent growth for a year.

"It was not like that in your last administration," he told a Pensacola, Florida, rally on 8 December. "Economic growth last quarter surged to 3.3 per cent. You know where it was, right? When we started - you know where it was? Bingo. [Nowit is] 3.3 per cent and it's going a lot higher. You know, I used to hear, you'll never hit 3 per cent. You'll never hit two-and-a-half. You figure maybe 2.3 per cent, 2.4 per cent." 

Those sceptics figured correctly - it was 2.3 per cent. 

AP

Jon Sharman26 January 2018 16:10
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President Donald Trump has met with the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, in Davos.

During that meeting, Mr Trump thanked Mr Kagame for his "contribution to peacekeeping operations", according to the White House.

Mr Kagame is seen as a military genius who embraced social media early to spread messages championing democracy, but is a highly contentious figure and has been accused of approving the assassinations of his critics.

Kristin Hugo26 January 2018 16:44
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Stephen Mnuchin, Mr Trump’s Treasury secretary, told the Guardian that the President’s speech was “fabulous”.

“Great speech,” he said.

Kristin Hugo26 January 2018 16:48
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Kristin Hugo26 January 2018 17:02
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On the heels of Mr Trump’s speech, Senator Bernie Sander once again attempted to draw the public’s attention to wealth and income inequality - which had been a central focus of his 2016 presidential campaign.

“While Donald Trump and the "masters of the universe" assemble in #Davos, the 6 richest people own as much wealth as the bottom half of the world's population – 3.7 billion people,” he tweeted. “We need a global economy that works for all, not just multi-national corporations and the very rich.”

Kristin Hugo26 January 2018 17:09
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Richard Haass, the president on the Council of Foreign Relations, also offered his take on Davos.

He tweeted: “#Davos shows that @EmmanuelMacron and others in Europe have a vision for global efforts to meet common challenges but not the capacity--and @realDonaldTrump's America has the capacity to lead but no longer embraces the vision. The result is bad for Europe, the US, and the world.”

Kristin Hugo26 January 2018 17:15

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