New York

Ever since emerging markets became a major asset class in the early 1990s, a parade of potentates, policymakers and corporate chieftains have flocked to the stylish village of Davos in the Swiss Alps in the hope of becoming the latest global meme.

The growth revolution in China, the emergence of oil-driven sovereign wealth in the Middle East and Brazil's economic miracle have all been celebrated, one time or another, by the global elites who gather at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos each January to ponder the world. This year the meeting started on Wednesday and will end on Saturday.