Weekend Reading: Looking Back at Our View From the Alps

As the World Economic Forum concludes in Davos, Switzerland, we’re looking back at some of our past coverage of the elite gathering.

1982: The New York Times began covering the event when it was still known as the European Management Forum. James Reston, a columnist for the Op-Ed page, wrote that President Reagan sent a cheerful message via a “color movie presentation.”

1988: “They came, they skied, they chatted,” reported Steven Greenhouse. The unofficial theme of the conference, Mr. Greenhouse wrote, seemed to be, “It’s the Morning After in America and Time for the U.S. to Stop Living Beyond Its Means.”

1994: “You can’t throw a snowball at the World Economic Forum in this ski resort without hitting a rejected Russian reformer,” wrote William Safire, a columnist for the Op-Ed page.

1995: The financier George Soros played the role of political doomsayer. “My purpose of coming here is to warn you we are entering a period of world disorder,” he said.

1996: “The losers are now asserting themselves, whether it is labor unions in France, Pat Buchanan supporters in America or pensioners in Russia,” wrote Thomas Friedman, a columnist for the Op-Ed page.

1997: “The very existence of banks is in doubt,” reported Judith H. Dobrzynski in a quick guide to Davos. “Some experts believe that new forms of commerce, like the use of cybermoney, will make them obsolete.”

1998: “For a First Lady who had spent the last two weeks fending off accusations of her husband’s infidelity, it might have been the perfect audience,” reported Edmund L. Andrews.

1999: Gov. Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey suffered a broken leg in a skiing accident during a conference-organized recreational outing.

2000: A Goldman Sachs market strategist said soaring United States stock prices were not overvalued and the American economy would grow, too.

2001: “When participants arrived at Davos this year they were given yet another gadget to communicate with other participants â€" a Compaq pocket PC,” Mr. Friedman wrote.

2002: Organizers moved the conference to New York after the Sept. 11 attacks. Alex Kuczynski reported on the party scene: “As two dozen New York City police officers huddled in front of a glowing television set on the corner of Park Avenue and 52nd Street last night, their eyes devouring all 19 diagonal inches of the Super Bowl, 400 people who could not have cared less, really, stood inside the Four Seasons Restaurant, eating hot dogs and foie gras.”

2003: Preparations for war in Iraq transformed the conference into a forum for criticism of the United States. A few technology leaders turned up for a panel called “The Dot-com Boom: How did we get it so wrong.”

2004: “Corporate bosses did not dwell much on Al Qaeda or the rebuilding of Iraq, but only because they are burdened with their own ineradicable threats,” Mark Landler reported. “White-collar jobs are flowing overseas. Nobody has time to worry about international terrorism,” said Howard Stringer, the chairman of the Sony Corporation of America.

2005: Timothy L. O’Brien examined the history and folly behind the Rolls-Royce of business conferences. “Look, there’s Angelina Jolie! Angelina, how is the world faring on the health and human rights fronts? Oh, my gosh! It’s Bono! Bono, what needs to be done about African poverty? Hey, Richard Gere and Sharon Stone, how can we tackle the AIDS crisis?”

2007: Davos says it is shunning Hollywood celebrities. “We noticed there was undue publicity given to the attendance of those celebrities at the last meeting,” said Klaus Schwab, the Swiss organizer.

2008: “The hot ticket at Davos remains the party given by Google,” reported Andrew Ross Sorkin. “This year, the British D.J. who has been called the Minister of Sound is presiding. (But the better party is often the one by Accel Partners, the venture capital firm.)”

2009: “Everyone is looking for the guy â€" the guy who can tell you exactly what ails the world’s financial system, exactly how we get out of this mess and exactly what you should be doing to protect your savings,” wrote Mr. Friedman. “But here’s what’s really scary: the guy isn’t here. He’s left the building. Elvis has left the mountain. Get used to it.”

2010: “A group of the world’s top banking chiefs and regulators, some nursing hangovers after a late night of party-hopping, finally started making some progress over financial reform,” reported Mr. Sorkin.

2011: Jamie Dimon, the chief of JPMorgan Chase, told listeners in Davos that he was fed up with banker bashing and “this constant refrain â€" bankers, bankers, bankers.” President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, in turn, reminded Mr. Dimon of the severe pain inflicted by the financial crisis.

2013: “The predictions that have emanated from Davos always have a ring of plausibility to them, in part because of the credibility of the speakers,” wrote Mr. Sorkin. “But all too often they fall short.”

A look back on our reporting of the past week’s highs and lows in finance.

FRIDAY, JAN. 24

A Worldwide Market Slump Gains Traction | Stock markets fell around the world on Friday as investors worried about an economic slowdown in emerging markets. DealBook »

Dimon’s Pay Jumps to $20 Million in a Year of Legal Woes for JPMorgan Chase | Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chief executive, has been awarded total pay of $20 million for 2013, a huge increase over the amount he received for 2012, according to a regulatory filing released on Friday. DealBook »

THURSDAY, JAN. 23

Fined Billions, Bank Will Give Dimon a Raise | In a series of contentious meetings, JPMorgan Chase’s board voted to give Jamie Dimon a new pay package after his pay was cut in half last year, to $11.5 million. DealBook »

A Boardroom Drama Percolates Behind a Staid Steel Company | The story of GrafTech illustrates the complex dynamics when relations between directors and management turn sour. It also highlights the sensitivity inside the boardroom in an era of activist investors and insider trading. DealBook »

Senator Is Lobbying for Inquiry on Herbalife | Senator Edward J. Markey has asked regulators to look into the business practices of Herbalife, the nutritional supplements company that has long been in the crosshairs of the hedge fund manager William A. Ackman. DealBook »

Key Witness Says Leader of SAC Was F.B.I. Target | The prosecution’s top witness said F.B.I. agents told him the government’s true target was Steven A. Cohen, the billionaire founder of the hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors. DealBook »

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22

News Analysis: Exporting U.S. Rules for Banks | Overseas banks like Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have not had to comply with parts of the Dodd-Frank Act that aim to strengthen the capital they must maintain to absorb losses. DealBook »

A Tell-All Born From Goldman Gossip | Comments heard in the Goldman Sachs elevators are making it into a book. DealBook »

Details Slip by Insider Trial’s Main Witness | The trial of Mathew Martoma, a former SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager, took a turn on Wednesday when Dr. Sidney Gilman, the government’s most important witness, showed signs of forgetfulness. DealBook »

Ex-Goldman Trader Tourre Fights S.E.C. Penalties in Fraud Case | In a court filing, lawyers for Fabrice Tourre attacked the Securities and Exchange Commission’s pursuit of more than $1 million in penalties over his role in creating a soured mortgage deal, calling it “unreasonably severe.” DealBook »

Icahn Adds eBay to His Targets in Technology | The activist investor called on eBay to spin off its PayPal business as he nominated two of his employees as candidates for the board. DealBook »

TUESDAY, JAN. 21

Heir Apparent at Pimco to Step Down | Mohamed El-Erian is unexpectedly resigning from the giant asset manager Pimco, dashing expectations that he would take over management of the firm. DealBook »

$2 Billion Deal in Works for Puerto Rico | Puerto Rico is battling a financial crisis that includes high unemployment and a crushing debt load. DealBook »

A Start-Up Run by Friends Takes On Shaving Giants | Harry’s is nine months old but trying to compete with Gillette and Schick. DealBook »

JPMorgan Is Said to Drop Out of Another Offering in China | PMorgan withdrew as a potential underwriter of a stock offering for Tianhe Chemicals. The bank once employed the daughter of Tianhe’s chairman. DealBook »

Insider Trial Witness Says He Lied to F.B.I. | Dr. Sidney Gilman, the government’s star witness in its case against Mathew Martoma, testified on Tuesday that he lied to the authorities for nearly a year about passing inside information to Mr. Martoma. DealBook »

Activist Investor Rewards Streamlining at Dow Chemical by Taking a Big Stake | Daniel Loeb took a stake of about $1.3 billion in Dow Chemical, which has pre-empted activist ambushes by getting ahead of them. DealBook »

Deal Professor: Search for the ‘Next Big Thing’ Yields Soaring Valuations | Everyone wins in technology deals like Google’s $3.2 billion purchase of Nest Labs, at least until the bubble bursts, writes Steven M. Davidoff. DealBook »

MONDAY, JAN. 20

DealBook Column: Notable in Their Absence From Davos | The leaders of some of the largest and most transformative companies are demonstrating, with their absence, the difficulty of convening a global conversation with all the main stakeholders, writes Andrew Ross Sorkin. DealBook »

Globe-Trotting Serial Entrepreneur Finds Roots in China’s Start-Up Scene | Richard Robinson has spent more than a dozen years in Beijing, where he has mainly focused on mobile Internet and gaming. DealBook »

WEEK IN VERSE

‘The One’ | Mary J. Blige performed at Google’s party in Davos. YouTube »