 |
|
|
|||||
President Donald Trump arrived at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, after a minor electrical issue aboard Air Force One had forced a return to Washington to switch aircraft.Shortly after he landed in Zurich, his Marine One helicopter took him to the site of the international gathering. The White House said arriving late wouldn’t push back his scheduled address at the forum in the Swiss Alpswhere his ambitions to wrest control of Greenland from NATO ally Denmark could tear relations with European allies and overshadow his original plan to use his appearance at the gathering of global elites to address affordability issues back home.Trump’s speech is set to focus on domestic policy. But it may touch on Greenland as well as the U.S. military operation that led to the recent ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.On Thursday, Trump plans to more heavily lean into foreign policy, including discussing hemispheric domination by Washington, and the “Board of Peace” he’s creating to oversee the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas.That’s according to a White House official who spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that haven’t been made public. Trump will also have around five bilateral meetings with foreign leaders, though further details weren’t provided. Tariff threat looms large Trump comes to the international forum at Davos on the heels of threatening steep U.S. import taxes on Denmark and seven other allies unless they negotiate a transfer of the semi-autonomous territorya concession the European leaders indicated they are not willing to make.Trump said the tariffs would start at 10% next month and climb to 25% in June, rates that would be high enough to increase costs and slow growth, potentially hurting Trump’s efforts to tamp down the high cost of living.The president in a text message that circulated among European officials this week also linked his aggressive stance on Greenland to last year’s decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize. In the message, he told Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Stre, that he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace.”In the midst of an unusual stretch of testing the United States’ relations with longtime allies, it seems uncertain what might transpire during Trump’s two days in Switzerland.On Tuesday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told a Davos panel he and Trump, a Republican, planned to deliver a stark message: “Globalization has failed the West and the United States of America. It’s a failed policy,” he said.“This will be an interesting trip,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House on Tuesday evening for his flight to Davos. “I have no idea what’s going to happen, but you are well represented.”In fact, his trip to Davos got off to a difficult start. There was a small electrical problem on Air Force One, leading the crew to turn around the plane about 30 minutes into the flight out of an abundance of caution. That pushed the president’s arrival in Switzerland back hours.Wall Street wobbled on Tuesday as investors weighed Trump’s new tariff threats and escalating tensions with European allies. The S&P 500 fell 2.1%, its biggest drop since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.8%. The Nasdaq composite slumped 2.4%.“It’s clear that we are reaching a time of instability, of imbalances, both from the security and defense point of view, and economic point of view,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in his address to the forum. Macron made no direct mention of Trump but urged fellow leaders to reject acceptance of “the law of the strongest.”Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that should Trump move forward with the tariffs, the bloc’s response “will be unflinching, united and proportional.” She pointedly suggested that Trump’s new tariff threat could also undercut a U.S.-EU trade framework reached this summer that the Trump administration worked hard to to seal.“The European Union and the United States have agreed to a trade deal last July,” von der Leyen said in Davos. “And in politics as in business a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something.” Trump will talk about housing Trump, ahead of the address, said he planned on using his Davos appearance to talk about making housing more attainable and other affordability issues that are top priorities for Americans.But Trump’s Greenland tariff threat could disrupt the U.S. economy if it blows up the trade truce reached last year between the U.S. and the EU, said Scott Lincicome, a tariff critic and vice president on economic issues at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.“Significantly undermining investors’ confidence in the U.S. economy in the longer term would likely increase interest rates and thus make homes less affordable,” Lincicome said.Trump also on Tuesday warned Europe against retaliatory action for the coming new tariffs.“Anything they do with us, I’ll just meet it,” Trump said on NewsNation’s “Katie Pavlich Tonight.” “All I have to do is meet it, and it’s going to go ricocheting backward.”Davos a forum known for its appeal to the global elite is an odd backdrop for a speech on affordability. But White House officials have promoted it as a moment for Trump to try to rekindle populist support back in the U.S., where many voters who backed him in 2024 view affordability as a major problem. About six in 10 U.S. adults now say that Trump has hurt the cost of living, according to the latest survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.U.S. home sales are at a 30-year low with rising prices and elevated mortgage rates keeping many prospective buyers out of the market. So far, Trump has announced plans to buy $200 billion in mortgage securities to help lower interest rates on home loans, and has called for a ban on large financial companies buying houses. Promoting the ‘Board of Peace’ There are more than 60 other heads of state attending the forum. On Thursday, Trump plans to have an event to talk about the Board of Peace, meant to oversee the end of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and possibly take on a broader mandate, potentially rivaling the United Nations.The White House official said around 30 are expected to join the board after invites were sent to about 50 countries late last week.Fewer than 10 leaders have accepted invitations to join the group so far, including a handful of leaders considered to be anti-democratic authoritarians. Several of America’s main European partners have declined or been noncommittal, including Britain, France and Germany.Trump on Tuesday told reporters that his peace board “might” eventually make the U.N. obsolete but insisted he wants to see the international body stick around.“I believe you got to let the U.N. continue, because the potential is so great,” Trump said. Michelle L. Price contributed from Washington. Josh Boak, Will Weissert and Aamer Madhani, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
In October, gold hit a significant milestone, reaching $4,000 an ounce for the first time. Less than four months later, the precious metal is well on its way to $4,900 an ounce in an astonishing push that shows no signs of stopping. Late Tuesday, January 20, gold hit a new record high of $4,800 an ounce, and by Wednesday morning, it rose to over $4,880 an ounceup more than 12% year-to-date (YTD) and up about 76% over the last 12 months. A report from the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) predicts gold could trade anywhere between $3,450 and $7,150 an ounce in 2026. Analysts surveyed by the LBMA predict wildly different figures, with Robin Bhar of RBMC forecasting an average of $4,000 per ounce, and Julia Du of the ICBC Standard Bank predicting an average of $6,050 per ounce. Silver has also continued its surge right alongside gold. The precious metal surpassed $95 per ounce for the first time on Tuesday. It has fluttered ever since, dropping within $2 less an ounce, before reaching above $95 again and again. Silvers new record-high figure is up about 34% YTD, and up more than 201% over the last year. In the LBMA report, Du took an equally bullish stance on silver, forecasting an average of $125 per ounce, while Bart Melek of TD Securities predicted an average of $44.25 per ounce. Why do gold and silver continue to rise? Gold and silver are seen as safe-haven assets at a time of intense geopolitical uncertainty. This week has seen President Donald Trump continue his push to take Greenland by whatever means necessary. Today, he is attending the World Economic Forum in Davos to further his demands, and push back against European leaders who oppose them. Over the weekend, Trump threatened tariffs of up to 25% on eight European countries, including the United Kingdom and Denmark.
Category:
E-Commerce
Right now, too many physicians and patients are trapped in a fragmented system. Information existsbut rarely in a form thats usable or easily actionable. Too often, lab results arrive as scanned images. Medication histories show up late or unreadable. Critical details hide in pages no one has time to sift through. What clinicians feel in those moments is not just inconvenienceits strain. Theyre carrying the weight of navigating a complexity that shouldnt sit on their shoulders in the first place. Many expect artificial intelligence (AI) to solve the problem but while it can be an important part of the solution, AI is only as smart as the data it feeds on and only as effective as the structure that enables it. When information is incomplete, inconsistent, or locked in silos, even the most advanced tools struggle to deliver meaningful insight. AI plays an important rolebut not by fixing fragmented data on its own. The work of organizing, connecting, and interpreting healthcare information still belongs to people and the systems they build. Where AI helps is after that foundation is in place: by bringing the right information forward at the right time, reducing the effort it takes to find what matters, and supporting better decisions in the moment of care. The next era of healthcare innovation wont be driven by larger AI models. It will be driven by how well we prepare the information they rely on. The benefits of AI AI is already helping clinicians reclaim time. It drafts documentation, supports communication, and reduces administrative burden reducing the pressures that drive burnout. A nationwide survey of more than 500 physicians and administrators conducted by athenaInstitute for its AI on the Frontlines of Care report found that 64% of clinicians said documentation-related AI reduces their workload, and nearly half identified time saved as AIs most important benefit. What stands out is how often clinicians describe these savings in terms of what they get back: the ability to be present with their patients. Less administrative pressure doesnt just lighten their workloadit changes how they show up in the exam room. Thats powerful. But these gains reveal a deeper truth: AI performs best when the information around it is complete, consistent, and interpretable. For too many medical practices across the nation, thats the exception, not the rule. AI only works when the data works Clinicians consistently report difficulty accessing what they need when they need it, according to athenaInstitutes research. Nearly half say they encounter inconsistent formats or information that is simply hard to locate. Only 2% report having timely, comprehensive visibility across systems. This disconnect has real consequences. AI cannot flag early signs that a patients condition is worsening if key information is missing. It cant prevent duplicative testing when records dont follow patients across medical settings. It cant strengthen clinical reasoning when the underlying information contradicts itself. AI is a force multiplier, but it can only magnify what already exists. If the data is fragmented, the insight will be fragmented too. This is why interoperability matters to every one of us, whether we realize it or not. For clinicians, its the difference between piecing together bits of information or having a clear picture of their patients. For patients, its the difference between reciting the same information repeatedly or speaking face-to-face with your physician, with no distractions. AI adoption grows when it reduces friction in the workflows clinicians struggle with most: documentation, intake, communication, scheduling, and claims. Trust grows when AI is transparent, monitored, and clinically grounded. Safety grows when interoperability and standardization serve as the backbone of clarity. Four shifts that will shape the future The organizations that unlock AIs full value will be the ones that build the strongest data foundation. Leading organizations will take four actions. 1. Curate, not accumulate. Clinicians dont need more data. They need meaningful data that supports their ability to treat patients. 2. Standardize to simplify. Predictable structure in the dataformats, fields and definitionsreduces friction and cognitive load. 3. Make intelligence portable. Patients move. Their information should move with themintact, interpretable, and ready to support the next moment of care. 4. Support intuitive interpretation. The best AI surfaces what matters, explains why, and reinforcesnot replacesclinician judgment. When these elements come together, AI stops functioning as a series of disconnected tools and starts acting as a true intelligence partnerone that provides clarity instead of noise. Healthcare has never lacked dedication, intelligence, or compassion. What it has lacked is claritythe ability to see the full picture when it matters most. AI can help deliver that clarity, but only when its built on a system that speaks a common language. If we invest in connected, usable data today, we wont just make healthcare more efficient. Well make it more human. And thats the kind of progress and innovation patients, clinicians, and communities deserve. Stacy Simpson is chief marketing officer at athenahealth and co-chair of athenaInstitute.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||