Davos 2013: Business leaders concerned over uncertainty of referendum in five years I think Europe's reached a point of greater resilience, but where's the growth? Rogoff said. If you don't have the growth, how can you say the debt problem is over, not to mention the governance problem? So they've stretched things out, but we're a long way from the end-game here. 12.41 The World Economic Forum has done a good interactive graphic on its website of the group's history, since it was founded by Kalus Schwab in 1971. It is well worth a look to see some milestones in history that have occured at the annual meeting. Just click here. 12.35 The reception to David Cameron's EU referendum speech has been luke warm at best among business leaders and economists. Speaking to Bloomberg TV in Davos, Nobel economics laureate Christopher Pissaride said that Britain's assumption that it will retain full access to European Union markets if it leaves the 27-nation bloc was unrealistic. Bloomberg reports: The expectation in the U.K. "is that Britain can continue to have free trade relations with Europe" yet "be outside the union in terms of the budget, in terms of political decisions," Pissarides said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today in Davos. I don't think that's a very realistic view. 12.15 However, not everyone is so optimistic, particularly when it comes to Europe. Reuters is reporting that Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Policy Reform thinks Europe's economic problems are far from over, and that it will take years to fix the eurozone's problems. 11.58 And when not having her eyes popped at the prices in Davos, Emma has reported that Axel Weber, the former head of Germany's central bank says the global economic system has passed a turning point in its recovery. The economy has turned. Most of the markets are picking up," said Mr Weber, now chairman of Swiss bank UBS. The China stock markets are strongly rebounding ... in countries like the US, growth is bottoming out. The major economies are recovering. However, he stressed that in one area in particular the global economy is not seeing enough progress - employment. "Jobs are lost and are not recovered quickly," he said. Turning to his own sector, he said banks need to change in two areas, rethinking their role to focus on the client rather than"self-interest," and to win hearts and minds publicly following the financial crisis. "We've dealt with the issues in the corporates, we haven't dealt with it in society," he said. Mr Weber was speaking at a press conference to mark the opening of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, along with his co-chairs of this year's meeting, who likewise flagged what issues they hope to address. 11.50 The Telegraph's Emma Rowley has arrived in Davos for her first experience of the WEF and she's clearly been fretting about important things - how to look smart but dress warm for freezing conditions. As a Davos newbie, I could not avoid the big question gripping the minds of the world's thinkers as the global economy lurches from crisis to crisis. Namely, what to wear. On advice from old hands, I've gone for a confused mix of office wear, thermals, and enormous snow-ready boots, allowing me to look on pityingly as hapless newcomers attempt to navigate the ice-packed walkways in brogues. I will admit, however, to having gone overboard on the thermals, as inside the labyrinthine conference centre it is toasty warm. But never mind the temperatures - the painful surprise is the prices. No wonder the Swiss capped their franc, they must have been sick of foreigners complaining how expensive everything is. And it is - eye-poppingly so in and around Davos, where the currency strength is compounded by rather more micro economics at work: the fact that the world's finance and economic leaders are conveniently trapped in a small ski resort. As a result, I will be attempting to stick to the Davos diet as best I can - a strict regime of free fruit and canapes. 11.38 Some may well view it as the most important session of the day - the lunch session - and here's what's on the menu. There's a lot of fruit. 11.29 And it is not just the business elite and politicians that descend on Davos every year in the middle of winter. The Telegraph's very own Alex has made the trip and he appears to be having a drink with/near Bill Clinton. 11.20 Along with all of the meetings there are also a lot of reports being unveiled at Davos. Deloitte earlier (10.38) and the Trust Barometer (11.04) have been revealed and there's more. Emma Rowley reports. Along with all the meetings at Davos comes a tidal wave of reports. Analysts at IHS have put out a study on the unconventional energy revolution (i.e. shale gas) in the US, where the new flood of cheap energy has boosted manufacturers' competitiveness. They estimate that in the US alone, the surge in unconventional oil and gas extraction has led to the creation of 1.7m jobs and added $62bn to federal and state coffers in 2012. And no wonder Dow Chemical's Andrew Liveris was heralding the shale revolution as good for the world just moments ago at the opening presser. "The North American unconventional oil and gas revolution is having profound effects on the global chemistry industry," writes IHS chemical chief advisor Gary Adams. Energy derived raw materials represent as much as 75 percent of total petrochemical production costs. 11.04 You may well remember that in recent years the banking sector has been hit by a number of scandals, including the recent libor-rigging, but apparently trust in banks and business increased last year. Kamal Ahmed reports from Davos: The annual Edelman Trust Barometer, unveiled at Davos, revealed that from a low in 2012, levels of trust rose slightly. Asked the question "How much do you trust business in each of the following industries to do what is right," 50pc of the 26,000 people Edelman questioned globally said they did when it came to banks. The figure is 77pc for technology companies. For banks, the figure is an increase of 3pc from the year before. There was a 5pc increase for "financial services" generally. In the UK the level of trust in business also rose, although levels for banking are still very low. The banking sector failed to reach the 50pc "trust threshold" in any of the key services it offers including lending to small businesses, mortgage provision and running initial public offerings. Figures also revealed that since 2008 trust in the banking sector had fallen from 47pc to 22pc. 10.44 And just in case you were wondering what all the fuss what about Damian Reece says: 10.38 Telegraph's head of business Damian Reece reports that, according to Deloitte, British companies "lack ambition." UK companies are punching below their weight when it comes to exporting to the world's growth economies because of a lack of ambition, foresight and a tendency to try and replicate success in domestic markets which proves inappropriate overseas, according to a new report from Deloitte. However, UK companies are well placed to take advantage of economic and social trends in the fastest growing economies as demand for more sophisticated, knowledge-based goods and services grows, the report, unveiled at Davos, concludes. Markets such as Turkey, Mexico, Columbia and Vietnam are witnessing rapid urbanisation and growth in their aspiring middle classes which means the current failure of UK exporters to penetrate these markets will change. 10.30 Taking a look at the pound now, which has been steadily declining over the past couple of weeks and hit a ten-month low against the euro. Well, sterling, which had fallen againt the in early trading, jumped after a surprise fall in the number of Britons claiming unemployment benefit and as Bank of England minutes showed growing doubts among some policymakers about the need for more easing. 10.22 Sticking with Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP who is speaking at the WEF now, he says youth unemployment is a "critical issue" and expresses concern about the UK referendum on Europe. 10.18 With the presence of Hollywood's Charlize Theron it was always going to be showy and now the delegates are commenting on it: 10.12 As mentioned, Davos is a ski resort in the winter and at times it can be treacherous when moving between events, so the clever people at the WEF have issued delegates with crampons to fit to their own shoes. Genius! Louise Armitstead explains: Away from the meetings, there are constant reminders that Davos is one of the most inconvenient and impractical places on earth to have a conference. Just getting around is hard work: it's freezing cold and very slippery yet there's not much time between venues. The organisers do try to ease the delegates pain though and one of the best Davos accessories is a pair of crampons. In previous years these have been slightly hopeless bits of rubber which has meant you have to wear proper boots between venues, then change into other shoes when you get there - an extremely hot-making and inelegant process that plenty choose to avoid, even if it means risking a heavy fall outside. But this year - perhaps to encourage people to walk more in the spirit of "Green Davos" - the WEF-issued crampons are far more advanced. Metal studded, rubber-bottomed, with a leather strap, they fit neatly to the heel of your shoe. Better still, there's a small reflector strip on the back adding an extra element of safety for night-time odysseys. ....But for those without crampons, there are little golf buggies, complete with sheep-skin seats, driven at extreme pace along key footpaths. 09.58 The Telegraph's economics editor Philip Aldrick is in Davos and reporting that Centrica's boss Sam Laidlaw does not see any shale gas coming out of the UK any time soon By contrast the boom in shale gas in the US was likely to make it a net exporter of gas by 2017, the oil major forecast in its Energy Outlook 2030. More Philip Aldrick: Centrica's Sam Laidlaw has tried to put to rest rumours of a disagreement between him and Phil Bentley, head of his subsidiary British Gas. 'He's a hell of good guy', he tells me. But is he quitting? No comment. 09.55 The banking session is over and perhaps unsurprisingly only one of the panellists brought up pay. Louise Armitstead reports: Banking debate is over. Interestingly only Axel Weber brought up the thorny issue of pay. He acknowledged that while bankers and regulators focus on capital levels and rules, the "public perception of banks will be shaped by governance, legacy and most importantly pay." He said so far in the "core area" of remuneration, regulators had taken a "high-level, 10,000ft view" and outlined broad principles "in the hope that banks will respond." He warned that "if this transition doesn't happen" and banks don't respond properly, regulators will be far more heavy handed and "we're going to see more prescriptive rules." 09.50 CNN has done a guide to being a Davos delegate. They have worked out that the average cost of attending Davos is $40,000. Here is the break down. 09.36 Telegraph's head of Business Damian Reece gives us an insight into a "typical" WEF session. 09.26 The Telegraph's Kamal Ahmed has been speaking to business leaders in Davos about Cameron waiting until 2017 for the EU referendum and the consensus seems to be that they do not like the uncertainty. Last night at the launch of the PWC CEOs survey, the talk turned to Europe and David Cameron's speech this morning. Ian Powell, the UK chairman of PWC, probably summed up the mood of many CEOs at Davos - business hates uncertainty and 2017 is an awfully long time to wait for a referendum. "British businesses look for certainty," Powell said. We have the austerity measures, we have the eurozone, and anything that adds to that uncertainty is disruptive. The longer the disruption, the longer the uncertainty. Mr Powell's comments follow arguments at the weekend from Ford and BMW who said that the UK leaving the EU would be a disaster. Other chief executives, such as Lord Wolfson at Next, have said that British business should have nothing to fear from the UK renegotiating its relationship with Europe. Although Lord Wolfson said he wanted to remain in the EU, he said bureaucracy and regulation needed to be tackled. That's probably the mood of most business leaders here. "Business wants access to the biggest markets in the world and the EU is one of the biggest markets in the world," Mr Powell said of the threat that the UK could leave the EU. Mr Powell said that the debate about Europe added to the uncertainty around other issues such as energy policy and airport expansion. Another CEO I spoke to this morning asked why we had to wait until 2017 for the referendum. That's a long time, that's a lot of uncertainty. It seems it will be the word on every CEOs lips today. On a side note, Klaus Schwab, founder of the WEF, opened proceedings last night. 09.20 Back to that banking session and Louise Armitstead reports: Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JP Morgan says "We're trying to do too much too fast. We need to focus on capital and the basics. If you're in a barter society, there are no financial assets; as soon as you save you have financial assets. Almost every country uses derivatives, they don't do it because banks want them to do it, they do it because they need to. Five years, we still don't have mortgage rules yet. The world needs to sit down. Reuters is also reporting that Mr Dimon has apologised to shareholders for the $6bn loss caused by the so-called "whale" trade, calling it a "terrible mistake," but said the bank has moved on and is still highly profitable. If you're a shareholder of mine, I apologize deeply. But we had record results and life goes on. Despite a $6.2 billion loss from bad trades in JPMorgan's chief investment office last year, the bank still managed to earn a record $21.3 billion in 2012 09.16 The Telegraph's Kamal Ahmed has been speaking to the delegates at Davos to get reaction on David Cameron's speech this morning. 09.10 The Telegraph's Jeremy Warner is also in the banking session at Davos and apparently the participants want less regulation. 09.00 As you would expect with a meeting of such high-profile business leaders and politicians, security is tight and the police are out in force. 08.55 Back to Louise Armitstead's session where the debate on banks continues. Axel Weber, boss of embattled UBS says the aim of a global level playing field for banking is just "not possible." He says regulators have failed to reduce the complexity surrounding banks, and have actually increased it, now operational risks and legal risks are worse. Tidjane Thiam, CEO of Prudential, also says global regualtion will be "very difficult" because of emerging market economies, whose financial services have not blown up like they have in the West, and who don't want to impose all the restrictions that are being placed on western banks.