More gloom than boom expected at WEF

In the afterglow of impressive stock market gains in 2013 and upbeat economic growth forecasts this year, the World Economic Forum’s annual summit is nevertheless bracing itself for a more sobering tale of global upheaval threatening recovery.

WEF delegates in Davos will discuss a host of fundamental challenges that could just as easily spell trouble as opportunity when they gather for the five-day meeting starting Wednesday in the lofty Swiss alpine resort.

The advance of stocks and shares only reveals a fraction of the whole picture facing the rapidly evolving global landscape.

United States President Barack Obama has forecast 2014 as a “breakthrough year” for the US...