Growth slows, markets feeling good ahead of World Economic Forum in Davos

FRANKFURT (AP) - The world's financial and political elite will head this week to the Alps for this year's gathering of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, with the global economy far less plagued by fear than it was last year.

Panics from a collapse of the euro-centred union have been avoided. China appears likely to remain an engine of global growth. Stocks are off to a running start in the New Year.

"There's a sense of relief that the worst didn't happen... and I think that relief is probably justified," said IHS Global Insight's chief economist Nariman Behravesh.

Davos is the venue for the WEF, an annual gathering of more than 2,000 decision-makers from nearly 100 countries and hundreds of companies that starts on Wednesday. The WEF has taken "Resilient Dynamism" as the theme for this year's event.