18 must-read stories for the weekend

Tomorrow’s leaders, the skills gap, privacy in a hyperconnected world and other top stories from the last seven days.

Meet this year’s Young Global Leaders. From a Ghanaian tech entrepreneur to Bangladesh’s youngest MP.

There’s a skills gap between what people learn and what businesses need. Here’s how to bridge it.

By 2022, a trillion networked sensors will be embedded in our world. What does that mean for privacy?

Economics 2016. Everything you need to know about negative interest rates.

We’re losing 7 million hectares of forest a year. These 4 commodities could reverse that.

The answer to the world’s energy needs? Solar. It’s cheaper and more effective than ever before.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution will take professional jobs. Or will it? The human side of professional work may prove too hard for robots.

Reflections on macroeconomics then and now. Is economics a field where the questions remain the same but the answers always change?

The economic roots of Western populism. The export rise of Japan, and then China, shattered western industries and communities. Governments failed to soften the blow.

Why is US productivity growth still low? Industries like manufacturing, healthcare and construction are still not taking advantage of digital technologies.

Automation is killing skilled jobs. Immigrants are taking the rest. Welcome to America’s political problems in 1927, and see how far we’ve come.

Ancient routes. China’s New Silk Road and the crossroads of old empires.

A transportation revolution. The Forum has been driving the conversation on self-driving cars. (Tech Crunch)

The digital economy’s darker side. It has failed to deliver on its biggest promise. Cites the Global Competitiveness Report. (Harvard Business Review)

What we can learn from a man who served 19 years in prison. From a Forum Global Shaper. (Time)

Predictions on oil prices from Davos. Way too much supply, not enough demand. (Alternet)

What do Amal Clooney, Ashton Kutcher and Emmanuel Macron have in common? They’re all Forum Young Global Leaders. (Telegraph)

Who exactly are Young Global Leaders? Politicians, business leaders and social entrepreneurs. They have one thing in common: they’re all working to improve the state of the world.

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