Around 40 key withdrawals by speakers and delegates for Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative conference, 23-25 October, (also known as ‘Davos in the desert’) did not stop the Saudis heralding the event as a facilitator for deals worth US$34bn. Outcry over the death on 2 October of Jamal Kashoggi, who is believed to have been killed in the Saudi consulate in Turkey, resulted in many high profile pull-outs including US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, International Monetar...