* While last year's inaugural gathering was held at the swank Hotel Woodrow Wilson in Geneva, several attendees griped about the venue for this year's event, which is not on the Mediterranean. Participants lamented the distance to the sea and the nearest pub. "This place is like an airport lounge," quipped one attendee, referring to the Nice Acropolis.
* Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse First Boston gave out toy cars--only the German bank offered sleek black BMWs while CSFB handed out a skinny white and blue racing car. A CSFB employee ruefully said, "That probably reflects the difference in our budgets."
* Chris Patten, who has headed up various European Commission bodies and served as the last U.K. governor of Hong Kong, spoke at a dinner on Wednesday night. He recounted one of his meetings with PopeJohn Paul II, whom he called one of the most charismatic leaders of the 20th Century: "However brief, those are moments one never forgets...like meeting one's first chartered accountant," Patten joked to the dinner crowd.
