FT News Briefing - Financial Times

Latest Episodes:

Private credit’s growing ‘IOU’ habit Oct 16, 2024

Show notes

Shares in ASML led a tech rout on Nasdaq on Tuesday after the chipmaker warned of a slower recovery in the semiconductor market, and Goldman Sachs’ quarterly profits jumped 45 per cent to $3bn, boosted by its equity trading business. Asian battery makers are racing to develop new generations of superfast charging for electric vehicles, and a growing list of cash-strapped companies are deferring loan repayments to private credit funds.

Mentioned in this podcast:

ASML shares drop sharply after warning on semiconductor recovery

Corporate debts mount as credit funds let borrowers defer payments

Battery makers aim to ease EV anxieties with 5-minute charge

Goldman Sachs profits jump 45% to $3bn after trading boost

Citigroup and BofA join other big US banks in beating gloomy forecasts

The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Pressure builds on Beijing to boost economy Oct 15, 2024

Show notes

OpenAI is considering a largely untested company model to protect chief executive Sam Altman from outside interference, and virtually all global insurers now include at least one low-carbon transition goal within their investment plans. Millions of dollars in bets are being placed on the US presidential election following the lifting of a domestic betting ban last week. Plus, China’s deflationary pressures picked up in September with weaker than expected consumer and factory prices, and the 2024 Nobel Prize for economics has been awarded to a trio of academics for their work on global inequality.

Mentioned in this podcast:

OpenAI pursues public benefit structure to fend off hostile takeovers

China deflation pressure mounts as investors seek more stimulus for economy

US election bets surge after court lifts ban

Trio of economists wins Nobel Prize for work on wealth of nations

Rethinking the AI boom, with Daron Acemoğlu

Insurers embrace climate change investments as catastrophe costs mount

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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US banks ride ‘soft landing’ high Oct 14, 2024

Show notes

Russia has expanded the capacity of its shadow fleet of oil tankers despite western sanctions, and US bank stocks hit their highest level since before the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday, following better than expected quarterly earnings. Plus, the Eurozone’s weak economic growth and sluggish consumer prices have raised concerns about low inflation, and Argentina’s president Javier Milei is not ready to lift the country’s currency controls.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Russia’s shadow fleet grows despite western crackdown

US bank stocks pass pre-SVB high on hopes for economic ‘soft landing’

Spectre of low inflation returns to haunt Eurozone policymakers

Argentina’s Javier Milei says his ‘regime of freedom’ not ready to drop currency controls

Musk’s SpaceX catches returning booster rocket in technical milestone

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Swamp Notes: Will Republicans take back the Senate? Oct 12, 2024

Show notes

Both chambers of the US Congress are like the country they represent: narrowly divided. But while Democrats currently hold a one-seat Senate majority, Republicans are increasingly confident that they’ll take back control of the chamber after the election next month. The FT’s Washington bureau chief, James Politi, and the Cook Political Report’s Senate and Governors editor, Jessica Taylor, join this week’s Swamp Notes to explain why this year’s Congressional map looks so good for Republicans.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Joe Manchin will not seek US Senate re-election in blow to Democrats

Donald Trump-backed US Senate candidate clinches Republican nomination in Ohio

Swamp Notes is produced by Ethan Plotkin, Sonja Hutson, Lauren Fedor and Marc Filippino. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Japanese PM’s uphill battle to win back voters Oct 11, 2024

Show notes

The French government has proposed a budget for next year with some €60bn worth of spending cuts and tax increases, and Hurricane Milton ploughed across Florida on Wednesday. US inflation fell to 2.4 per cent in September. Plus, we look ahead to Japan’s early elections later this month.

Mentioned in this podcast:

French PM unveils shock therapy in 2025 budget

US inflation fell to 2.4% in September

Hurricane Milton leaves millions without power after lashing Florida

Japan’s new prime minister pledges to tackle deflation in first policy speech

Spanish star Rafael Nadal calls time on glittering tennis career

CREDIT: BBC

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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US considers breaking up Google Oct 10, 2024

Show notes

HSBC’s top-paid bankers to bear the brunt of cost-cutting restructuring, and the UK Conservative party leadership race has been whittled down to two rightwingers. Plus, Germany’s economy is expected to shrink, and the US government is considering seeking the break-up of Google to end its monopoly in search.

Mentioned in this podcast:

US weighs Google break-up in landmark antitrust case

Jenrick vs Badenoch: Meet the next Conservative leader

Germany expects economy to shrink in 2024 after cutting forecast

Expensive senior bankers to bear brunt of HSBC restructuring

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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India’s belated oil rush Oct 09, 2024

Show notes

The head of KPMG US says the industry urgently needs to make it easier to become an accountant, and the EU is suing Hungary’s government over a new security law it says is in breach of citizens’ fundamental rights. Plus, India races to extract as much oil as possible while there remains a market for crude.

Mentioned in this podcast:

KPMG US head says the industry urgently needs to make it easier to become an accountant

India in rush to boost oil production before energy transition

EU sues Hungary over new security law

The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Michela Tindera, Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Strikes threaten Boeing’s bottom line Oct 08, 2024

Show notes

Big bank bosses join a growing list of prominent financiers expected to skip COP29 next month, and Spain proposes a new mechanism to help harmonise the EU’s capital and credit markets. Plus, activist investor Starboard Value has built a $1bn position in struggling drugmaker Pfizer, and tens of thousands of striking machinists are threatening Boeing’s recovery.

Mentioned in this podcast:

“You only go to the party if everyone is going”: finance bosses shun COP29

Spain to propose mini-coalitions to break EU capital markets stalemate

Activist investor Starboard builds $1bn stake in drugmaker Pfizer

‘They’re just mad’: Boeing strikers prepare for long haul

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Israel marks one year after October 7 Oct 07, 2024

Show notes

A new report forecasts that Donald Trump would raise the US debt by twice as much as Kamala Harris, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX is quietly opening up a new front in a global battle over a scarce and precious resource: radio spectrum. Plus, US partners at accounting firm EY have been told their pay for 2024 will be deferred, and a year after the October 7 attacks, international criticism of the Gaza war has led many Israelis to retreat inwards.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Donald Trump would raise the US debt by twice as much as Kamala Harris, report finds

EY to hold back some pay from US partners after tough year

The year that changed Israel

The satellite spectrum battle that could shape the new space economy

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Swamp Notes: How the Middle East conflict is shaping the election Oct 05, 2024

Show notes

The Biden administration has tried and failed to contain fighting in the Middle East over the past year - and now, the conflict is close to spiralling into all-out war. The FT’s US foreign affairs and defence correspondent Felicia Schwartz and US political news editor Derek Brower join this week’s Swamp Notes to explain what Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are telling voters they’ll do to end the conflict. Credit: USA Today

Mentioned in this podcast:

Israel and Iran have just delivered the US election’s ‘October surprise’

Benjamin Netanyahu’s ‘rope-a-dope’ war strategy with White House

Oil surges after Joe Biden’s comments on Israeli retaliation

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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