This week we’re revisiting an episode from earlier this year about the London Stock Exchange’s decline. The exchange once held the top spot in global financial markets, but that’s changed completely in recent years. The FT’s Harriet Agnew and Katie Martin explain how a yacht floating off the Canary Islands 30 years ago played a critical role in changing the stock market. Clips from CBS, Thames News - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For further reading: Britain’s ‘capitalism...

Introducing Life and Art, from FT Weekend. It's a new twice-weekly culture podcast from the Financial Times. On Monday, we talk about life, and how to live a good one, in a one-on-one conversation that explores everything from food and travel to philosophy and creativity. On Friday, we talk about “art” – in a chat show! Three FT journalists come together to discuss a new cultural release across film, TV, music and books. Hosted by Lilah Raptopoulos, together with the FT’s award-winning...

In its early days Citigroup styled itself as a “financial supermarket”, a one-stop shop for all kinds of banking services around the world. But that plan has backfired in recent years. Stepping up to the challenge of repairing the bank is chief executive Jane Fraser, who announced her restructuring plan in September. The FT’s US banking correspondent Stephen Gandel and US banking editor Joshua Franklin discuss whether Fraser can turn the bank around, and if not, what happens to Citi.  - - - -...

 In a new series of Tech Tonic, FT journalists Madhumita Murgia and John Thornhill look at the concerns around the rise of artificial intelligence. Will superintelligent AI bring existential risk, or a new renaissance? Would it be ethical to build conscious AI? How intelligent are these machines anyway? The new season of Tech Tonic from the Financial Times, drops mid-November. Presented by Madhumita Murgia and John Thornhill. Senior producer is Edwin Lane and producer Josh Gabert-Doyon....

In the US, nearly half a million people have gone on strike this year demanding better pay, working conditions and job security. With the FT’s US labour and equality correspondent Taylor Nicole Rogers, we’re zooming in on the strategies that three major labour movements have used in recent months to try and secure new contracts, and whether their efforts could signal a new era of power for unions in America.  Clips from Associated Press - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  For...

In October two US oil and gas giants announced massive deals: Chevron bought Hess, and ExxonMobil acquired Pioneer Natural Resources. These deals expand each company’s operations and secure their access to more oil for decades to come. But recent forecasts say global demand for fossil fuels will soon reach its peak. The FT’s Myles McCormick looks at why these companies are betting oil demand will stick around and whether that bet will pay off.  Clips from Yahoo Finance, Reuters, CNBC,...

In the 1990s, Microsoft was seen as a tech industry bully. Once viewed as combative and ruthless in the eyes of regulators, the company underwent an image makeover in the decades since. Now, the FT’s Richard Waters explains how Microsoft’s transformation pushed their $75bn acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard over the line earlier this month.  Clips from Activision Blizzard - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  For further reading: How Brad Smith used...

This week, we have a bonus episode for you, live from the FT Due Diligence Forum in London. FT chief features writer Henry Mance sits down with author Michael Lewis to discuss his new book, Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, an all-access account of Sam Bankman-Fried before his crypto exchange FTX collapsed. This conversation was recorded on October 11 2023.  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  For further reading: What Michael Lewis got wrong about...

In its latest fight to curb the power of Big Tech, the US Federal Trade Commission has sued Amazon. The regulator says the e-commerce giant has become such a big monopoly that its practices are hurting consumers and the third-party sellers that rely on its services. The FT’s San Francisco correspondent Camilla Hodgson explains what this case could mean for the company’s future. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  For further reading: Amazon’s most prominent antitrust critic...

When Argentina’s president announced plans to nationalise an oil company in 2012, it was presented as a way to grow the country’s wealth. Eleven years on, a court in New York City decided that the country owes some of the oil company shareholders $16bn. The FT’s Joe Miller and Ciara Nugent explain why this has happened. And, we look at what this means for Argentina, as it grapples with skyrocketing inflation and an important presidential election later this month.  Clips from CNN, NBC News,...

This week, we’re revisiting an episode from earlier this year. Apple has spent two decades and billions of dollars building a massive supply chain for its products. At the centre of that operation is China. But as Beijing has become more authoritarian and relations with the US sour, it has become harder for Apple to do business there. The company has been signalling recently that it will diversify away from the country, but the FT’s Patrick McGee explains why cutting ties will be extremely...

As the world transitions away from fossil fuels and the electric vehicle market grows, competition to control a piece of a new source of energy is brewing. From rival carmakers to raw materials miners, different groups are racing to carve out their spots in the supply chain of one important technology: lithium-ion batteries. How will it shake out? The FT’s commodities correspondent Harry Dempsey explains who’s likely to succeed, and what that could mean for the future of corporate and...

Subscribe now to the FT's Tech Tonic podcast: Some scientists believe that rapid advances in artificial intelligence may also hold the key to decoding animal sounds, allowing us to ‘translate’ them into human language. In a new season of Tech Tonic, FT innovation editor John Thornhill and series producer Persis Love explore how the same technology that powers ChatGPT is being applied to research in animal communication. Could we one day learn to ‘speak whale’ or even chat with bats? And if...

Critics argue Russia has a playbook for people who become its targets. On the final episode of the Russian Banker, we explore how Sergei Leontiev saw his fights with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a full-blown war in which seeking US asylum would become just another battle. But how does the US decide who deserves asylum? Note: This episode was updated to clarify that Russia is responsible for forty percent of all publicly disclosed red notices to Interpol. A previous version stated it is...

This week, we have a bonus episode for you, live from the FT Weekend Festival in London. Michela sat down with two experts on Arm, the British chip designer, to discuss its imminent initial public offering. Tim Bradshaw, the FT’s global tech correspondent and James Ashton, author of The Everything Blueprint, talk about where Arm stands as a company, and what its chances for growth are when it goes public later this month. This conversation was recorded on September 2, 2023.  - - - - - - - - -...

Sergei Leontiev says he was a political victim of the Putin regime. But when we tracked down other people who used to work at the bank they had a different story about Leontiev — and the extent of his ties to Alexei Navalny. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2015, Sergei Leontiev's life's work — a Russian banking business — was taken away from him overnight. Why were he and the bank being targeted? This is the first episode of The Russian Banker, a new three-part series from the Financial Times. The remaining episodes will air the following two Wednesdays on Behind the Money. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who is Sergei Leontiev? To the US asylum system, he’s an exiled Russian banker who was persecuted by the state and forced to flee. To Russia, he’s said to be responsible for massive fraud. On The Russian Banker, a new series from the Financial Times, reporters Courtney Weaver and Stefania Palma try to uncover the truth, and find a story that tells us about Russia today and how people in the west build stories about who’s good and who’s bad. The Russian Banker is a special series that will run...

The collapse of FTX sent shockwaves through the crypto ecosystem last year. But it gave rival crypto exchange Binance, the biggest in the world, a chance to dominate the markets. The FT’s digital assets correspondent Scott Chipolina explains why Binance has struggled to capitalise on that moment.  Clips from CNBC, CBS News and Good Morning America - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  The FT Weekend Festival is back on Saturday, September 2 at Kenwood House Gardens in London!...

Share buybacks are a strategy companies use to return excess cash to their shareholders. But recently, they’ve exploded in popularity, and that’s sparked strong discussions inside financial circles. The FT’s US financial editor Brooke Masters explains why share buybacks have become so hotly debated. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  For further reading: If companies are going to buy back shares, they should pay a fair price  Share buybacks need less hate and more...

For decades, the global centre for oil trading has been Geneva, Switzerland. But Russia’s war in Ukraine changed that. Sanctions have made it harder for western traders to move Russian oil. Now, traders are flocking to a new trading hub that has no restrictions on oil from Russia: the United Arab Emirates. The FT’s energy correspondent Tom Wilson explains how this shift has helped the UAE replace Switzerland, and whether the global energy industry is shifting away from western...

There’s a new club coming to women’s professional football in the United States. Next season will see the debut of Bay FC, out of northern California. Aly Wagner, a former player on the US women’s national team, explains how she helped get the club off the ground with an investment model that has never been used in US professional sports before. We explore how this funding model could change the landscape for American sports. You’ll also hear from the FT’s US sports business correspondent...

Under “normal” circumstances, economists and analysts study a variety of specific indicators to understand what’s happening with the US economy. But lately, those indicators have been sending mixed signals. The FT’s US financial commentator Robert Armstrong explains why they’re wonky and how that’s led him to a different data source to help him understand the economy. Plus, have your own burning questions about business or finance? Send us your questions and we may use them in a future...

About 30 years ago, an Australian investment company called Macquarie figured out how to turn public utilities into lucrative assets. This strategy helped catapult the company into the biggest infrastructure investor in the world. Now, its services range from delivering tap water to London to transporting gas across the United States. But recently it has emerged that one of Macquarie’s former assets, Thames Water, is struggling, and the utility’s consumers are feeling the consequences. We sit...

Frances Haugen was just another Silicon Valley tech worker until she decided to speak up about what was happening inside Facebook. Now she’s written a book about her experience titled The Power of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook. Frances talks to Michela about what she’s learned.  Clips from CBS, CNBC  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  For further reading: Who is Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen? Facebook after the...