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The competition for junior talent between private equity and Wall Street banks reached a new peak this summer. That’s thanks to a controversial recruiting practice that is causing both industries to find talent earlier and earlier.
Now, powerful figures such as JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon are publicly decrying the strategy. The FT’s Wall Street editor Sujeet Indap and banking editor Ortenca Aliaj explain the origins of this friction and what it says about the future of Wall Street and private equity’s top firms.
Clip from the Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy
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For further reading:
Wall Street vs private equity: can anyone stop the grad recruitment creep?
Is investment banking still a jewel in Wall Street’s crown?
Private equity abandons early recruiting after Jamie Dimon fightback
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Follow Ortenca Aliaj on X (@OrtencaAl) and Bluesky (@ortenca.bsky.social), and Sujeet Indap on X (@sindap) and Bluesky (@sindap.bsky.social). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Can Tim Cook save Apple from the trade war? Has Mark Zuckerberg really been a fan of Donald Trump all along? And is the bromance between Elon Musk and the president really over?
In a new season of Tech Tonic, Murad Ahmed explores the relationships between Trump and some of the titans of the tech world. What is really driving those relationships, and what might they mean for the future of technology in the US and beyond?
Free to read:
‘He is power’: billionaires line up for Donald Trump’s inauguration
Donald Trump lashes out at Apple over plan to ship US iPhones from India
How Jeff Bezos made peace with Donald Trump
What has Elon Musk’s Doge actually achieved?
How Joel Kaplan became Mark Zuckerberg’s most trusted political fixer
How Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley funded the sudden rise of JD Vance
This season of Tech Tonic is presented by Murad Ahmed and produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. The senior producer is Edwin Lane and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music, Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz are the FT’s acting co-heads of audio.
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Top consulting firms have repeatedly found themselves facing a reputational crisis. The most recent example was in early July, when a Financial Times investigation revealed that Boston Consulting Group had modelled a plan to ‘relocate’ Palestinians from Gaza after entering into a multimillion-dollar contract to help launch an aid scheme for the enclave. In this week’s episode, the FT’s US accounting editor, Stephen Foley, explains his reporting and examines what these events say about how effective the consulting industry’s ability to avoid reputational scandals is.
Clips from the UN
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For further reading:
BCG modelled plan to ‘relocate’ Palestinians from Gaza
The little-known group poised to take over Gaza’s aid
BCG gets caught up in a scandal in Gaza
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Follow Stephen Foley on X (@stephenfoley) and Bluesky (@stephenfoleyft.bsky.social). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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It’s been exactly 90 days since US President Donald Trump paused most of his ‘reciprocal’ tariffs. With just a 10 per cent blanket tariff on all imports and a higher tariff on China, economists predicted the American economy would feel the heat pretty quickly. But the sky hasn’t fallen yet – the world’s largest economy is holding strong. The FT’s US economics editor Claire Jones explains why that is and when markets may start to feel the effects of Trump’s tariffs.
Clips from CBS News, CNBC, TODAY
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For further reading:
Donald Trump renews threat to hit trading partners with steep tariffs
Tariffs on household goods bring home costs of Trump’s trade wars
US tariff receipts surge in Donald Trump’s trade war
US narrows trade focus to secure deals before Donald Trump’s tariff deadline
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Follow Claire Jones on X (@senoj_erialc) and Saffeya Ahmed on X (@saffeya_ahmed), or follow Saffeya on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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When Iran attacked a US airbase in Qatar – a response to strikes on its nuclear facilities – many feared a global war may be imminent. But there was one market that didn’t break a sweat: oil. It’s typically a commodity that surges at the first sight of conflict in the Middle East. This time though, oil traders bet that the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the US would be short-lived. The FT’s energy editor Malcolm Moore explains how traders called the outcome correctly.
Clips from ABC News, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, CBS News, Fox 9 Minneapolis St Paul, ITV News, KTLA 5, NBC News
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For further reading:
How oil traders called the Middle East conflict
Fuel and fury: energy becomes a Middle East battlefield
Why oil traders are watching the Strait of Hormuz
Why is the oil price not surging?
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Follow Malcolm Moore (@MalcolmMoore) and Saffeya Ahmed on X (@saffeya_ahmed), or follow Saffeya on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Royal Bank of Scotland was once the biggest bank in the world. Then, hubris got the best of it. During the financial crisis the UK government spent £46bn to bail out the bank. Seventeen years and a rebrand to NatWest Group later, the government just sold its last shares in it and officially ended the country’s “bailout era”. The FT’s Akila Quinio analyses what this means for the economy and for NatWest.
Clips from ABC News, BBC, NBC
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For further reading:
The RBS story: how the world’s biggest bank was nationalised and then reborn
NatWest’s freedom dividend has already been cashed
NatWest must not forget its chequered past
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Follow Akila Quinio on X (@akilazoe). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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LVMH’s wine and spirits division, Moët Hennessy, has long been a source of success – and cash – for the luxury goods behemoth. But more recently, that’s changed. The FT’s Paris correspondent Adrienne Klasa, found that certain strategic decisions made under the company’s former CEO have contributed to a change in its fortunes. She examines the missteps and whether the division can make a comeback.
Clips from Olympics
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For further reading:
Moët Hennessy’s crisis: dubious deals, soaring prices and hubris
Alcohol groups face a sobering cultural shift
Moët Hennessy to cut 10% of workforce as luxury slowdown bites
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Follow Adrienne Klasa on X (@AdrienneKlasa). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A decade ago, Indonesia produced only 6% of the world’s supply of refined nickel. Now, it has a de facto monopoly on the market. How did it happen? The FT’s Jakarta correspondent A. Anantha Lakshmi and FT’s commodities correspondent Camilla Hodgson examine what propelled this explosive growth and how China helped it happen.
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For further reading:
‘The Opec of nickel’: Indonesia’s control of a critical metal
‘Production first, safety later’: inside the world’s largest nickel site
Western miner Eramet sees no profits in nickel processing without Chinese partners
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Follow A. Anantha Lakshmi and Camilla Hodgson on X (@AnanthalakshmiA) (@CamillaHodgson). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In a special six-part series of The Economics Show, Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman discuss the economic events reshaping the world in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s election.
Subscribe and listen to this series on The Economics Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Episodes will also be available on the FT’s YouTube channel.
If you’d like to get in touch and ask Martin and Paul a question, please email economics.show@ft.com
Read Martin’s FT column here
Subscribe to Paul’s substack here
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Blackstone, Apollo and KKR. Although they have similar origins, these three top private capital groups are moving in different directions amid tumultuous markets. What do these approaches look like? And will they hold up in a potential downturn? The FT’s Antoine Gara, US private equity and deals editor, breaks down each approach and who’s most likely to perform best in the future.
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For further reading:
How Blackstone and its biggest rivals are drifting apart
Should ordinary US retirement accounts be investing in private assets?
Private equity industry shrinks for the first time in decades
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Follow Antoine Gara on X (@AntoineGara), or on Bluesky (@antoinegara.bsky.social). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, Swamp Notes goes to London for a live recording. Katie Martin, host of the Unhedged podcast, and Chris Giles, author of the FT’s Central Banks newsletter, discuss what Trump’s next few months might be like. Have markets truly recovered from the “liberation day” shock? What happens after the 90-day tariff pause is over? Our guests weigh in.
Subscribe to the new Swamp Notes feed here.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Read the latest Chris Giles on Central Banks column here
Listen to the Unhedged podcast here
Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here
Swamp Notes is produced by Katya Kumkova. Topher Forhecz is the acting co-head of audio. Special thanks to Mischa Frankl-Duval and Pierre Nicholson.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ireland has become a major base for US pharma companies, including Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson. That’s bolstered the economies of individual towns and played a role in the country’s massive budget surplus. Now, US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats are bringing a dose of uncertainty. The FT’s Ireland correspondent Jude Webber traveled to the town where the world’s supply of Botox is produced to see what impact potential pharmaceutical tariffs might have on the country.
Clips from WKYC, The Journal, Bloomberg
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For further reading:
Trump tariffs bring furrowed brows to Ireland’s Botox town
Trump’s tariffs threaten Ireland’s pharma fortune
Ireland’s luxury problem: what to do with its €8.6bn surplus
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Follow Jude Webber on X (@jude_webber), or on Bluesky (@judewebber.bsky.social). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Massive conglomerates used to define corporate best practice. Think about a company like General Electric, known as “the everything company”. But today, there’s a new popular model: de-conglomeration. The FT’s former US energy reporter Amanda Chu examines whether this is working for a power business that GE spun off last year – or if it’s just another Wall Street fad.
Clips from BBC, Bloomberg, DW
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For further reading:
Rustbelt gamble: GE Vernova rides AI power boom into uncertain future
Is the US power grid ready to meet the demands of data centres?
Have America’s industrial giants forgotten what they are for?
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Follow Amanda Chu on X (@amandalanchu). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In March, Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission, were fired from their jobs by the Trump administration. They say this was done illegally and are challenging their dismissals. Michela talks with Bedoya about what happened, and why he thinks businesses should be concerned.
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For further reading:
Trump’s move to fire us is a terrible warning for the US economy
Two Democrats on US antitrust panel say they were ‘illegally fired’ by Donald Trump
Could Donald Trump fire Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell?
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Follow Alvaro Bedoya on X (@BedoyaFTC). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Goldman Sachs may have picked its next chief executive years before any planned handover. It has raised eyebrows on Wall Street and would break from the usual process, where multiple candidates typically compete for the top job down to the last second. But it also completes an incredible comeback by current Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. The FT’s US banking editor Joshua Franklin explains how Solomon reasserted his control over Goldman Sachs after a near rebellion and whether his potential successor is up to the task of running one of the world’s biggest banks.
Clips from CNBC, Goldman Sachs
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For further reading:
Has Goldman Sachs already chosen its next CEO?
Goldman Sachs has lost its way
Goldman Sachs hands chief David Solomon $80mn retention award
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Follow Joshua Franklin on X (@FTJFranklin). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Markets shook after US President Donald Trump announced his so-called reciprocal tariffs earlier this month. But there was one market in particular that got investors particularly worried: Treasuries. What’s usually a safe haven asset suddenly saw huge sell-offs. Trump managed to avoid further pain by pausing large chunks of his tariffs, but the sell-off prompts a discussion about significant structural flaws in the market. The FT’s US markets editor Kate Duguid explains which cracks in the US Treasuries market we can't ignore.
Clip from The Wall Street Journal
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For further reading:
Is the world losing faith in the almighty US dollar?
The debt-fuelled bet on US Treasuries that’s scaring regulators
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Follow Kate Duguid on X (@kateduguid). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Over the past three decades, China has built itself into a manufacturing powerhouse. The plan was simple: use exports as a way to avoid becoming too dependent on the west. But with US President Donald Trump imposing 145 per cent tariffs on the country, this strategy now hangs in the balance. The FT’s Beijing bureau chief Joe Leahy explains how Beijing built its export machine and whether its plan to sell the world cheap goods could go wrong. Clip from European Commission.
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For further reading:
Will China’s manufacturing juggernaut run out of road?
How China’s record trade surplus helped spark Trump’s tariff war
China says ‘sky won’t fall’ as exports surge ahead of Donald Trump’s tariffs
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Follow Joe Leahy on X (@leahyjoseph). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs caused havoc in the markets, notably hitting Big Tech stocks such as Apple. The company lost more than $300bn in market value the next day, and its path forward is complicated. The FT’s San Francisco correspondent Michael Acton explains why the iPhone maker is vulnerable, and what options it has to minimise the damage.
Clips from PBSNewshour, C-SPAN
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For further reading:
Apple loses more than $300bn in market value from Trump tariff hit
Apple and other US tech groups hit as Donald Trump targets suppliers
Fraying transatlantic ties will cost companies dearly
And for further listening:
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Follow Michael Acton on X (@MActon93). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A huge chunk of any typical bank’s profits comes from charging interest. But what happens when you can’t do that? This week, we’re traveling to Pakistan with the FT’s Humza Jilani, where the country has decided to make its entire banking sector align with Islamic law, which forbids charging interest. We’ll discuss how Islamic banks function and if this banking model can become Pakistan’s dominant system.
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For further reading:
Meezan Bank’s soaring shares herald rise of Islamic finance in Pakistan
Clerics’ rule change threatens to throw Islamic debt market into turmoil
World Bank approves 10-year $20bn Pakistan lending package
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Follow Humza Jilani (@humza_jilani) and Saffeya Ahmed on X (@saffeya-ahmed), or follow Saffeya on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Years ago, an ailing company like Walgreens Boots Alliance may have seemed like a prime acquisition target for deal-hungry private equity firms. But many have backed away from retail recently, leaving an opening for groups like Sycamore Partners who are willing to buck the trend. Sycamore announced this month that it would take the global pharmacy business private in a $23.7bn debt and equity deal. The FT’s Due Diligence reporter, Amelia Pollard, explains the well-worn playbook that Sycamore has used on past retail companies, and whether it will work this time with a chain that has its own share of unique problems.
Clips from Bloomberg, CNBC, CBS
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For further reading:
Retail’s last barbarian: the private equity group about to play hardball with Boots
What went wrong after Walgreens bought Boots?
Walgreens bondholders could be winners from its debt-laden buyout
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Follow Amelia Pollard (@ameliajpollard) on X or (@pollard.bsky.social) on Bluesky. Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.
For more from Amelia and her team, sign up for the Due Diligence newsletter.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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