Podcasts

Viewsroom: Biden’s inauguration, China’s stresses

21 January 2021

The new U.S. president arrives with a long to-do list, good intentions and a swelling national debt pile. Gina Chon and Richard Beales talk with John Foley about what to expect. Plus: New lockdowns bring fresh financial problems in China, as Yawen Chen and Pete Sweeney explain.

The Exchange: Sheryl Sandberg on banning Trump

12 January 2021

The Facebook COO sat down with Breakingviews’ Gina Chon as part of Reuters Next on Monday to explain why the social network has indefinitely blocked the U.S. president after he incited violence at the Capitol - and why it took so long for the company to come to this decision.

Viewsroom: Siege of the Capitol, Where’s Jack Ma?

7 January 2021

The violent occupation of Congress by protesters contesting Donald Trump’s loss of the presidency puts America’s financial safe-haven status to a major test, John Foley tells Rob Cox. And Pete Sweeney weighs in from Hong Kong on the mystery of the Alibaba founder’s whereabouts.

The Exchange: The personal risks in short-selling

5 January 2021

Muddy Waters shorted stocks like health provider NMC and forest plantation group Sino-Forest, aiding their collapse. But founder Carson Block tells Dasha Afanasieva he almost quit due to the stress of facing a criminal investigation. For him, politics may be an alternative path.

Viewsroom: Predictions and prescriptions (Part 2)

31 December 2020

A Joe Biden-Xi Jinping reset will be unsatisfying; China’s economic revival will frustrate critics; Southeast Asia will be the next tech hot spot; HSBC will retreat from America; and Hong Kong’s exchange will rethink deals. Pete Sweeney, Jennifer Hughes and Robyn Mak discuss.

Viewsroom: Predictions and prescriptions (Part 1)

23 December 2020

Governments will become activist investors; U.S. airlines will merge; data centres will be the new ESG target; energy giants to consider renewable spinoffs; Tesla will buy Daimler; European soccer gets more American and more. Rob Cox, Peter Thal Larsen and Lauren Silva weigh in.

The Exchange: American banks and the urge to merge

21 December 2020

U.S. financial institutions have increasingly been teaming up to take on the big four: JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Bruce Van Saun, chief executive of Citizens Financial, one of the top regional lenders, discusses post-pandemic banking with Rob Cox.

Viewsroom: Bank dividends and Chinese rentals

17 December 2020

European regulators’ cautious lifting of a ban on bank dividends leaves investors in limbo, plus details of an unusually bold growth strategy from Credit Suisse. And the collapse of China’s WeWork-like apartment rental middlemen has left many young tenants homeless and in debt.

The Exchange: Guy Hands on private equity’s future

15 December 2020

The British buyout baron, best known for his disastrous purchase of music group EMI in 2007, now focuses on more modest deals. He joins Liam Proud to discuss Covid-19, ESG, and why the private equity industry’s returns are likely to fall.

Viewsroom: Davos in Singapore, Bob Dylan sells out

10 December 2020

The World Economic Forum’s decision to hold its annual chinwag in Southeast Asia instead of Switzerland this coming spring isn’t as simple as it sounds, Davos vets Peter Thal Larsen and Una Galani tell Rob Cox. Meantime, Anna Szymanski breaks down the folk bard’s catalogue deal.