europe

France’s president is known for pronouncements of grand scope with one eye toward history. But when our journalists visited him at his residence his assessment of the state of the world was bleak—a dark, prophetic call to arms. In this special episode, we ask whether his view is accurate, whether his proposed solutions would work and whether he is the person to enact them.

Read the full transcript of our interview here.

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

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

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:

(1) Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the UK and the rest of Europe are facing less of an inflation threat than the US, opening the prospect of a rate cut for Britain before the Federal Reserve moves.

(2) Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is making life tougher for his peers around the world as the prospect of higher-for-longer US interest rates reduces room for easier policy elsewhere.

(3) Europe's economy is nearing the end of a malaise that's resulted in more than a year of near stagnation, according to European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde.

(4) The European Union's waning clout versus major geopolitical rivals is sounding alarm bells in Europe's capitals, compelling leaders to discuss a radical transformation to boost the bloc's competitiveness in a hostile world.

(5) The world's two great economic rivals, China and the US, will drive much of the increase in global public debt over the next five years, with American spending creating trouble for many other countries by keeping interest rates high, officials at the International Monetary Fund said.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:
(1) Today's CPI data is unlikely to settle the debate around the timing of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, with forecasters expecting some moderation following elevated inflation readings at the start of the year.

(2) Fitch Ratings has revised China's outlook to negative from stable, saying the government is likely to pile on debt as it seeks to pull the economy out of a real estate-driven slowdown. 

(3) Joe Biden says Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approach to the war is a mistake. The US President spoke to Univision in an interview taped last week when an airstrike killed seven aid workers.

(4) Around 7.4 million people in the UK are struggling to pay the bills, underlining the scale of the cost of living crisis even as the total declines from last year's peak, according to the Financial Conduct Authority. 

(5)  Meta is under immense pressure to ensure that social media content created by artificial intelligence doesn't cause havoc with elections this year. The company's top leaders say they haven't seen that happen yet on their services.Christopher Pitt 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day 753. 

Today, we ask why the German air force is ordering cruise missiles from the US, and Dom Nicholls interviews Colonel in the Security Service of Ukraine, and Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Roman Kostenko.

Contributors:

David Knowles (Head of Audio Development). @djknowles22 on X.

Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor, Defence). @DomNicholls on X.

Francis Dearnley (Assistant Comment Editor) @FrancisDearnley on X.

James Rothwell (Berlin Correspondent). @JamesERothwell on X.

Articles Referenced:

Kosovo PM: Britain should send more troops to protect us from Serbian invasion

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/03/19/albin-kurti-britain-send-troops-kosovo-serbia-invasion/ 

'A toast to my fallen friends in Donbas' (Kyiv Independent) 

https://kyivindependent.com/asami-terajima-a-toast-to-my-fallen-friends-in-donbas/ 

Subscribe to The Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatest

Email: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk

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

After repeated delays, the Hungarian parliament approved Sweden's accession as the organisation's 32nd member. Also, the US Supreme Court hears arguments about social media companies that could transform the way we use the internet, and the woman who was in a love triangle with the musicians George Harrison and Eric Clapton is selling their letters to her.

In France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland, we've seen a wave of protests recently from angry farmers. So what's driving the activity? On this episode of Lots More, we speak with Lorcan Roche Kelly, a former cattle farmer in Western Ireland who is now the business editor at the Irish Farmers Journal. He explains how a combination of factors from climate obligations, economic conditions, government regulation, and free trade deals have put the squeeze on many farms, causing this public revolt. He explains the unique conditions facing each country, as well as broader political and economic ramifications.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wage growth is slowing in the world’s largest economies, a federal judge stopped JetBlue’s planned deal to buy Spirit Airlines, and the EU’s tax on ‘dirty’ imports could fragment global trade. Plus, the FT’s Lauren Fedor explains the uphill battle for the Republican presidential nomination that Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are facing. 

Mentioned in this podcast:

Wage growth slows in world’s major economies

How global trade could fragment after the EU’s tax on ‘dirty’ imports

JetBlue’s $3.8bn bid for rival airline Spirit blocked by US judge

Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis running out of time to stop Donald Trump

The FT News Briefing is produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help by Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Monica Lopez. 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.

It's the start of a huge political year, and Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer are planning big speeches to try and frame the coming general election.

Should the Conservatives 'let Sunak be Sunak', does Dominic Cummings have the answers, and is Labour's plan to borrow £28bn a gift to the Tories?

Peter Mandelson, Polly Mackenzie and Daniel Finkelstein join Matt to discuss the choices facing the leaders, and to look at some of the other big elections taking place around the world in 2024.

Send questions, comments and voicenotes to: howtowin@thetimes.co.uk

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

Citizens across more than 70 countries will be heading to the polls over the next twelve months. It’s a record year for voting, but how democratic will the processes be? One of the year’s most significant elections will take place in Mexico, where the incumbent president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, will loom large. (10:35). And, how ambient music can help you block out the noise. (17:44).

Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Podcast transcripts are available upon request at podcasts@economist.com. We are committed to improving accessibility even further and are exploring new ways to expand our podcast-transcript offering.

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

In the week between Christmas and New Year, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2023.

The UK is now Europe’s biggest consumer of cocaine. The drug has been linked to a surge in domestic violence and middle-class users are being warned it’s not a victimless crime. How is so much cocaine getting into the country? And what can the authorities do about it?

You can read Dipesh's article (and see an image of charcoal soaked in cocaine) here.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. 

Guest: Dipesh Gadher, Home Affairs Correspondent, The Sunday Times.

Host: Luke Jones.

Clips: France 24, Al Jazeera, Euronews, BBC News, Sky News.

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

Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Tom Busby takes a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week.

1) In the US, Economists expect the November unemployment print, due out Dec. 8, to increase to 4% as unemployed workers take longer to find new jobs.

2)  In the UK, we'll get fresh data on the number of new car registrations in the coming days.  The sector has shown some signs of recovery recently, but manufacturers are still battling against a challenging post Brexit environment including painful tariffs on electric vehicles. 

3) In Asia, The EU has said it does not want to decouple from China but rather, to de-risk parts of the relationship. So with a summit coming up between the two blocs, how might China and the EU navigate their dialogue on improving their trade relationship? 

4) In Washington, CEOs of the biggest banks on Wall Street, including JPMorgan, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, expected to testify on regulatory oversight to the Senate banking committee.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:
(1) The famed investor Charles Munger has died at the age of 99. As Warren Buffett's right hand man for almost 60 years he helped transform Berkshire Hathaway from a failing textile maker into a global conglomerate.

(2) Two Federal Reserve officials who led the push for higher interest rates to curb inflation last year signaled they could be comfortable holding rates steady for now, reinforcing expectations that the central bank's current hiking cycle is done.

(3) Billionaire investor Bill Ackman tells Bloomberg he is betting the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates sooner than markets are predicting.

(4) Hamas has turned over 12 more hostages — 10 Israelis and two Thai citizens — to the Red Cross, according to the Israeli prime minister's office, despite earlier competing claims of violations of the deal that brought their war to a temporary pause.

(5) A special report on risky AT1 bonds which are booming again after being decimated by the implosion of Credit Suisse.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:
(1) Israel and Hamas agreed Monday to extend a cease-fire in their devastating war until Thursday morning, as 11 more freed hostages arrived in Israel.

(2) Billionaire Elon Musk said that he'd like to help rebuild Gaza after the war with Hamas in a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, part of a day-long series of meetings with political leaders in Israel. 

(3) Saudi Arabia is asking others in the OPEC+ coalition to reduce their oil-output quotas in a bid to shore up global markets but some members are resisting, delegates said.

(4) Inflation in UK shops has fallen to a 17-month low as retailers fight to attract shoppers ahead of the crucial holiday period. 

(5) Homebuyers are getting the edge in the UK property market, forcing the growing ranks of sellers to slash prices in order to secure deals. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Times Briefing for the Morning of Friday 24th November

For more on these stories throughout the day tune into Times Radio - on DAB, online, through your smart speaker or on the Times Radio app 

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

The writer, satirist and broadcaster Armando Iannucci returns to the New Statesman Podcast to co-host our fourth series of Westminster Reimagined. Across this season he is joined by co-host Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor at the New Statesman, to explores parts of British public life he believes to be broken, and is joined by guests from inside and outside Westminster to work out how to fix them.

In this first episode of the season our hosts are joined by Alex von Tunzelmann, historian, screenwriter and author, and Ivan Rogers, former permanent representative of the UK to the European Union. In their careers they've both reflected on how Britain is seen on the international stage and the way its role in the world has been changing, and Armando and Anoosh want to know - is Britain really great, anymore?

Listen to all previous episodes of Westminster Reimagined here: https://podfollow.com/westminster-reimagined-with-armando-iannucci-the-new-statesman

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

Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Tom Busby takes a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week. 

1) We get Disney earnings this week after, the company said it plans to buy Comcast's one-third of the Hulu streaming service, kicking off an appraisal process that will extend into next year.

2) Republican presidential contenders will face off Wednesday night in their first debate of the primary season — minus frontrunner Donald Trump, who continues to lead his GOP rivals by a double-digit margin.

3) UBS will be eager to show the benefits of its takeover of Credit Suisse in results on Tuesday, the first full quarter including the acquired business. While reports from US and European peers bode well, much of the Swiss bank’s fortunes hinges on its ability to retain talent and put Credit Suisse’s troubles swiftly behind it.

4) Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is heading to China, recognizing that the two nations have much to gain from constructive dialogue — and lots to lose without it.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.