Money Talks from The Economist

The Economist

Take a seat at the table and learn about the biggest stories in financial markets, the economy and business. Each week our editors and correspondents explore how economics influences the world we live in and share their insights across a range of topics. From inflation and recession risk to all things crypto and even the commercial success of K-pop, we have you covered. Published every Thursday.

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 Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page at https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts.

read less

Our Editor's Take

Money Talks from The Economist explores the complicated business and finance landscape. The podcast gives listeners clarity on many complex topics. On this financial news and analysis podcast, listeners learn with little risk of getting bored or lost. The hosts present contemporary topics with intelligence, wit, and savvy.

The podcast's outstanding quality isn't surprising. Its parent company is The Economist, a 180-year-old magazine founded in 1843. The podcast's hosts are correspondents and editors at the publication. Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood, and Tom Lee-Delvin are regular hosts on the show. Others include Jamie Dimon, Simon Lang, Patrick Foulis, Philip Coggan, and Rachana Shanbhogue. These hosts offer simplified and data-backed news and information.

The podcast covers business news, bond markets, and happenings on Wall Street. Discussions examine everything from the New York Stock Exchange slumps to Silicon Valley. How do climate change and the emission debate impact businesses? Why does something happening in an obscure country influence financial markets? Is TikTok's future still looking as promising as it used to? These are a few of the questions Money Talks answers. Episodes start with a brief introduction of the topic, setting the pace for the episode. Then, the hosts introduce themselves and banter.

The podcast has a varied roster of guests. They include business and finance experts, economic analysts, and other staffers at The Economist. In one conversation, the hosts and a guest, Kenneth Cukier, discuss the changing value of data. They discuss how artificial intelligence is changing data collection. They also discuss balancing data mining and selling with government regulations. Their conversation in the episode offers many interesting insights.

New episodes of Money Talks from The Economist come out on an irregular basis.

read less

NewsNews

Business NewsBusiness News

Play Trailer

Trailer: The Modi Raj

Trailer: The Modi Raj

Narendra Modi is one of the most popular politicians on the planet. India’s prime minister is eyeing a third term atop the world’s biggest democracy. A tea-seller’s son, Mr Modi began life an outsider and the man behind the political phenomenon remains hard to fathom. India has become an economic powerhouse during his ten years in charge. But he’s also the frontman for a chauvinistic Hindu nationalist dogma. Can Mr Modi continue to balance both parts of his agenda and finish the job of turning India into a superpower? The Economist’s Avantika Chilkoti finds out what makes him tick. Launching June 2024.To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you 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.

Episodes

Quizmas time: are you smarter than the Money Talks hosts?

Quizmas time: are you smarter than the Money Talks hosts?

It’s the time of the year when the Money Talks hosts kick back with a glass of cheap sparkling wine and test their knowledge of the year’s business and economics stories in our annual festive quiz. But can you beat them?Hosts: Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood, Tom Lee-Devlin and Ethan Wu.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Argentina’s chainsaw economics: is Javier Milei’s campaign to smash the state working?

Argentina’s chainsaw economics: is Javier Milei’s campaign to smash the state working?

Argentina has become famous for its repeated defaults and rampant inflation. Successive governments have promised to get the country out of its economic mess, but have failed. Argentina’s current president Javier Milei is a self-described anarcho-capitalist, who came to power with a mandate to slash public spending and end the country's triple-digit inflation. After a year in the job, what impact have his drastic measures had?Hosts: Mike Bird, Ethan Wu, and Alice Fulwood. Guests: The Economist’s Kinley Salmon; Santiago Bulat, director of the Argentinian economic consultancy Invecq; and Brad Setser of the Council on Foreign Relations.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Gambling on America: how the US got hooked on sports betting

Gambling on America: how the US got hooked on sports betting

Until 2018, sports betting was illegal in every state but Nevada. Now, some 40% of Americans say they wager on everything from which team will win the Super Bowl to which player will be crowned baseball’s rookie of the year. But how did sports betting take the US by storm?Hosts: Alice Fulwood, Mike Bird and Ethan Wu. Guests: The Economist’s data editor Dan Rosenheck; and Peter Jackson, boss of Flutter.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Indian capitalists: What’s behind India’s stock market rally?

Indian capitalists: What’s behind India’s stock market rally?

India’s financial system is going through a rapid transformation. With the spread of fintech, and financial products aimed at small investors, millions of ordinary Indians who never before had access to capital markets now own tiny stakes in publicly traded companies. It’s fuelled the country’s remarkable stock market rally over the last five years. But is India’s financial system resilient enough to sustain this change? And what happens if things go wrong?Hosts: Ethan Wu, Mike Bird and Alice Fulwood. Guests: The Economist’s Tom Easton; Saurabh Tripathi, Head of Financial Institutions at BCG in Mumbai; and Sundararaman Ramamurthy, CEO of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Middle-class wilt: what’s happened to Asia’s middle-earners?

Middle-class wilt: what’s happened to Asia’s middle-earners?

For decades, western companies looked to Asia for growth. They saw an opportunity to establish their brands with a rapidly-expanding middle class. But now, in many parts of Asia, the growth of that aspirational class is slowing. So, what happened to Asia’s middle classes?Hosts: Mike Bird and Alice Fulwood. Guests: The Economist’s Ethan Wu; Wolfgang Fengler, CEO of research firm World Data Lab; and Ibrahim “Ben” Suffian of the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Green money: how much is the energy transition really going to cost?

Green money: how much is the energy transition really going to cost?

Countries around the world finally agreed on the need to transition away from fossil fuels at last year's COP summit. The latest climate conference is now underway in Baku, Azerbaijan. But how much is the immense transition to clean and green energy really going to cost? And who is going to pay for it?Hosts: Mike Bird and Alice Fulwood. Guests: The Economist’s Gavin Jackson; and Adair Turner, Chair of the Energy Transition Commission.For more on COP29, check out the latest episode of our “Babbage” podcast, in which our correspondent travels to South Africa for lessons on how to end coal.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

The Trump trade: what investors expect from a second term

The Trump trade: what investors expect from a second term

Stock markets rallied, the dollar surged and Treasury yields jumped higher as it became clear Donald Trump would be returning to the White House. Investors bet on lower taxes boosting growth, while higher tariffs and an immigration crackdown may drive up inflation. But will investors get what they’re expecting from the return of Trumponomics?Hosts: Alice Fulwood and Mike Bird. Guests: The Economist’s US economics editor Simon Rabinovitch; and Piper Sandler’s Donald Schneider, who was the chief economist on the House of Representatives’ main tax-writing committee last time Trump was in the White House.For more US election analysis, check out our sister podcasts “The Intelligence” and “Checks and Balance”.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

All that glitters: the new gold rush

All that glitters: the new gold rush

Investors and central banks can’t get enough of gold. The precious metal’s price has climbed by 38% over the past year to over $2,700 per troy ounce—a record high. But gold pays no dividends, generates no yield and its value has very little to do with demand for jewellery, in which it is commonly used. So what’s behind the surging price of gold?Hosts: Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Tom Lee-Devlin. Guests: Gregor Gregersen, founder of The Reserve, a gold vault in Singapore; Shaokai Fan of the World Gold Council; and economic historian Nicholas Mulder.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Robotaxis: how close is a driverless future?

Robotaxis: how close is a driverless future?

Earlier this month, Elon Musk unveiled a new autonomous taxi, designed by his car company Tesla. Musk promises that his Cybercab, a two-seater car without a steering wheel or pedals, will be on sale before 2027. But how realistic is this vision? With driverless technology still under development, how long will it be until autonomous vehicles become part of everyday life?Hosts: Tom Lee-Devlin, Mike Bird and Alice Fulwood. Guests: Simon Wright, industry editor at The Economist; Gavin Jackson, CEO of driverless software company OXA; Holly Watson Nall, an engineer at Oxa; and Kersten Heineke, head of the McKinsey Centre for Future Mobility.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Democratic dividend: the winners of the 2024 Nobel prize in economics

Democratic dividend: the winners of the 2024 Nobel prize in economics

Why do some countries become rich, while others remain impoverished? It’s a question that inspired three academics awarded this year’s Nobel prize in economics—Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson of MIT, and James Robinson of the University of Chicago. We speak to the three laureates about their seminal work on the economic legacy of colonialism, why they think institutions such as private property rights and democracy deliver long-term prosperity, and what they make of the resurgence of authoritarianism.Hosts: Alice Fulwood, Mike Bird and Tom Lee-Devlin. Guests: Daron Acemoglu of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Simon Johnson of the MIT Sloan School of Management; James Robinson of The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts at the University of Chicago; and The Economist’s Gavin Jackson.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Centres of attention: building for the global data boom

Centres of attention: building for the global data boom

For everything that happens online, there is a server in a room somewhere doing the work. The physical underpinning of everything that happens online has become big business. Demand for server capacity is growing rapidly with the development of cloud computing and AI, and so is the need for the massive, energy-hungry data centres that support it. The location of those digital warehouses is now crucial, not just for speed and proximity, but for the new tussles over data protectionism. So how will economic and geopolitical considerations shape the data-centre industry?Hosts: Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Tom Lee-Devlin. Guests: The Economist’s Ethan Wu; Cheam Tat Inn, managing director of Equinix Malaysia; and Waldemar Szlezak, global head of digital infrastructure at investment firm KKR.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Out of commission: Will America’s realtors change their ways?

Out of commission: Will America’s realtors change their ways?

Agent commissions are a key part of how the US housing market operates. Realtors representing the seller and the buyer have typically taken a large cut of the sale price - usually 5% or 6%. Now the National Association of Realtors has lost a class action lawsuit brought by homesellers, claiming these high commissions are the result of anti-competitive practices. So will new rules, agreed in the settlement of this suit, bring down the cost of buying and selling a home?Hosts: Alice Fulwood and Mike Bird. Guests: Michael Ketchmark, personal injury attorney at Ketchmark and McCreight; and Rob Hahn, real estate strategist and author of the Notorious ROB Substack.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Ballot box bets: What America's election means for investors

Ballot box bets: What America's election means for investors

Donald Trump has promised to “make America affordable again” if he wins the US election in November. Kamala Harris, meanwhile, has said she would build an “opportunity economy”. But has either one of them convinced investors they are the better bet? We ask what markets make of each candidate and follow the money to find out how investors rate their chances of winning when voters go to the polls.Hosts: Alice Fulwood and Simon Rabinovitch. Guests: The Economist’s Owen Winter; Joe Saluzzi of Themis Trading; and Bhanu Baweja, chief strategist at UBS.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Arrested development: why the world’s poorest are being left behind

Arrested development: why the world’s poorest are being left behind

The first 15 years of the 21st century were a time of extraordinary progress in international development. Since 2000, a billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty, while child mortality has halved. But most of that progress was achieved by 2015—and outcomes over the last nine years have been much more dismal. Now, it seems that the world’s poorest countries are no longer converging with the richer economies. So why has development stalled?Hosts: Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Tom Lee-Devlin. Guests: The Economist’s Cerian Richmond Jones; Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation; Paul Collier, professor of economics and public policy at Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Screen time: why the world can’t get enough of YouTube

Screen time: why the world can’t get enough of YouTube

Americans spend more time in front of their TVs watching YouTube than Netflix. And the videos they are watching on the platform are, increasingly, of the quality that you might expect from the streaming giant. But for the producers of that content, the business models could not be more different. So how did YouTube come to dominate the TV screen?Hosts: Tom Lee-Devlin and Mike Bird. Guests: The Economist’s media editor Tom Wainwright; Abi Watson of Enders Analysis; and Jubilee Media’s founder Jason Y. Lee.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Rolling up the welcome mat: why economists and voters clash over immigration

Rolling up the welcome mat: why economists and voters clash over immigration

Across the rich world there’s been a backlash against immigration. Donald Trump's presidential campaign promises mass deportations of illegal immigrants from the US, while in Europe the hard-right anti-immigration AfD has made historic gains in Germany's state elections. But look past the political rhetoric and the empirical economic data points in favour of inward migration to developed countries. So why do economists love immigration, even though voters don’t?Hosts: Alice Fulwood, Tom Lee-Devlin and Mike Bird. Guests: Michael Clemens of George Mason University and the Peterson Institute of International Economics; and Brian Turmail of the Associated General Contractors of America.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Money Talks: Taylor's version (part two)

Money Talks: Taylor's version (part two)

A dispute with her old record label could have derailed Taylor Swift's career—but instead, she used it to propel herself to superstardom. In the second of two special episodes, we get the inside story of the battle to acquire the rights to Swift’s first six albums. We then take an MBA class assessing their value and hear how the singer used the story of the dispute to remake the music industry to her advantage.Hosts: Alice Fulwood, Tom Lee-Devlin and Mike Bird. Guests: Tim Ingham, the founder of Music Business Worldwide; Kristelia García of the Georgetown University Law Center; Michael Schill of the Darden School of Business; and Bill Werde, former editorial director of Billboard magazine, current director of the Bandier Program at Syracuse University and author of the “Full Rate No Cap” newsletter.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Money Talks: Taylor's version (part one)

Money Talks: Taylor's version (part one)

Taylor Swift is reportedly worth $1.3bn. In the music industry, amassing that kind of fortune requires more than talent alone. It requires a shrewd business sense and an ability to be ruthless. In the first of two special episodes, we explore how Taylor Swift built the biggest brand in music.Hosts: Alice Fulwood, Tom Lee-Devlin and Mike Bird. Guests: Bob Reeves, a manager who was at one of Swift’s first gigs; Clay Myers, former Warner Music Group exec who helped facilitate one of Swift’s early hits; and Bill Werde, former editorial director of Billboard magazine, current director of the Bandier Program at Syracuse University and author of the “Full Rate No Cap” newsletter.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Going south: China’s growing export market

Going south: China’s growing export market

For decades, “the world’s factory” has been churning out goods for export. But many of those products were made not by Chinese companies, but by American, European or Japanese ones looking to take advantage of China’s cheap labour. But as the country’s economy slows, domestic firms are increasingly looking abroad for growth and, as a trade war rages with the West, they have set their sights on the global south.Hosts: Tom Lee-Devlin, Alice Fulwood and Mike Bird. Guests: Lourdes Casanova of Cornell University and Ong Kian Ming, a Malaysian former deputy minister.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Carry-trade wars: why the market rout may not be over yet

Carry-trade wars: why the market rout may not be over yet

Three seemingly unrelated events conspired to trigger the worst day for Japan’s benchmark Topix index in more than 35 years, and caused stocks around the world to plunge. Markets have started to recover but there could be more chaos around the corner. Jumpy investors remain primed to sell at even the first hint of bad news, and the strength of the American economy is now in question.Hosts: Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Tom Lee-Devlin. Guests: research analyst Travis Lundy and Dan Ivascyn, group chief investment officer at PIMCO.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.