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. 

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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

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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:

Why did Donald Trump buckle?

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: 

Why Apple can’t leave China

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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

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