It’s a Mad, Mad World

Pakistan’s debt repayment prospects were dicey even before the catastrophic floods. Now, a debt restructuring seems almost inevitable (to us, anyway). Nikou Asgari is one of the Financial Times’ brilliant capital markets reporters, who covers European debt and has also covered Pakistan’s debt crisis. We had originally intended to talk mostly about Pakistan. As it happened, we recorded this episode on September 23, the day of Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget announcement in the U.K. and two days before the Italian election that set Giorgia Meloni on course to becoming Prime Minister. So … let’s just say there was a lot to discuss. Nikou guides us through the economic and political context in Pakistan, the turmoil in the gilts market, and the political risk in Italy.

Producer: Leanna Doty