FT News Briefing

France is reeling after "unprecedented" violent riots, America’s debt-laden $10tn AI infrastructure boom is a reckoning for the data centre build-out underpinning the US economy, and Albertans gear up to vote today on whether to leave Canada.

Mentioned in this podcast:

France reels after ‘unprecedented’ violent riots

Macron faces political firestorm after riots

‘The Switzerland of North America’: Albertans vote on leaving Canada

America’s $10tn AI infrastructure boom is starting to fray

Microsoft pulls plug on Nscale data centre deal

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Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

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The FT News Briefing is produced by Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our video producer is Zachary Alfred. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco and Alex Higgins. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Vanessa Brown, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips is the FT’s global head of audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

As Americans prepare to vote in the November 3 midterm elections, FT chief economics commentator Martin Wolf asks what the result will mean for Donald Trump, the future of US democracy and America's place in the world. In the first of a six-part series of interviews with leading historians and political analysts, Martin speaks to the scholar and former Republican adviser Robert Kagan, who has spent a decade warning about Trump's authoritarian ambitions. They discuss how Trump has accumulated so much power, whether America's democratic institutions can still constrain him, and what might happen if Republicans lose control of Congress. Could these elections mark a turning point for American democracy or has the country already gone too far down the road towards authoritarianism?

Watch the full episode now on the FT’s main YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FinancialTimes or search for ‘Martin Wolf on the World’, wherever you get your podcasts

Host: Martin Wolf

Producer: Mischa Frankl-Duval

Senior Producer: Laurence Knight

Executive Producer: Manuela Saragosa

Video Editor: Richard Topping

Audio engineering: Breen Turner

Broadcast engineers: Andrew Georgiadis

Podcast development: Laura Clarke

FT Global Head of Audio: Flo Phillips

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

UK Chancellor John Healey has dropped his strongest hint yet of higher taxes on banks, and Anthropic secured a credit rating one notch below investment grade earlier this year. Plus, investors are losing confidence that revenues from the AI boom will be sufficient to support the vast debt piles financing data centres.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Healey signals Budget bank tax raid

Anthropic secured highest junk credit rating in June

Anthropic tells investors quarterly revenue up nearly 50% to $16.8bn ahead of IPO

Investors dump data centre bonds as AI borrowers face ‘Darwin moment’

Want to get in touch? Email us at [email protected]

Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts

The FT News Briefing is produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our video producer is Zachary Alfred. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco and Alex Higgins. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips is the FT’s global head of audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized US President Donald Trump in an interview with the FT, US inflation jumped to 3.7% and leaked emails reveal that Freshfields law firm considered a carve-out of itsAI unit that would be worth billions. Plus, leading AI labs are responding to the alleged bugging incident at OpenAI and salmon producers are changing up the diet for their fish.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Ukraine to resume strikes on Russian refineries, Zelenskyy says

US inflation jumps to 3.7% as Iran war drives up prices

Freshfields partners explore carve-out of AI unit worth ‘billions’, leaked emails reveal

US arrests Saudi employee of OpenAI for allegedly bugging its offices

He linked Saudi Arabia to Silicon Valley. Then OpenAI found a bug wrapped in toilet paper

Salmon producers start feeding chicken to fish

Want to get in touch? Email us at [email protected]

Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts

The FT News Briefing is produced by Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our video producer is Zachary Alfred. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco and Alex Higgins. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips is the FT’s global head of audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen is gearing up for a fight with the EU if elected president next year, investors in Accenture cannot decide if AI will be an existential threat or an incredible boost, CoreWeave is chasing insurers’ vast pools of capital, and the US Treasury has fined Bank of America more than $1bn for “egregious and continued” money laundering and sanctions violations. Plus, can Saudi Arabia stop the Houthis?

Mentioned in this podcast:

France’s Marine Le Pen gears up for fight with EU

Will Accenture survive or thrive in the age of AI?

CoreWeave targets ‘unlimited’ insurance money to fund AI build-out

Bank of America fined $1.2bn over money laundering failures

Military briefing: can Saudi Arabia stop the Houthis?

Want to get in touch? Email us at [email protected]

Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts

The FT News Briefing is produced by Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our video producer is Zach Alfred. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco and Alex Higgins. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips is the FT’s global head of audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

The IMF is warning that the world’s leading economies need to take “urgent” action to rebuild their public finances, Pakistan is stuck in a tricky place as its ally Saudi Arabia fights off the Houthis, and Mark Zuckerberg says Meta has caught up with rivals at the “frontier” of AI. Plus, a number of elections in Europe could fundamentally shift the EU, and the UK has imposed new sanctions on Iran over a security incident at a RAF base.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Top economies heading for biggest budget deficits since Covid, IMF warns

Pakistan’s hard choice on Saudi Arabia’s war

Riyadh defiant as Houthis launch new missile strikes on Saudi Arabia

Mark Zuckerberg says Meta has reached AI ‘frontier’

The election supercycle set to drag Europe right

UK imposes new sanctions on Iran over RAF Fairford incident

India’s Narendra Modi faces ‘bitter pill’ as Cockroach protests mount

Want to get in touch? Email us at [email protected]

Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts

The FT News Briefing is produced by Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our video producer is Zachary Alfred. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco and Alex Higgins. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips is the FT’s global head of audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

The Iran-backed Houthis have struck Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia multiple times this week, US president Donald Trump claims an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine, and AI companies are pulling back new debt issuance. Plus, US bank earnings this week suggest the good times may be over.

Mentioned in this podcast:

US threatens to block arms for Ukraine over attacks on Russian refineries

Ukraine’s allies vow to pressure Moscow as Trump claims ‘energy ceasefire’ in place

Missile strike on Riyadh airport kills 12 and injures hundreds

Houthis show military reach with deadly missile strikes on Riyadh

AI borrowing slows as investors grow wary of debt binge

Wall Street’s record-breaking trading streak set to cool

Want to get in touch? Email us at [email protected]

Subscribe to the FT: ft.com/briefingsale

Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts

The FT News Briefing is produced by Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco and Alex Higgins. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips is the FT’s global head of audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is seeking to raise as much as $100bn from Gulf investors to further his massive bet on AI, the Flydubai co-pilot who tried to hijack a flight to Tel Aviv expressed misogynistic views online, and Donald Trump has said Washington will not strike Iran ahead of the US midterm elections. Plus, two Latvian men allegedly trespassed at a UK military base, and two crypto groups with links to a Trump family-backed company are embroiled in a $141mn legal battle.

Mentioned in this podcast:

SoftBank seeks $100bn from Gulf to expand massive AI bet

The online life of the Flydubai attacker

Donald Trump says US ‘will not be attacking Iran’ before midterm elections

Oil prices jump on tanker attacks and slowing flows through Strait of Hormuz

EasyJet doubles winter flight cuts amid rising costs

Two Latvian nationals arrested on suspicion of trespass at RAF base

Crypto companies linked to Trump-backed firm in $141mn legal battle

Want to get in touch? Email us at [email protected]

Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts

The FT News Briefing is produced by Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco and Kelly Garry. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips is the FT’s global head of audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

Oil executives expressed their appetite for investing in the Middle East despite the war, the conflict has blown a near-£12bn hole in Britain’s public finances, and big investors are “bottom fishing” among beaten-down assets, including Italian bonds and corporate debt. Plus, China is building data centres at rapid speed across Inner Mongolia and a measure of credit risk at Elon Musk’s SpaceX rose to a record high.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Oil majors look beyond Middle East war to access region’s vast reserves

Iran war blows near-£12bn hole in Britain’s public finances

Big investors ‘bottom fish’ in Eurozone bond markets after France sell-off

China races to build AI data centres across energy-rich hinterland

SpaceX credit risk jumps on worries over its borrowing spree

Want to get in touch? Email us at [email protected]

Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts

The FT News Briefing is produced by Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco and Kelly Garry. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips is the FT’s global head of audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

Paramount Skydance is tackling a huge pile of debt following its takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, oil tanker captains are being paid rates equivalent to $100,000 a month for travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, and the UK’s tax authorities probed Manchester City in 2018. Plus, the battle for control of the $265bn Tata Group hinges on India’s motorbike billionaire, and Brussels is considering taxing big US tech companies through a broad levy on large corporations.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Debt in the spotlight as Paramount closes $111bn deal for Warner Bros

Ships’ captains paid $100,000 a month to transit Strait of Hormuz

HMRC opened probe into Man City’s tax affairs in 2018

India’s motorbike billionaire steering tussle at Tata

Brussels looks to capture Big Tech through tax on large corporations

Want to get in touch? Email us at [email protected]

Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts

The FT News Briefing is produced by Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco and Kelly Garry. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips is the FT’s global head of audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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