The Big View

Companies like Nestlé and Unilever are grappling with a Covid-19 recession and potentially drastic changes in how people shop and what they buy. Kristina Rogers, global consumer leader at consultancy EY, joins Dasha Afanasieva to discuss which trends will stick. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The regional head of the International Monetary Fund, Abebe Aemro Selassie, joins Swaha Pattanaik to discuss how the Washington-based lender is helping hard-hit countries, debt difficulties, the need for reforms, and why policy choices are more limited than in advanced economies. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BC Partners is an alternative asset manager whose portfolio companies include PetSmart and Springer Nature. Partner Nikos Stathopoulos chats to Peter Thal Larsen about managing during Covid-19, new investment challenges, and why we need to get back to face-to-face meetings. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. faces more uncertainty as 2020 ends, including inflation, antitrust enforcement, and how the next president handles taxes, trade and the post-virus economy. So says Nathan Sheets, chief economist at PGIM Fixed Income. He argues tackling inequality should be a priority. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan tackle an issue perplexing policymakers and investors: if, and when, price pressures will rise. The authors of “The Great Demographic Reversal” discuss ageing societies, emerging economies, and why the world won’t follow in Japan’s footsteps. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After 10 years leading Switzerland’s biggest bank, Sergio Ermotti is handing off to Ralph Hamers and becoming chairman of Swiss Re. In a wide-ranging conversation with Rob Cox, he shares his views on banking, M&A, his tenure as CEO and the advice he offered his successor. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Fed’s new rate-setting philosophy is a game-changer, and hawks have become an endangered species in D.C. So argues David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. The central bank may boost inflation, he suggests – but its blunt tools could cause damage. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beijing is letting lenders go belly-up as it attacks systemic risk. That’s all fine for Benjamin Fanger, founder of ShoreVest, a manager $1.8 bln of soured loans. He talks with Pete Sweeney about the message China is sending bankers, and the opportunity for foreign investors. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The co-chief executive of the video-streaming firm is out with a new book, “No Rules Rules.” Hastings zoomed in with Jennifer Saba to discuss Netflix’s unorthodox approach to management – like unlimited vacation – and how it sets up the company nicely in a post-Covid world. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times reporter Jim Tankersley explodes myths about this politically potent group in his book “The Riches of This Land,” questioning the U.S. media's fixation on rust-belt white men. He argues inclusive growth in the future requires a broader understanding of the past. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic has made connecting rural areas a global priority. The Irish-American cable entrepreneur explains to Aimee Donnellan why he returned to Dublin to roll out a 3 billion euro broadband programme, and how the Covid-19 crisis created an opportunity to transform business. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a period of high productivity in response to the pandemic, businesses face “war room fatigue”. Executive coach Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg explains how leaders can get their teams out of this regression phase as quickly as possible, keeping staff motivated and effective. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As budget deficits swell, one of the highest profile advocates of Modern Monetary Theory joins Swaha Pattanaik to discuss her approach to public finances, U.S. presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s economic agenda, how her thinking evolved, and her experience of academic gatekeeping. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The founder of LRN, a technology and education firm that advises global corporations on culture, governance, ethics and other matters chats with Rob Cox to discuss the importance of moral leadership, an issue that has taken on increased importance during the Covid-19 crisis. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The co-founder of the home-sharing firm compared the effects of the pandemic to a torpedo hitting a ship. He discusses how Airbnb raised $2 billion amid the crisis and how Covid-19 has changed travel. It has affected the future of his company, including its options to go public. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The crisis unearthed land mines in the fixed-income market – many of which Arena Investors Chief Executive Dan Zwirn had previously identified. He now explains how to navigate this opaque universe with deep dives on leveraged finance, liquidity crunches and an activist Fed. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As companies grapple with the pandemic’s fallout, consulting firm AlixPartners has a close-up view inside boardrooms. CEO Simon Freakley discusses priorities for troubled businesses, the long-term impact of Covid-19 and what he has learned running a global business by video call. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The boss of the $110 bln tobacco giant is on a quest to get the world to stop smoking cigarettes and switch over to heated tobacco, mainly PMI’s Iqos brand. Calantzopoulos has a lot of dedicated customers to win over, but he tells Rob Cox how governments might lend him a hand. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It has been a hectic year for central bankers on the front line of fighting a global recession. The head of the Bank for International Settlements joins Swaha Pattanaik to discuss how to unwind massive monetary stimulus, risks in the financial system, and corporate regulation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime Volvo CEO Pehr Gyllenhammar was pushing radical environmental and social changes at the carmaker long before they became fashionable. One of Sweden’s most admired businessmen argues why CEOs should be paid less and how it felt to become a father again at 81. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The office is not dead, though hot-desking may be. The elevator needs a rethink. And don’t rule out the shopping mall. Brookfield Asset Management’s chief executive made these and other predictions for the post-pandemic global economy in a recent chat with Breakingviews editors. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Exchange-traded funds are wildly popular with retail and institutional investors alike. BlackRock’s global head of ETFs and index investments Salim Ramji demystifies these tools, revealing how they passed their crisis test and how they challenge the active vs. passive divide. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lloyd Minor, the dean of Stanford’s school of medicine, tells Rob Cox that research into the coronavirus shows promising signs for the discovery of a vaccine. Just the same, the world needs to better prepare for pandemics, and medicine is at the cusp of extraordinary change. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Covid-19 has halted anti-government protests, but tensions are simmering. Hong Kong-based lawyer and author Antony Dapiran explains to Robyn Mak how local officials and Beijing are using legal means to silence opponents, and why another summer of discontent is all but guaranteed. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The coronavirus has only temporarily grounded Monocle’s peripatetic founder and editor in chief. Rob Cox pops by his Zurich HQ to discuss how the globally minded consumers of his media empire are prepping for post-pandemic life, and how the Swiss handled lockdown with aplomb. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pandemic and recession are making the lower strata of the labour force crankier than they’ve ever been. Author Dexter Roberts explains to Pete Sweeney how Beijing is struggling to manage worker dissatisfaction, and points to rising economic costs and political risks. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Warsh, Jason Furman and Laurence Boone join a wide-ranging panel discussion with Breakingviews to size up the global monetary and fiscal responses to the economic lockdowns enforced to halt the spread of Covid-19; and to map out a recovery back to something like normal. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In normal times, some of the world’s littler nations like Denmark and Singapore tend to outperform larger ones in a variety of economic and social areas, author James Breiding tells Rob Cox. Covid-19 will likely show that big isn’t necessarily better in handling a crisis either. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christy Pambianchi oversees the well-being of more than 100,000 people. She explains how Verizon quickly rewrote the rule book to address the coronavirus outbreak from getting people set up at home to ensuring the safety of field employees providing critical infrastructure. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Investors faced political uncertainty, a China slowdown and an aging U.S. economic expansion even before recent market ructions. Boston Consulting Group Partner Hady Farag explains what the firm's annual survey of investor sentiment says about today’s risks and opportunities. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ValueAct Capital has shaken up some of the biggest companies, from Microsoft to Rolls-Royce. But its founder, who sat down for a Predictions event in New York, is focused on a new form of activism with the Spring Fund. Firms that neglect the E and S of ESG should take heed. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We last spoke to the founder of SkyBridge Capital a week before Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election. When asked if he would take a White House job if Trump won, he said no – unless it was Ambassador to the Vatican. So, when in Rome, Rob Cox sat down with “The Mooch.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kicking off Predictions 2020, Amit Chandra of Bain, Reshma Anand of Hindustan Unilever Foundation and Mridula Ramesh of the Sundaram Climate Institute come together in Mumbai to discuss who should pay for the scarce resource, and how the private sector can map out its true cost. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kicking off Predictions 2020, Prashant Ruia of Essar Group, Sunil Mehta of Punjab National Bank and Shankar Sharma of First Global come together in Mumbai to explain how India Inc can borrow and lend again with confidence, and propose sharp fixes to kickstart a crashing economy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Traders resent expensive tools like Bloomberg and Eikon, but they need them to chat. Goldman-backed Symphony, at $20 a month, wants to break in. CEO David Gurle talks about the challenges of compliance, his deal with China’s Tencent, and the future of finance software. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bushfires and a historic drought have put climate change front and centre for Australia, increasing pressure on a pro-coal government to act. Ross Garnaut, economist and former Canberra adviser, explains why there's an opportunity Down Under that may outweigh the cost of change. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year’s Nobel economists showed that people often do the opposite of what theory predicts – whether they’re in a Kenyan schoolroom or a dying U.S. factory town. Here, two of the winning trio explain their method, and what happens when researchers leave intuition at the door. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Streaming is upending the media landscape, including public television. Its funding model, local structure and social mandate make broadcaster PBS unlike any other U.S outlet. Its longest-serving boss, Paula Kerger, discusses the challenges and possibilities of the new era. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Almost a year into the job, the investment chief of California’s near-$400 bln public pension fund tells Tom Buerkle that size can be a double-edged sword. He explains why returns targets are a challenge and what CalPERS is doing to ensure its new private-equity push succeeds. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifty years ago, NASA landed the first people on the moon. Today, billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are blasting satellites into space to boost global internet coverage. Adrian Steckel of SoftBank-backed OneWeb explains why there’s a brewing gold rush in low-earth orbit. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the world's foremost experts on the Chinese state has a new book on global backlash against President Xi Jinping. McGregor, a Lowy Institute Fellow, argues internal resistance against Xi's agenda is finding some traction, and explains why Beijing got Hong Kong so wrong. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The factory floor may be an odd place to find a musical virtuoso. But the founder of Nanotronics, a near-unicorn on the Brooklyn waterfront with Peter Thiel on its board, is as comfortable tinkling the ivories as he is tinkering with the complexities of process automation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The former BP boss-turned-renewable-energy-supporter-turned-gas baron stops by to discuss “Make, Think, Imagine,” his new book that’s part an explanation of and part an ode to the benefits of engineering. As UN Climate Week kicks off, he also discusses his take on global warming. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A splintering West and increasingly interconnected East is creating a newly powerful mega-region, according to Parag Khanna, author of “The Future is Asian.” He swung by the Breakingviews office in Hong Kong to break down the economic and geopolitical rationales behind his idea. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Italy’s new coalition government, cobbled together from the center-left and quixotic 5-Star Movement, has been greeted gleefully by markets and EU allies. But one former prime minister warns about complacency, calling for a reset with Brussels, tax cuts and renewed investment. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The hedge fund founder has already spent millions to impeach Donald Trump. He’s now trying to replace the U.S. president, joining a crowded Democratic field. The Exchange went to his campaign office to discuss why he is running and what he thinks of businessmen as politicians. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wall Street is diving into climate risk - with the exception of water. Torgny Holmgren of the Stockholm International Water Institute explains how that’s starting to change and how properly valuing the asset and smart use of technology are key to solving the crisis. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How much is a song worth? Two people who should know are the Chic founder and his manager, who have started a company to buy some of the world’s most famous back catalogues. They explain how music investing works and why many songwriters are miffed with Spotify. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mainland startups are under pressure, as once-plentiful funds dry up. Jixun Foo, managing partner at GGV Capital and a backer of tech giants like Didi Chuxing, discusses with Alec Macfarlane why the drop-off in financing could ultimately benefit investors. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s summer, which means top teams like Barcelona and Manchester United are brandishing their cheque books in the player-transfer market. But the way soccer clubs choose their stars and fund the purchases is changing. Researcher Sophie Tomlinson and financier Jason Traub explain. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices