Trumponomics

Initially, Jerome Powell said the highest inflation in decades was going to be "transitory." This week, the world's most powerful central banker said the nebulous term should be retired. Such is the high-stakes guessing game going on at the Federal Reserve and the world's central banks, which risk losing public confidence should inflation continue to prove less, well, transitory than expected.This week, Stephanie delves into the messaging strategies of both central bankers and American corporations. First, Stephen King, a British economist and senior economic adviser to HSBC, suggests Powell's openness to cutting support for the U.S. financial system is meant to reestablish trust with the public by signaling a willingness to tackle inflation. Next, U.S.-based economics reporter Matt Boesler details the selective messaging of U.S. corporations, where profits are up 37% over last year despite rampant CEO complaints about wage inflation.Finally, Geneva-based economics reporter Bryce Baschuk shares how the debate over intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines is a chance for the World Trade Organization to become relevant again.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we unpack two very different challenges facing global leaders: the climate crisis and domestic violence. First, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry joins host Stephanie Flanders to share why he thinks the Glasgow Climate Pact is more than just words on paper. Among other achievements, Kerry notes that countries representing most of the world’s gross domestic product agreed to cut methane emissions by 30% this decade. Such cuts to this dangerous greenhouse gas (if they actually happen) would be a worthy accomplishment, even if rich nations have yet to fulfill a pledge to steer $100 billion a year to poorer nations facing the brunt of climate change.As countries try to cut carbon, whether by a tax on emissions or other measures, leaders can limit the effects on inflation by adopting the measures sooner rather than later—when more drastic measures may be needed, Bloomberg’s senior Euro-area economist Maeva Cousin says.Finally, Frankfurt-based economics reporter Carolynn Look shares the harrowing story of a German woman who escaped a violent partner and how some European companies are stepping forward to fight domestic abuse. They have a financial imperative as well as a moral one: gender-based violence is estimated by the European Institute for Gender Equality to cost the European Union economy 366 billion euros ($409 billion) a year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As if rising sea levels and fiercer cyclones weren't enough to worry about, the climate crisis is already cutting crop yields and could lead to widespread food shortages. That's the grave warning from the United Nations, which cautions that farmers won't meet a projected 50% increase in food demand by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions stay high. In a special episode, Stephanie Flanders tackles how to feed almost 10 billion people, the projected population of the planet in three decades. She turned to four leaders in global agriculture at Bloomberg's New Economy Forum in Singapore for their insight. Technology will play a starring role, says Werner Baumann, chairman of German healthcare and agricultural giant Bayer AG. One Bayer project involves developing "short-stature" corn that resists stalk breakage and can be planted more densely. Cargill Inc. Chairman David MacLennan insists genetically modified organisms must be part of the solution, though GMOs are a controversial component of modern agriculture with significant opposition.Finally, the panelists had some ideas regarding a tweet from the world's richest man, who last month offered to put up $6 billion if a UN official could prove the money would solve world hunger. Sara Menker, chief executive of agricultural analytics firm Gro Intelligence, suggests Elon Musk's money would be best spent creating a new financial institution to help modernize how many crops are traded. More fundamentally, Musk's money could build roads and crop storage facilities so farmers in developing nations could more easily get their products to market, says Alloysius Attah of Farmerline, which helps farmers embrace technology.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One by one, countries that sought to stamp out Covid-19's spread with aggressive lockdowns are giving up zero-tolerance policies and learning to live with the virus. The most notable exception is China, which has decided to cling to the strategy. This week, the new attitude among many nations toward the coronavirus is getting a major test in Singapore, host of Bloomberg's New Economy Forum. The city-state recently experienced its biggest flare-up of the pandemic. In a special episode, Stephanie Flanders discusses Singapore's determination to move forward with the annual meeting of political, business and academic leaders with NEF editorial director Andrew Browne. In many ways, Singapore is intent on signaling it's open for business and that "remaining in lockdown just wasn't an option,'' Browne says. It's a gamble that others in the region are now taking, including New Zealand, which had been widely praised for containing the virus via severe restrictions on daily life, but hasn't been able to shake a steady infection rate.For now, China is bucking the shift away from zero-tolerance. It's still willing to shut down at the slightest hint of an outbreak. However, the approach is coming at great cost to its economy, Bloomberg chief economist Tom Orlik tells Flanders. With China also facing threats from energy shortages and distress in its giant real estate industry, the country's traditional 6% or 7% annual growth could be halved in 2022, Orlik warns.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robots may replace us eventually, but for now Covid-19 has revealed just how desperate businesses are for workers of the human variety, and the broader economic consequences of that desperation. Companies are raising wages to attract talent, which in turn is helping boost inflation. It hit 6.2% in the U.S. last month and is running at 8.1% in Russia.This week, Bloomberg reporters on two continents share how and why workers are slow to return to the office, factory and field. First, New York-based economics reporter Jill Shah explains the mystery behind the U.S. labor market, which at once has millions of unemployed and as many as 11 million openings. A few of the reasons? Some are waiting to land a remote job, others can't find childcare--and at least a few are trying to make a living trading cryptocurrency. Meantime, Moscow-based reporter Áine Quinn finds Russia's labor shortage is more easily explained. Many migrant workers from Central Asia left during the pandemic and didn't return, while the nation's high infection and death rates has many Russians staying home. Finally, Stephanie Flanders discusses the labor shortage's lasting effects with Jason Furman, a professor of the practice of economic policy at Harvard University. History tells us that many long-term unemployed will see their skills erode, leaving them at a competitive disadvantage, Furman says. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As if controlling spiraling inflation wasn’t enough to worry about, the world’s central bankers are under increasing pressure to help solve climate change, income inequality and myriad other societal ills. What’s more, elected officials in some nations are trying to exert more power over bankers for political ends.Stephanie Flanders debates the proper role of a central banker with three esteemed women economists, Isabel Schnabel of the European Central Bank, Carmen Reinhart of the World Bank and Minouche Shafik of the London School of Economics and Political Science. While bankers can’t be the “white knight” who rushes in to save the world from global warming or income inequality, they can use their bully pulpit to prod slow-moving politicians to act, Shafik says. Schnabel goes a step further, arguing that tough talk alone won’t suffice, and that central bankers should use what economic levers they have available to advance important causes.Of the three economists, Reinhart raised the most concern about inflation, currently running at an annual rate of 5.4% in the U.S. and 4.1% in the euro area. Yes, the world needs to address the climate crisis, she says, but nothing will stop the green economy faster than high prices, which may lead to tighter monetary policies and a steep drop in financing in developing nations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than a decade after the U.S. subprime crisis sparked the Great Recession, the threat of default at giant property developer Evergrande is raising the prospect that ghost towns of unoccupied homes could trigger a China property slump. On this week’s podcast, Hong Kong-based economics reporter Tom Hancock visits Evergrande to see how the company is trying to raise money and avoid default, including by trying to sell its headquarters. Guest host Tom Orlik delves into the issues with Rhodium Group Director Logan Wright and Bloomberg economist David Qu, a former financial stability regulator at the People’s Bank of China.And finally, with Halloween just around the corner, Orlik ponders the scariest risks to the global economy with three Bloomberg economists: Anna Wong in Washington, Dan Hanson in London and Ziad Daoud in Dubai. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Central bankers are in a precarious spot in this chaotic pandemic economy. U.S. and U.K. consumers are grousing about rising prices and want some relief. But if government officials give it to them by raising interest rates, they may set back the recovery. It wouldn’t be the first time an errant move by a central bank triggered a recession.This week, Stephanie Flanders helps listeners navigate the perils of monetary policy with David Wilcox, Bloomberg’s director of U.S. economic research, and Jamie Rush, Bloomberg's chief European economist. Wilcox, who formerly directed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s research division, explains why the central bank is more worried that inflation will run too low over the long term, and less worried about the current 5.4% annual rate. Meanwhile, Rush argues that the Bank of England “lost its nerve” and is taking too aggressive an approach in battling price increases. And, in a dispatch from Brazil, reporter Maria Eloisa Capurro shares why a new mobile payment app called Pix has overtaken the nation of 213 million people faster than expected, with everyone from small business owners to panhandlers accepting it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An old debate in economic circles is whether Europe’s strong safety net and worker protections are preferable to America’s more company-friendly labor rules. Now this classic argument is getting a fresh look, as economies on both sides of the Atlantic bounce back from pandemic work-stoppages. The U.K. and many euro-area nations adopted generous furlough programs that subsidized worker wages after Covid-19 halted business, and consequently kept workers on payrolls. The U.S., meantime, allowed companies to fire employees and then compensated the newly jobless workers with unemployment insurance payments.This week Stephanomics podcast, Bloomberg reporters Carolynn Look in Frankfurt and Reade Pickert in Washington share the ups and downs of the European and American approaches to pandemic worker relief. By one measure, Europe’s furlough strategy proved superior: the euro area’s unemployment rate peaked at 8.6% last year, far lower than the U.S.’s 14.8% high. Finally, Adam Posen of the Peterson Institute for International Economics shares with Stephanie Flanders why he prefers the euro area’s approach. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Breakthrough, a new series from the Prognosis podcast, we explore how the pandemic is changing our understanding of healthcare and medicine. We start with an examination of long Covid, a mysterious new illness that has stumped doctors attempting to treat symptoms that last for months and potentially years. It has changed the way hospitals work and forced healthcare officials to prepare for the next pandemic. Covid has also opened the door to revolutionary technology: messenger RNA vaccines. It’s a technology that never could have been proven so quickly outside the crucible of that first pandemic year, 2020, and it holds big implications for the future of medicine. Breakthrough launches on Oct. 19. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, more than 60 container ships sat anchored off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, waiting for their chance to unload as makers of everything from board games to bicycles sweat the looming holiday season. How did the world’s supply chains get so snarled? In the first episode of the new season of Stephanomics, reporters, manufacturers and economists across three continents explain the myriad problems plaguing shippers and offer a sobering prediction for the near future.First, Enda Curran, Bloomberg’s chief economics correspondent in Asia, takes us to Hong Kong, where a coffee machine manufacturer must wait up to nine months for key electronic components to arrive. Meanwhile, the cost of moving one container from Asia to the U.S. has risen from $2,000 at the start of the pandemic to $20,000. Next, U.K.-based economy reporter Lizzy Burden shares why one of the world’s most advanced economies could find itself with a shortage of fuel and food this winter, a problem exacerbated by Brexit and new rules on worker visas.Finally, Stephanie Flanders gets a taste of how U.S. restaurants are coping with a shortage of both supplies and waiters. Celebrity restaurateur Willie Degel and HSBC trade economist Shanella Rajanayagam explain why supply shortages haven’t improved despite the accelerating reopening of the global economy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Federal Reserve is theoretically above the fray in Washington, but in these hyperpartisan times both Democrats and Republicans are keen to keep the chair's seat in their camp. As a result, President Joe Biden has a tough decision to make this fall in whether to retain the central bank's current chair, Jerome Powell, who happens to be a Republican. On this week's podcast, host Stephanie Flanders delves into Biden's options with Bloomberg Fed reporters Craig Torres and Rich Miller. Also on this week's episode, Bloomberg senior editor Brendan Murray cruises the River Thames to share how the Port of London, once the world's busiest, is regaining some of its past glory. And, Zurich-based economics reporter Catherine Bosley, Dublin-based reporter Peter Flanagan and Dublin bureau chief Morwenna Coniam explain why European tax havens are so stressed over a proposed global minimum corporate tax rate.That U.S. politicians are debating Powell's fate may be a bit perplexing, given his fans in both parties and that many contend he did a good job steering the economy through the first 18 months or the pandemic. Still, some progressives fault him for being too lax in regulating Wall Street and not vocal enough when it comes to income inequality and Black unemployment. If Biden sticks with Powell, it would be another signal that he's serious about bipartisanship. One possible maneuver discussed on this podcast: keep Powell in place, but fill three other board seats with candidates more to the left's liking. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the not-too-distant future, every time you buy a cup of coffee, someone somewhere might know about it. That’s an unnerving prospect as private companies and central banks experiment with digital currencies. On this week’s podcast, host Stephanie Flanders explores the promising and disconcerting future of Bitcoin and its brethren with Cornell University Senior Professor of Trade Policy Eswar Prasad, author of the forthcoming book “The Future of Money: How the Digital Revolution is Transforming Currencies and Finance.”Also on this week’s episode, Singapore-based economics reporter Michelle Jamrisko and Hong Kong-based economist Chang Shu explain how low fertility rates in China and elsewhere in Asia are imperiling economies there. And Madrid-based economics reporter Jeannette Neumann visits Valencia to show how Spain and France are trying to help small businesses emerge from the pandemic intact. Digital currencies, including cryptocurrencies, pose a “fundamental threat” to central banks around the world because they cut banks out of the picture, Prasad said. Governments are developing their own digital currencies, which could give payment systems extra credibility and boost consumer confidence. But Prasad, a leading expert in this arena, warned that a significant downside to adoption will be privacy: Banks will be monitoring currencies for illicit use and “anything digital is going to be traceable.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Criticism from the right regarding U.S. government aid to unemployed workers has intensified of late, with governors in some Republican-leaning states putting an early end to the extra $300 in weekly payments. Their stated intention was that more jobless Americans would look for work if they can’t count on the extra cash. But for some workers—especially parents with young children—barriers to re-entering the labor force remain, and the loss of those additional dollars is adding to their problems. On this week’s podcast, Bloomberg economics reporter Olivia Rockeman explains how a lack of childcare options is keeping many women out of the job market. Rather than abusing government aid, many came to rely on the payments while they searched for suitable employment. The U.S. economy had a record 9.2 million open jobs in May, and getting many of those positions filled will require helping working parents find someone to watch their kids. In a second segment, guest host and Bloomberg Chief Economist Tom Orlik explores the details and likely effects of President Joe Biden’s sweeping order aimed at promoting competition, with input from reporter Anna Edgerton and University of Tennessee College of Law Professor Maurice Stucke.Finally, Vietnam-based economics reporter Nguyen Uyen explains why thousands of workers in the Asian export hub are sleeping on factory floors to keep production going during a Covid-19 surge.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China’s climb to the top of world economic rankings is considered a foregone conclusion in many circles, especially those inside the Chinese Communist Party. But all is not assured: Beijing faces economic and demographic challenges that make surpassing the U.S. less of a no-brainer than one might think.On this week’s podcast, host Stephanie Flanders steers a lively debate on global domination between Bloomberg Chief Economist Tom Orlik and George Magnus, a research associate at Oxford University’s China Centre. At present, China’s $14.7 trillion gross domestic product is 70% of America’s $20.9 trillion economy. In China’s best-case scenario, it could overtake its Western rival by 2031, according to research by Orlik and Eric Zhu, a Bloomberg economist based in Hong Kong. In a worst case scenario, a combination of stalled reforms, international isolation and financial crisis could relegate China to permanent second place. Magnus is skeptical of China’s chances of passing the U.S., arguing that its most productive periods were during liberal economic reform, which is hardly the state of affairs under President Xi Jinping. In a second segment, London-based economy reporter Lizzy Burden shares how some U.K. corporations are speaking more openly about menopause, something 1 in 4 women around the world may be facing by 2030. A rising number are leaving the workforce as a result, which is prompting business leaders to finally address the sometimes taboo subject. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The early days of the pandemic saw a scramble to unleash massive monetary and fiscal bailouts to counter the fallout of a global health crisis and the shutdowns intended to mitigate its damage. Almost a year and a half later, times have changed in many countries, and so has the economic landscape. But are policymakers moving fast enough to unwind their emergency measures?On this week's podcast Stephanie Flanders is joined by two of the biggest names in the financial world—billionaire investor Ray Dalio and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, who is perhaps the loudest voice of warning when it comes to inflation. Hear their opinions on just how hot the U.S. economy is running, where they think bubbles are building and why they contend that government officials need to take the threat of inflation seriously, and do so right now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After more than three decades enforcing its one-child policy, China finds itself with too many elders in need of care and too few caregivers to provide it. Now, the world’s most populous country is getting creative about solving this growing demographic dilemma.On this week’s podcast, Bloomberg Shanghai Bureau Chief Charlie Zhu shares the surprising rise of “time banking,” where volunteers offer services to older citizens in exchange for credits they can tap when their time comes. Such an endeavor to support both the elderly of today and tomorrow is in stark contrast with the plight of senior citizens in the U.S. Bloomberg Quicktake producer Madison Paglia and Washington-based Senior Editor Alexandre Tanzi explain how more Americans in their 60s and 70s are stuck paying back student loans, and how the problem is getting worse. Later, host Stephanie Flanders interviews New York-based economics reporter Olivia Rockeman on why U.S. restaurants are finally starting to raise prices.A Japanese woman developed the time banking concept in the 1970s, but it never really caught on. Now China is turning to this mutual assistance model to alleviate a shortage of caregivers in cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. Chinese aged 60 and above already account for one-fifth of the nation’s population, a number that’s expected to almost double by 2050. Meanwhile, births are at their lowest level in almost six decades. These days, able-bodied citizens have begun assisting the elderly with grocery shopping and navigating new technology. Sometimes, they’re just keeping them company. All the while, these volunteers are banking credits for their own old age.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The wealthiest nations are emerging from the pandemic stronger than anyone thought, nervous about inflation but otherwise feeling they’ve dodged a bullet. That’s not the case for developing countries, with many still overwhelmed by Covid-19 and certainly unable to dole out stimulus checks. On this week’s podcast, World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart tells host Stephanie Flanders why she worries the recent surge in inflation could be around for awhile, hitting the world’s poorest hardest. Next, Rome-based economics reporter Alessandra Migliaccio reveals the surprising reason Italian tomatoes are rotting in the field. And, Sydney-based economics reporter Michael Heath discusses why critics contend Australia, long a melting pot of cultures, has lost its way on immigration.Rising prices are spooking investors and policymakers as many economies rebound from the pandemic. In the U.S., a broad measure of inflation jumped 5% in May, its biggest annual gain since 2008. Many central bankers argue inflation is a temporary reaction to a rapidly reheating economy, but Reinhart says she isn’t so sure. Covid-19 was a much larger global shock than the 2008 financial crisis, with bank moves to expand the money supply providing a much bigger multiplier effect. Those factors could stoke longer-lasting inflation this time around.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Summer Olympics in Tokyo are little more than a month away, and workers are readying a rebuilt National Stadium for the opening ceremony. But what should be an opportunity for Japan to recharge its economy and lure back tourists is instead a source of apprehension for its 126 million people. On this week’s podcast, Tokyo-based economics reporter Yuko Takeo dives into Japan’s decision to move forward with the Olympics. Then host Stephanie Flanders talks to Paris-based economics reporter William Horobin about the Group of Seven’s landmark corporate tax deal, and U.S.-based economics reporter Olivia Rockeman speaks to Stanford University economist Nicholas Bloom on why the work-from-home revolution could worsen workplace inequality.Originally, many Japanese had hoped the Olympics could match or even improve upon the 1964 games, which showcased the country’s growing manufacturing clout and led to development of its heralded bullet trains. Now, after a one-year delay, the primary goal is simply to bolster tourism. But the pandemic still overshadows everything: More than 80% of Japanese oppose staging the Olympics, with their biggest fear being that it will become a super-spreader event. Still, for Japan’s leaders, canceling the Games now would be tantamount to declaring they have lost control of the pandemic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Canada has a well-earned reputation as the world’s “goody two shoes,” with a progressive record on civil liberties and a history of sticking to its principles in perilous times. The country made it through the 2008 financial crisis relatively unscathed, and more recently its Atlantic provinces were tagged as the New Zealand of North America for their aggressive efforts to contain Covid-19. If you ask Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, she wouldn’t have it any other way.On this week’s podcast, host Stephanie Flanders talks with this rising star in Canadian politics, one seen as a potential successor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A former journalist, Freeland has loudly defended aggressive fiscal moves by Canada and other nations to bolster their economies over criticism they are ignoring the inflation threat. She also argues it took Covid-19 to convince Canada to take child care seriously.The podcast ends with a look at the surprising cultural dynamics forming up around America’s milk and egg supply. Bloomberg agriculture reporter Elizabeth Elkin relates how producers are fighting to keep chocolate milk in U.S. schools while some farmers are betting consumers are willing to pay big for environmentally friendly eggs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After more than a year of pandemic, the U.S. economy is roaring back and is now expected to grow by 9.4% in the second quarter. That's fueling a mad scramble across U.S. industries desperately in need of workers. But for all the momentum, pockets of poverty and stagnation remain behind the rosy American facade. And no place represents that reality better than Youngstown, Ohio.On this week's podcast, U.S.-based economics reporter Shawn Donnan digs into the decades-long economic slide in this Eastern Ohio city and the flailing attempts to revive it. More than 61,000 people worked in Youngstown's booming manufacturing industry in 1990, but this past March it employed just over 23,000. The latest blow occurred in 2019, when General Motors closed its doors in nearby Lordstown and took 4,500 jobs with it. A struggling effort to make Youngstown a hub of 3D printing, launched under former President Barack Obama, shows how hard it is for the Rust Belt to regain its former glory.Bloomberg Chief Economist Tom Orlik discusses the International Monetary Fund's proposal to end the pandemic and Johannesburg economics reporter Prinesha Naidoo reports on the growing Covid-19 calamity in Africa, where delayed vaccination campaigns could leave 39 million more Africans in extreme poverty this year. And host Stephanie Flanders sits down with Germany's Olaf Scholz, the finance minister vying to replace Angela Merkel as chancellor, to ask about his campaign and why Germany is moving ahead with a controversial gas pipeline with Russia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pandemic has upended the way the world shops, worships and especially how often we wash our hands. With the virus waning in many parts of the globe (while still raging in some places, like India and Brazil), economists and policymakers are debating whether our societal quarantine workarounds will persist -- or be jettisoned by summer's end. On this week's podcast, host Stephanie Flanders takes a rare break from moderating and hands the microphone to Sebastian Mallaby of the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations for a discussion of the pandemic's economic effects. William Dudley, former president of the New York Federal Reserve, explains why the inflation fears that have gripped the U.S. are likely just a short-term reaction to surging consumer demand. Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, suggests the Euro is emerging as a winner in the ``relative ugliness contest'' among world currencies. And, Flanders argues that, while countries including the U.K. have a new focus on ``living local,'' it's no real threat to globalization.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been a long time since anyone in America or Europe had to think seriously about inflation. But the highest U.S. numbers since 2009 have rattled financial markets and critics of President Joe Biden are warning that his big spending could trigger a full-blown 70s-style price spiral.Bloomberg Senior Asia Economy Correspondent Enda Curran reports from Hong Kong on the price pressures facing Asian exporters, and how they’re affecting what consumers pay in American stores. Then host Stephanie Flanders talks to Jason Thomas, head of Global Research at the Carlyle Group, who says he believes that reopening the U.S. economy will help push inflation back down again—and that the long-term forces which have kept a lid on prices are still in place. With U.S. gas stations across the Southeast running short of supply and drivers sitting in line to fill their tanks, you would have been forgiven for thinking the 70s had already returned. Though the Colonial Pipeline is now back up and running, Chief Energy Correspondent Javier Blas explains how a cyberattack on America’s biggest fuel conduit could do such damage, and why U.S. energy companies are scrambling to shore up their defenses. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world’s biggest businesses are massive, spanning countries and continents. Now they're getting even larger, and that may not be a good thing. In the past few decades alone, the largest 50 firms have tripled their profit. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Google together make more money in a week than McDonald's makes in an entire year. On this week’s podcast, host Stephanie Flanders talks with Bloomberg’s Chief Economist Tom Orlik about what the rise of these mega-companies could mean for the global economy. London School of Economics Professor Philippe Aghion joins Flanders to explain why the rise of big tech, once great for innovation and growth, is no longer. Aghion also discusses his plan for getting the very best out of capitalists. And French economy reporter William Horobin explains why the campaign to extract tax from the tech giants just got a lot more interesting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

U.S. President Biden marked his 100th day in office this week with another massive spending package -- this one squarely aimed at taxing the rich to give money to everyone else. He’s proposed nearly $6 trillion dollars in new spending since taking office, much of which is to be paid for with higher tax revenues. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve policy makers are looking at this ocean of government spending, a booming stock market and rapidly recovering economy and have decided to leave interest rates at rock bottom and keep on buying up debt. Bloomberg White House reporter Nancy Cook and Federal Reserve reporter Rich Miller join host Stephanie Flanders to consider whether we really are seeing a revolution in U.S. economic policy under the man that Donald Trump used to call sleepy Joe.Meanwhile, the unequal impact of Covid-19 continues to reverberate through the U.S. economy. Bloomberg Economy reporter Mike Sasso reports on how the pandemic is causing a retirement rush with some older Americans simply unable to find work, while others cash in on stock market gains to embrace life beyond the 9-5, and Senior Editor Alex Tanzi reveals some unexpected shifts in intergenerational inequality.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many, the pandemic has altered where we work, how we work and when we work. But will that change be forever? Or will we wake up in a year and find we’re back to normal? It’s a vital question, because if work changes, the shape of the economy will change, too. Bloomberg’s Spanish Economy reporter Jeannette Neumann visited a quiet corner of northeast Spain to meet those who escaped the city and to find out just how sustainable their new lives really are.Host Stephanie Flanders talks with Dublin Bureau Chief Dara Doyle about the Irish government’s attempts to persuade people to stay away from the office, and perhaps work from the local pub instead. She also speaks with Sven Smit, co-chair of the McKinsey Global Institute, on his view of work in the post-pandemic world. With 100 million developed market jobs at risk of being displaced, how should we respond? And if you have kids, what should your child’s reaction to home schooling tell us?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 50 years ago, the public and private sectors united to bring men to the moon and back. As the world begins to look at how it can recover from the Covid-19, what lessons can the original moonshot have for the modern challenges facing governments and industry today?In this week’s episode, host Stephanie Flanders talks with Mariana Mazzucato, author and professor in Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London. Find out how similar partnerships could help solve intractable problems such as global warming and pandemics, why doing what sounds obvious simply isn’t happening and what she says U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration needs to know.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recent weeks have seen an outpouring of optimism about the economic recovery, especially in the U.S. The International Monetary Fund has added its voice to the chorus, predicting developed economies could not only enjoy rapid growth in the coming years but see little or no permanent damage from the sudden collapse in 2020. But is that rebound going to be felt everywhere? Stephanie Flanders talks with Bloomberg Chief Economist Tom Orlik about what's changed and his outlook for global growth.Almost 100 days have elapsed since the chimes of Big Ben marked Brexit's formal implementation. U.K. economy reporter Lizzy Burden reports on the country’s messy post-divorce relationship with the European Union, and talks to some people who have been caught in the middle. Finally, Flanders speaks with U.S real estate reporter Alex Wittenberg about how the boom in online shopping could be the death knell for golf courses all across America.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the world enters a second year of Covid-19, we begin our new season of Stephanomics with perspectives on the pandemic’s fallout from Bloomberg correspondents all over the world. From cross-border jealousy and government spending battles to desolate beaches and unexpected theater companions, Andrew Rosati in Brazil, Shelly Hagan in Canada, Kamlesh Bhuckory in Mauritius and Anya Andrianova in Russia tell us how the global health catastrophe has changed local economies.Host Stephanie Flanders then talks with Bloomberg Chief Energy Correspondent Javier Blas about why one stuck container ship could cause so much disruption to global trade, and how long we may be living with the after-effects of the resulting traffic jam. Flanders also speaks to Dr. Dambisa Moyo—author, economist and board member of Chevron and 3M—about what the post-pandemic future may hold for workers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few decades ago, nobody really questioned vaccines. They were viewed as a standard part of staying healthy and safe. Today, the number of people questioning vaccines risks prolonging a pandemic that has already killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. How we got to this moment didn’t start with the rollout of vaccines or in March 2020, or even with the election of Donald Trump. Our confidence in vaccines, often isn't even about vaccines. It’s about trust. And that trust has been eroding for a long time. Doubt, a new series from Bloomberg’s Prognosis podcast, looks at the forces that have been breaking down that trust. We'll trace the rise of vaccine skepticism in America to show how we got here — and where we’re going. Doubt launches on March 23. Subscribe to Prognosis today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 150 years after the end of slavery in the U.S., the net worth of a typical white family is nearly six times greater than that of the average Black family. Season 3 of The Pay Check digs into into how we got to where we are today and what can be done to narrow the yawning racial wealth gap in the U.S.Jackie Simmons and Rebecca Greenfield co-host the season, which kicks off with a personal story about land Jackie's family acquired some time after slavery that they're on the verge of losing. From there the series explores all the ways the wealth gaps manifests and the radical solutions, like affirmative action, quotas, and reparations, that can potentially lead to greater equality.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Governments spent trillions of dollars in 2020 tackling the pandemic while propping up businesses and households. But the unprecedented expenditure has awakened real concern about such high levels of borrowing. World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart says we should worry about winning the war first and how to pay for it later. She joins host Stephanie Flanders to discuss why policymakers shouldn't confuse rebound with recovery, and how a slow rollout of vaccines may cut global growth in half this year. Flanders also speaks with Bloomberg Economics’ Jamie Rush about the real cost of all that borrowing. And Bloomberg Businessweek Economics Editor Peter Coy looks at the parallels between the current crisis and that of the 1920s, and how this decade could be just as roaring. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. doesn’t just have a new president this week. The world’s largest economy is also getting a new Treasury Secretary, albeit a familiar face, in Janet Yellen. Host Stephanie Flanders talks with Bloomberg’s U.S. Treasury reporter Chris Condon, who listened in to Yellen’s confirmation hearing for a sneak preview of what her reign at 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue might look like.Across the Pacific in Hong Kong, Senior Asia Economy Correspondent Enda Curran goes in search of an unexpectedly elusive commodity—shipping containers. The global shipping industry is struggling to deliver what the world wants to buy, leaving exporters and importers everywhere feeling the pain and awakening fears that these supply chain issues could stop the economic recovery in its tracks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Covid-19 isn't just a deadly threat to human life; it's also a mental health catastrophe with economic consequences. Fear of illness, strict lockdowns, isolation from friends and family, rising unemployment and collapsing businesses weigh on the hearts and minds of people all across the globe. But poor mental health isn’t just a symptom of economic malaise: It can also be a cause. Bloomberg economics reporter William Horobin reports from Paris about what the psychological effects of the pandemic could mean for our longer-term prosperity, and what can be done to help. Host Stephanie Flanders also speaks with Baron Richard Layard, an expert in the economics of happiness at the London School of Economics. He talks about why the coronavirus should make us rethink how we treat mental illness, how "building back better" should mean services rather than roads and railways, and why money really doesn’t make us happy. Really.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An economy is its people. Alongside the almost 360,000 killed by the coronavirus in the U.S., there are millions more whose lives have been upended by the pandemic’s economic shock. Bloomberg senior reporter Shawn Donnan introduces one of those people as he investigates the widening inequalities across America, and host Stephanie Flanders talks with Bloomberg reporter Michael Sasso about what the results of this week’s Georgia Senate runoff could mean.Across the Atlantic, U.K. economy reporter Lizzy Burden speaks with the frustrated truck drivers stranded on the front line of Britain’s Covid and Brexit woes, desperate to get home to their families—and clean toilets. Flanders also talks with senior U.K. economist Dan Hanson about the country’s latest lockdown and its last-minute trade deal with the European Union.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The events of 2020 caught most people off guard. The global economy was upended, prompting unprecedented responses by governments and central banks while shaking up supply chains. It was also a year that made many of us rethink the way we live. On this podcast, host Stephanie Flanders leads a roundtable discussion about the year’s most memorable moments, and what 2021 may hold in store for us. She's joined by Bloomberg Editor at Large Francine Lacqua, Chief Economist Tom Orlik, former Beijing Bureau Chief Sharon Chen and Businessweek Economics Editor Peter Coy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a tumultuous year for the global economy comes to a close, host Stephanie Flanders speaks with someone on the front line of the policy response. Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane discusses the outlook for recovery now that vaccinations have begun, how central bankers view inflation and whether the pandemic is really the answer to the productivity puzzle.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adding robots to factories, retail stores or mines was historically seen as a job killer by workers and the unions that support them. But this year, automation has allowed sectors of the economy to continue producing with fewer people, minimizing the coronavirus risk for workers. U.S. economy reporter Olivia Rockeman explains what that might mean in the long term and what needs to happen to help the displaced.Host Stephanie Flanders talks with Harvard Economics Chair Richard Freeman about how 2020 has changed the world of work and what the future will hold. She also speaks with Bloomberg’s Chief European Economist Jamie Rush about what kind of economic boost the rollout of coronavirus vaccines could bring.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Internet companies have long been the target of complaints that they don’t pay their fair share of taxes. The system wasn’t built for a digital global economy, but how do you now impose rules on multinational tech giants? Bloomberg Economy reporter William Horobin reports from Paris on the battle to find common ground among almost 140 countries and avoid a new transatlantic trade conflict.Host Stephanie Flanders talks with Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the center for tax policy at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the man trying to find a way through the arguments. She also speaks with Ivory Coast reporter Leanne de Bassompierre about a very different trade spat between the chocolate makers we all know and love and the West African nations that produce their cocoa. It’s a fight that might play out in the price of your Hershey’s kisses this Christmas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Washington, personnel is policy. The people President-elect Joe Biden has picked to run economic policy can tell us a lot about what we might expect from the next administration. Bloomberg Businessweek Economics Editor Peter Coy introduces us to the key players and explains what Bidenomics could look like. Then host Stephanie Flanders speaks with Harvard University Professor Jason Furman, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama. He says the U.S. should stop worrying about debt and rethink fiscal policy, explaining why members of the new administration, many of whom he considers friends, are the right people for the job.Finally, with less than five weeks before the U.K. leaves the European Union, Flanders talks with Bloomberg finance reporter Viren Vaghela about the damage already done to London’s financial industry and what’s at stake if the trickle of jobs and money leaving Britain becomes a flood.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hard reality of the Covid-19 pandemic is that while those at greatest risk of dying are retirement age or older, the economic disaster and its consequences fall disproportionately on the shoulders of the young.How does it feel to be one of these people, knowing you're on the hook for years of lost economic opportunity while others dictate the terms of any recovery? Bloomberg London news apprentice Eileen Gbagbo, age 21, reports on how the virus is inflaming intergenerational tensions. Then host Stephanie Flanders speaks with London School of Economics Professor and former Bank of England policy maker Charles Goodhart and Talking Heads Macroeconomics founder Manoj Pradhan about their book, "The Great Demographic Reversal." They give their thoughts on why inflation is going to return and how automation can--and can’t--help future generations handle the burdens ahead.And finally, we’re back at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum to hear from United Nations Special Envoy for Climate and Finance and former BOE Governor Mark Carney about how the world of finance is going to help the planet get to zero carbon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s episode of Stephanomics comes to you from the third annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum, where global leaders have gathered for a virtual discussion of how to solve the world’s biggest challenges, not least of which is the coronavirus pandemic.Stephanie Flanders brings together former Fed Chair Janet Yellen, ex-Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers to analyze the unprecedented economic response to Covid-19. They debate whether world leaders have done enough to help Main Street instead of just Wall Street, and whether global institutions are being too timid this time around. Flanders is then joined by Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheál Martin, who talks about the future of trade as Brexit approaches, and just where U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden’s Irish grandparents came from.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For decades, Asia’s fast-growing economies have offered millions of young people the chance to do better than their parents. Thanks to Covid-19, that tradition may soon end as youth unemployment soars in a region home to most of the world’s young adults. So what happens when your economic opportunities dry up? Bloomberg’s Chief Asia Economics Correspondent Enda Curran reports from Hong Kong on the struggles and hopes of the “lockdown generation.” Then host Stephanie Flanders speaks with Bloomberg Economics’ Tom Orlik about what the world could look like in 2050, and who wins or loses if the trend toward deglobalization continues. Flanders also talks with Eurozone economist Maeva Cousin on the cost of climate change and why it may take farsighted policy makers to see the rewards of acting now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who the U.S. president will be for the next four years is dominating the headlines right now, but what of the previous four? In the wake of the Nov. 3 election, host Stephanie Flanders discusses with some of the nation’s leading economists just how Donald Trump’s administration has changed America’s economy and how it interacts with the rest of the world. Flanders is joined by University of Chicago Professor Randall Kroszner, a former Fed Governor, and George Mason University Professor Tyler Cowen, a Bloomberg Opinion contributor, to talk trade, taxes and trillions of dollars in coronavirus rescue funding. She also speaks with New York University Professor Baruch Lev about how much of Trump’s vaunted stock market rally is built on intangible assets, and what that could mean for future policy makers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alongside the financial destruction wrought by Covid-19 there comes new opportunities. European officials have seized on one in particular—mending battered economies in a way that also tackles global warming, or “building back greener.” But how to turn those words into action? Bloomberg renewables reporter Jess Shankleman reports from London on the policies that may bring that dream to fruition, and the sobering realities of trying to do so during a pandemic.Host Stephanie Flanders talks with economist and policymaker Lord Nicholas Stern about how he thinks addressing climate change can be a sustainable route to growth, and what the U.S. election could mean for the future of the planet. She also speaks with Bloomberg’s trade and supply chains editor Brendan Murray about why the world’s container ships might not have enough space for all your Christmas presents this year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amid its terrible death toll and economic devastation, the coronavirus pandemic has prompted people, businesses and governments to rethink the way they live and operate. Now, as countries seek to take their first steps back toward normality, many are wondering what changes forced upon us by Covid-19 may be worth keeping when the crisis has passed.For Thailand’s national parks, the pandemic has meant a chance for nature to regenerate thanks to the absence of tourists. Senior Asia Economy Reporter Michelle Jamrisko reports on how a government plan to make that a regular occurrence faces pushback from local businesses desperate for foot-traffic again. Our guest host, Bloomberg Chief Economist Tom Orlik, talks with America’s former top career diplomat in China, Dave Rank, about relations between the world’s two biggest economic powers and what the U.S. election could mean for their future relations. He also catches up on the latest Brexit developments with Bloomberg Economics’ Dan Hanson.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pandemic has raised the specter of mass unemployment across many developed economies. In Europe, governments stepped in to help pay millions of workers, hoping the crisis would quickly pass and businesses reopen. But with normality nowhere in sight and fresh waves of infection prompting new restrictions, the question now is which jobs should we try to save?On this week’s episode, Bloomberg economy reporter Jeannette Neumann reports from Cadiz, Spain, where old industries hold lessons for the present battle to save jobs. Stephanie Flanders also talks with leading economists Paul Collier and John Kay about their new book, “Greed Is Dead,” and why Gordon Gekko might have been wrong. Community, it turns out, plays a surprisingly large role in capitalism.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Covid-19 has upended economies across the globe. In the fourth season of Stephanomics, we’ll be taking a closer look at the fragile path to recovery and which nations are doing better than others.This first podcast of the new season is brought to you by the letter K, or more precisely the K-shaped recovery which sees parts of the U.S. economy bouncing back while others still suffer. We start in Cleveland, where Bloomberg senior reporter Shawn Donnan tells us about two houses that illustrate how the pandemic is both reinforcing and widening America’s inequalities. Host Stephanie Flanders also talks with Director of the London School of Economics Minouche Shafik about the unequal economic impact of the pandemic, and what policymakers should be doing to help. Flanders also speaks with Bloomberg economy editor James Mayger in China, where after months of staying home, almost half a billion people are displaying confidence in the country’s rebound and finally taking a vacation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andy Browne, editorial director for the Bloomberg New Economy, talks to Jonathan Hillman, author of the book The Emperor’s New Road: China and the Project of the Century.That project, of course, is the Belt and Road Initiative: the grand strategy of president Xi Jinping who has made it his foreign policy signature. But what is it exactly? An imperial effort, certainly. But according to Jonathan not a very organized one. And one that could repeat the mistakes of past empires.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the first global consumer companies to feel the impact of Covid-19 was the beer giant AB InBev, whose brands include Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois. AB InBev operates a brewery in Whuan China where the pandemic began and which was the worlds first city to go into lockdown.But as life returns to normal in Wuhan and cities all over the world, beer is flowing again in record quantities. In this interview, Andy Browne talks to AB InBevs CEO Carlos Brito about this turnaround in fortunes and how Brito ultimately sees us bounce back from this temporary isolation in celebration.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.