The Big View podcast

The Exchange: Howard Marks

11 Oct 2018

The founder of Oaktree Capital, with $120 bln of assets, doesn’t see signs of an imminent correction or crisis. But investors, particularly in the credit markets, are acting bullish in ways they’ll inevitably regret when the cycle turns, Marks told Rob Cox earlier in October.

The Exchange: Jeff Lacker

9 Oct 2018

The presidency of the Richmond Fed, whose territory included two top U.S. banks, offered a unique window on the financial crisis. Wachovia needed rescuing and BofA’s deal to buy Merrill Lynch nearly collapsed. Lacker reflects on what went down and where finance is headed.

The Exchange: Neel Kashkari

4 Oct 2018

Even before Lehman Brothers went belly-up, the U.S. Treasury was hatching a contingency plan. Kashkari was one of the architects of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which plugged some $250 bln into banks. He joins Rob Cox from his current perch running the Minneapolis Fed.

The Exchange: Sheila Bair

28 Sep 2018

The chair of U.S. bank regulator FDIC in 2008 recalls how competition and disagreements between watchdogs contributed to the crash. A decade later, despite leaving the industry, she still feels an obligation to warn of the dangers of rolling back some post-crisis reforms.

The Exchange: Vikram Pandit

26 Sep 2018

As the chief executive of Citigroup, Pandit engineered the bank’s rescue and recovery from the crisis ten years ago. He swung by Times Square to discuss lessons learned, the things that still worry him and where he’s placing his bets on the future of the financial industry.

The Exchange: A chat with Gary Cohn

18 Sep 2018

President Trump’s first National Economic Council director and former Goldman Sachs No. 2 discusses the financial crisis and its aftermath with Gina Chon. He also gives his take on tax cuts and trade, and explains why JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon would make a “phenomenal” president.

The Exchange: Congresswoman Maxine Waters

17 Sep 2018

The senior Democrat on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee recalls the lack of answers that lawmakers had in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The Exchange went to Congress to discuss that period and find out her priorities if she takes over the banking committee.

The Exchange: Greg Fleming

13 Sep 2018

On the day Lehman Brothers went belly-up, Merrill Lynch sold itself to Bank of America. As president of the “Thundering Herd,” Fleming was the architect of that transaction. In conversation with Rob Cox, he defends the deal, reminisces on the crisis and discusses his new venture.

The Exchange: Frank on finance

10 Sep 2018

Barney Frank helped craft the post-crisis rules that put banks back on track. He talks with John Foley about how politics has made the system more fragile, why populism thrived on the right but fizzled on the left, and what it was like to be one of the few openly gay lawmakers.

The Exchange: From slump to Trump

4 Sep 2018

In the first of our “Ten Years After” series, Peter Thal Larsen talks to Adam Tooze. The Columbia University history professor joins the dots from the 2008 crash to Brexit and U.S. elections, noting a declining faith in U.S. willingness to be the global lender of last resort.

The Exchange: Beth Comstock

29 Aug 2018

Over two decades at General Electric, former Vice Chair Beth Comstock had a window seat on the industrial group’s attempts to adapt to changes in technology and markets. She popped by Times Square to discuss GE, and how she became the company’s most senior female executive.

The Exchange: Asia’s bubbly entrepreneurs

20 Jul 2018

Pete Sweeney hits the RISE tech conference in Hong Kong and hears pitches on vegan cryptocurrency, fog computing and big data for shrimp farmers. Trade tensions haven’t dented enthusiasm, but venture capitalists expect a correction to flush the dumb money from the market.

The Exchange: Italy’s almost premier

15 Jun 2018

Carlo Cottarelli talks about how he nearly led a caretaker government after President Sergio Mattarella last month rejected a euroskeptic finance minister put forward by the parties that won March elections. The former IMF economist has some advice for Italy’s new bosses.

The Exchange: A Down Under take on Trump

6 Jun 2018

Former Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gives the U.S. president some credit for his dealings with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. But he explains that Donald Trump’s protectionism has enraged China’s leaders and may play into the hands of the country’s own nationalists.

The Exchange: Anatomy of a Theranos takedown

1 Jun 2018

John Carreyrou, the author of “Bad Blood,” explains how Elizabeth Holmes used fear and Silicon Valley myth-making to temporarily become a multi-billionaire – and how he exposed that the $9 bln company’s technology didn’t work.

The Exchange: The failure and future of globalism

18 May 2018

Not everyone has been a winner from globalization. Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer talked to Amanda Gomez about his book “Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism” and discussed what political and business leaders can do to make the world economic system work for all.

The Exchange: Indonesia’s startup boom

11 May 2018

Southeast Asia's largest economy has seen a flurry of homegrown tech successes, led by $5 billion ride-hailing firm Go-Jek. Willson Cuaca of East Ventures and Donald Wihardja of Convergence Ventures explain why, and how, Jakarta can keep the hits coming.

The Exchange: The fate of Venezuela

8 May 2018

The OPEC member’s mismanaged economy is in freefall and its oil output collapsing. Siobhan Morden, head of Latin America fixed-income strategy at Nomura Securities, tells Martin Langfield how President Nicolas Maduro may lose power even if he wins a controversial May 20 election.

The Exchange: Putting limits on central-bank power

4 May 2018

Central bankers emerged from the financial crisis with more clout than ever before. Can this be reconciled with democratic legitimacy? Former Bank of England Deputy Governor Paul Tucker explains why monetary authorities have become “overmighty citizens”, and how to rein them in.

The Exchange: China’s one-man revolution

27 Apr 2018

President Xi Jinping wants to make China great again – but his “third revolution” has brought censorship, protectionism and military standoffs. China scholar Elizabeth Economy’s new book explains Xi’s muscular new approach, and offers suggestions on how the West should respond.