The Big View podcast

The Exchange: Terra incognita

13 Oct 2020

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.

Viewsroom: Masks, masks everywhere; Tech breakups

8 Oct 2020

The widespread covering of mouths and noses to stifle Covid-19 has spawned a mini-manufacturing boom, with some downsides, Sharon Lam tells Rob Cox. Yet the economic benefits of mask mandates are plentiful, Lisa Jucca argues from Milan. Plus, Congress targets Big Tech bigly.

The Exchange: Netflix’s Reed Hastings

8 Sep 2020

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.

The Exchange: Middle class myopia

1 Sep 2020

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.

The Exchange: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky

28 Jul 2020

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.

The Exchange: Brave new credit world

21 Jul 2020

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.

The Exchange: Managing through the corona crisis

14 Jul 2020

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.

The Exchange: PMI CEO Andre Calantzopoulos

7 Jul 2020

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.

The Exchange: Bruce Flatt

16 Jun 2020

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.

The Exchange: BlackRock ETFs

9 Jun 2020

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.

The Exchange: Tyler Brûlé

12 May 2020

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.

The Exchange: Blue-collar China

4 May 2020

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.

The Exchange: Corona-nomics

27 Apr 2020

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.

The Exchange: “Too Small to Fail”

7 Apr 2020

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.

The Exchange: Verizon’s HR chief

31 Mar 2020

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.

The Exchange: BCG investor sentiment survey

2 Mar 2020

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.

The Exchange: Jeffrey Ubben

24 Feb 2020

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.

The Exchange: Anthony Scaramucci

10 Feb 2020

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.”

The Exchange: Duflo and Banerjee

12 Nov 2019

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.

The Exchange: CalPERS’ Ben Meng

22 Oct 2019

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.