In the City

David Merritt speaks with senior editor Tom Metcalf and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Paul J. Davies about the consequences of changing the financial crisis-era policy.

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Ben Page, chief executive of market research company Ipsos, joins Voternomics this week to outline what he’s discovered about voters and what they think about their politicians, governments and economies. He tells Stephanie Flanders and Allegra Stratton that trust in politics is the “lowest we’ve ever measured.” 

Also on this episode, Flanders, Stratton and Adrian Wooldridge ask Bloomberg Opinion columnist John Authers whether—given the question of when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates between now and the election—the central bank can remain above the political fray.

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Nobel laureate and economics professor Joseph Stiglitz joins Francine Lacqua, Allegra Stratton and Adrian Wooldridge to explain why he feels the political right has warped the true meaning of freedom.

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Karen Ward, J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s chief market strategist for EMEA, joins this week to explain why politicians are being punished for the sins of central banks. Ward, a former Bank of England economist and adviser to both UK Chancellors Philip Hammond and Jeremy Hunt, tells Stephanie Flanders, Allegra Stratton and Adrian Wooldridge about the damage done as a result of missteps when it comes to inflation. 

Plus, Bloomberg News editor Craig Trudell unpacks how Elon Musk is driving on both sides of the US-China relationship. 

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On this week’s episode of In the City, Senior Executive Editor Will Kennedy and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Javier Blas join to discuss the takeover bid that’s set the mining industry alight. We’re talking about BHP’s offer for Anglo American—how the offer came together, what happens next and what it means for the future of FTSE. 

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Welcome to the first episode of Voternomics. On this podcast, Stephanie Flanders, Bloomberg’s head of government and economics coverage, Allegra Stratton, author of Bloomberg’s The Readout newsletter and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Adrian Wooldridge discuss how voters have the opportunity to affect markets, countries and economies like never before. Historian Niall Ferguson and Bloomberg Washington reporter Nancy Cook join our hosts to give their take on this unique moment in time.

Ferguson explains why he believes the 2024 US presidential election isn’t about foreign policy, why Donald Trump is using his 2016 campaign strategy and why the second Cold War is escalating faster than the first. 

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The Bank of England has found itself caught in the middle of a global divide over who will cut interest rates first—and when. Senior UK economy reporter Phil Aldrick joins David Merritt, Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton on this week’s In the City to explain the two schools of thought, and their implications.

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The deadly April 1 airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Syria and Iran’s retaliation against Israel with a drone and missile attack changed the “rules of engagement” right before our eyes, according to geopolitical strategist Tina Fordham. “This is the most significant uptick in Middle East risk for 20 years.”

Fordham is the founder of Fordham Global Foresight, an independent consultancy dedicated to advising boards and C-suite executives on geopolitical, socio-economic and financial risks. She joins David Merritt and Francine Lacqua on this week’s In the City to discuss the Israel-Hamas war, the resulting carnage in Gaza and how long-standing tensions between Israel and Iran are coming to a head. She also addresses what happens next and what it means for stability in the region as well as global markets. 

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Britain’s biggest supplier of water is in trouble. 

The parent company of Thames Water is at risk of running out of money, having been forced to deal with a seemingly endless series of leaks and sewage spills while struggling to adapt to global warming and its effect on London’s future. So how did it get into this big of a mess, and is there a way out? Bloomberg reporter Jess Shankleman joins this week’s In the City with Allegra Stratton and Ailbhe Rea to discuss. 

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Anthony Scaramucci, a Wall Street veteran and former communications director in Donald Trump’s White House, joins Francine Lacqua and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Adrian Wooldridge on this week’sIn the City to explain why he thinks a second Trump presidency would be “dangerous.” He also talks about why he isn’t voting for his former boss and why he doesn’t think the majority of Americans will either.

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Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder of the billion-dollar Chobani yogurt empire, is on a mission to convince companies everywhere that helping refugees is good business. It’s the guiding principle behind his nonprofit Tent Partnership for Refugees, a global network of companies committed to integrating refugees into the labor market.

Ulukaya joins this week’s episode of In the City with hosts Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton to discuss the launch of the Tent UK coalition.

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The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

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Former European Union Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says the bloc is “in a sense at a crossroad.” With European Parliament elections set for June and focus turning to the far right, which is forecast to make gains, deep concern is rising for many in Europe— including Barnier. On this week’s episode of In the City, he speaks with Francine Lacqua on the sidelines of the Bank of America conference in Rome. 

Also on this episode, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Adrian Wooldridge joins to discuss Barnier’s comments. Wooldridge said he sees a surge in right-wing populism defining the European elections, and predicts it will “upend a lot of conventional wisdom of how politics should work in Europe.” 

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“I would be lying if I said anything other than 2023 was extremely difficult, personally,” says Erin Platts, the former chief executive of Silicon Valley Bank UK. A year ago this month, Platts oversaw the unit’s emergency takeover by HSBC amid a meltdown in the US regional banking sector. Platts, who now runs the rescued iteration of the bank, joins Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton on this week’s In the Cityto explain why she feels the episode showed the strength of the UK regulation regime.

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The In the City team analyzes the UK finance minister’s offerings and whether they’re enough to stave off defeat at the polls. Allegra Stratton, Francine Lacqua and Adrian Wooldridge host. 

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The Deal, hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, features intimate conversations with business titans, sports champions and game-changing entrepreneurs who reveal their investment philosophies, pivotal career moves and the ones that got away. From Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals, The Deal is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, Bloomberg Carplay, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch The Deal on Bloomberg Television, and Bloomberg Originals on YouTube.

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What is Jeremy Hunt’s plan for the UK budget this week? Where are tax and spending plans heading? Will any version of the budget make a dent in the Labour Party’s lead in the polls?

UK government reporter Joe Mayes, creator of the UK budget game, joins this week’s In the City to explore those questions and outline what options he believes the Chancellor of the Exchequer has available to him.

Hosts Francine Lacqua, Allegra Stratton and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Adrian Wooldridge also ask about the Conservative Party’s attitude toward its election chances and what we might expect to see from a Labour budget should the party come to power in the next election.

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Rishi Sunak is calling for the proceeds from frozen Russian assets to go to Ukraine. But concerns have been raised over whether such a maneuver would be legal. Stephanie Baker, a senior reporter on Bloomberg’s investigations team, joins to explain how “financial engineering” can address that.

Check out Stephanie Baker's upcoming book Punishing Putin: 
https://rb.gy/34qik3

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Robert Pickering, once the chief executive of former private British investment bank Cazenove, joins to discuss his book Blue Blood: Cazenove in The Age of Global Banking and reflect on London's banking landscape. He says that competitive pay is a big problem and that “too many regulations” are getting in the way of snaring top talent. Discussing the prospect of NatWest’s retail offer, Pickering says there’s an ethical dilemma at work.

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Miles Celic, chief executive of TheCityUK, the trade body which represents financial and professional services in Britain, joins Francine Lacqua and David Merritt onIn the City  this week. They discuss what the business sector wants to see in the budget next month, what it expects from a Labour government and why holding regulators accountable can be more important than which party is in power. 

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“The most undervalued real estate market in the world today, without a doubt, is the Middle East,”  says property tycoon Nick Candy. Joining host Francine Lacqua on this week’s episode of In the City, Candy says he would be “running” to the region if he were in his twenties and starting up in real estate again. He also explains why when it comes to the UK government’s leadership, he thinks it’s time for a change, and why it'd be impossible for him to build a project like One Hyde Park in London now. 

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UK Economic Secretary to the Treasury Bim Afolami says he wants to connect the public to equities and private markets. He shares his strategy for doing so with Allegra Stratton and Francine Lacqua.

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A rematch between US President Joe Biden and Donald Trump is looking more likely since Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the Republican race and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley came in second in New Hampshire. Coupled with recent polls pointing to Biden’s unpopularity with many Americans, politicians and business leaders all over the world are bracing for the possibility that the twice-impeached Trump could return to the Oval Office.

On this week’s episode of In the City, Stephanie Flanders, Bloomberg’s Head of Economics and Government, joins Francine and Allegra to lay out what preparations may look like for another four years of Trump.

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Misinformation and disinformation generated by artificial intelligence was near the top of the World Economic Forum’s report on global threats this year. But it’s not just AI that’s the culprit — it’s also “politicians willing to exploit, distribution patterns over social networks, the capacities of media organizations to verify." 

Azeem Azhar, creator of the Exponential View, a platform dedicated to in-depth technology analysis and Saadia Zahidi, managing director at the WEF, join hosts Francine Lacqua and David Merritt in Davos to discuss the risk that AI poses to the global order--and why its impact is in our hands. 

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Bloomberg Daybreak: Europe Edition delivers today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes. Available every morning by 7am GMT in your feed. 

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Every January, Eurasia Group puts out a list of the ten most important threats that will preoccupy world leaders, business decision-makers and the rest of the world in the year ahead. On this week’s In the City, the political risk consultancy’s founder and president, Ian Bremmer, tells us the biggest geopolitical risk stems from America’s political dysfunction.

He also discusses Elon Musk’s role in a divided America and warns that the Middle East war will escalate. But for some positivity, he points out that although artificial intelligence is a risk in 2024, it also represents a transformative economic opportunity that could usher in a second wave of globalization. 

Check out the list of Top Risks:
https://www.eurasiagroup.net/issues/top-risks-2024

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Will the UK economy rally, stall or dive in 2024? What will British house prices do? Where is inflation heading and has the Bank of England interest rate peaked at 5.25%?

On the last 2023 episode of In the City, senior reporters Phil Aldrick and John Stepek join host Francine Lacqua to answer those questions and share their outlook for the UK economy next year. 

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Spending on big-ticket items like home renovations will be limited, but more affordable gifts are growing in popularity—including the “snuggle hoodie.” Bloomberg Opinion columnist Andrea Felsted and UK retail reporter Katie Linsell join Allegra and Francine to unpack the retail landscape this holiday season and what we can expect in 2024. 

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Bloomberg News Now is a comprehensive audio report on today's top stories. Listen for the latest news, whenever you want it, covering global business stories around the world.     

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“Nice people become horrible people” during an election year, says Richard Harrington. But as the ex-Tory minister who recently led a government review of the UK’s approach to attracting foreign investment, he adds that he hopes his recommendations will be embraced by Labour and Conservatives, rather than being “sucked into” a political fight. 

On this week’s episode of In the City, Harrington joins Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton to discuss why the UK’s attractiveness as an investment destination has faded. A former parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Harrington complains the government is “old fashioned” and disorganized.

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When former Unilever Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman was approached by Kraft Heinz with an offer many would find too good to refuse—a $143 billion takeover bid with a personal payout of $110 million—he says he turned it down. “They think everything is for sale,” he says. “Morals are not for sale.”

Polman, 67, who worked for Procter Gamble and Nestle before Unilever, joins David Merritt and Francine Lacqua on this week’s In the City  to share lessons he learned while CEO, and why he says running a company is more than maximizing shareholder returns. “If you would listen to all the shareholders and do what they were asking you to do, your company would be bankrupt before you knew it.”

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Former Unilever CEO Paul Polman cautions those with high expectations for this week’s summit in Dubai. But he says there’s hope in the private sector. He joins Dave and Fran as the COP28 climate summit kicks off. 

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Hear Francine's full interview with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. They discuss his plan for the economy, cutting taxes, election timing, and the situation in the Middle East. 

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Francine Lacqua sat down with Allegra Stratton, Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait, Opinion Columnist Adrian Wooldridge and Head of Government and Economics Stephanie Flanders to discuss the Autumn Statement at the UnHerd club in Westminster. 

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Rishi Sunak’s government is running out of time to win back voters. Bloomberg City editor Katherine Griffiths joins In the City hosts David Merritt, Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton to unpack Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s pledges in this week's budget. 

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Jennifer Welch, chief geoeconomic analyst at Bloomberg Economics, joins to discuss how Joe Biden and Xi Jinping came together for a successful meeting following a long chill.

We also unpack the reception Xi got from top American business executives at an exclusive dinner, as well as the surprising announcement that former UK prime minister David Cameron was returning to politics. 

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Martha Lane-Fox, president of the of the British Chambers of Commerce, said she sees Brexit as the main issue facing UK businesses.

“Brexit affected the skills base full-stop,” she said on this week’s episode of In the City. Fox joined NFX General Partner Pete Flint for a panel discussion hosted by Bloomberg’s Stephen Carroll at the GROW Summit in London.

Flint said he’s optimistic about the UK’s chances of replicating a San Francisco-style hub of business success, describing the country as “a great environment for immigrants to come.”

But there’s still a way to go, he added. “I would absolutely not advise any company that I’m backing to go public in the UK.” 

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At Bloomberg, we’re always talking about the biggest business stories, and no one is bigger than Elon Musk.

In this new chat weekly show, host David Papadopoulos and a panel of guests including Businessweek’s Max Chafkin, Tesla reporter Dana Hull, Big Tech editor Sarah Frier, and more, will break down the most important stories on Musk and his empire. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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Andrew Griffith explains on this week's In the City that the British capital can act as an “honest broker” on digital currencies and artificial intelligence. Griffith joins David Merritt for a conversation in New York City, where he was meeting with investors and talking to firms about how London can factor into their futures.

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This week, the UK government is hosting global leaders and business executives in Bletchley Park, north of London, for the first major meeting on artificial intelligence. But what exactly can Britain contribute when it comes to understanding—and managing—the future of AI?

Bloomberg technology editor Nate Lanxon, co-host of the Bloomberg Originals series AI IRL, says the UK effort to get in early on AI regulation is a smart one. He joins this week’s In the City with hosts Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton to explain why. 

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On this week’s In the City, we look at Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vision of regional prosperity, and whether it can survive the Israel-Hamas war. Saudi bureau chief Matthew Martin joins Francine Lacqua at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, with Allegra Stratton and David Merritt joining from London. 

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Rishi Sunak is the latest leader headed to Israel. The Gaza hospital attack “should be a watershed moment for leaders in the region and across the world to come together to avoid further dangerous escalation of conflict,” the UK PM said.

But how likely are efforts by Sunak, Biden and other Western leaders to prevent the conflict, which in just 11 days has killed thousands on both sides, from escalating?

In this week’sIn the City, hosts Francine Lacqua, David Merritt and Allegra Stratton are joined by Bloomberg news director Rosalind Mathieson to try and tackle that question. 

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In his podcast debut, C.S. Venkatakrishnan, Barclays chief executive officer, says stagnant deal activity, easing volatility and peaking interest rates are set to compound pressure on bank earnings. Despite tentative signs of activity returning at the start of September, Venkatakrishnan tells David and Francine that a dealmaking revival is still looking “a little further away.” They also discuss the IPO market, cricket and Taylor Swift.

This conversation was taped on Oct. 5, 2023. 

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Are the bulls about to return to Britain? Positive outlooks for UK equities are breaking through the clouds. London Stock Exchange Chief Executive Julia Hoggett says it’s about time. Hoggett also discusses executive pay, saying the UK’s restrictions are hindering companies’ efforts to recruit top talent and undermining a push to make the City of London more appealing to businesses post-Brexit.

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The pound is notoriously difficult to trade. It’s a “graveyard for G-10 traders,” says Mark Cudmore, senior macro strategist for Bloomberg’s Markets Live blog. When it comes to making calls on the British currency, he says, “people only ever lose money.”

Cudmore joins reporter Sofia Horta e Costa on this week’s In the City to try and make sense of why markets are again turning on sterling, just one year after ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss’s spending plans drove the pound to a record low.

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They say time heals all wounds. But it seems the damage done to the UK economy by Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget last year has yet to be forgiven by investors. According to anew Bloomberg survey, about two-thirds of UK finance professionals said an outright win for Keir Starmer’s Labour Party or a Labour-led coalition would be the “most market-friendly outcome.”

Senior reporters Phil Aldrick and John Stepek join to discuss the survey and what its findings tell us about the City’s thinking heading into the next general election.

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A decline in growth in China may take some heat out of the global economy, helping bring down inflation. But a full stop would trigger deep recessions. Bloomberg Economics Chief Economist Tom Orlik joins this week for a conversation on what China's slowdown means for the rest of the world, and in particular the UK.

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Capitalism as we know it isn’t really working, according to economist and author Mariana Mazzucato. Take the current concrete crisis across UK schools. For Mazzucato, that’s a case of too little being spent on the school buildings themselves. But there’s another problem: lax regulation. If we continue to weaken the rules in the name of a stronger economy, she says, we risk tragedy. 

Mazzucato, a professor in the economics of innovation and public value at University College London, joins this week’s episode of In the City to discuss the re-release of her book, The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths. The book has been credited with provoking widespread debate about the role of government in innovation.

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Karen Ward, EMEA chief market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management and a key adviser to Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, joins hosts Francine Lacqua and David Merritt to unpack key points by central bankers who attended the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, and what it all means for the BOE and the UK. For the latter, the answer is recession.

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Britain’s eligible pension savers need to return to work, earn for longer and save more—otherwise they might find retirement less than stress free.

That’s the warning from Andy Briggs, chief executive of Phoenix Group, in conversation with Francine Lacqua on this week’s episode of In the City. They discuss the plight of retired people over the age of 50 and how the UK pension system compares with those of other countries.

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What do rising incomes and interest rates mean for residential and commercial markets across Britain? Senior reporters John Stepek and Jack Sidders, as well as Sue Munden, a senior property analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, join with answers. 

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Francine Lacqua speaks to a panel of Bloomberg experts including Bloomberg Opinion columnist Marcus Ashworth, reporter Tom Rees, and Ana Andrade of Bloomberg Economics. They discuss the central bank’s strategy and what moves the monetary policy committee might make next. 

“We’re at a real crunch point,” Rees says. The choice between quick or slow action is a tough one, given the tight labor market, mortgage and rent strains and higher living costs. 

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When Julian Metcalfe helped launch the sandwich and coffee-chain Pret A Manger in 1986, interest rates were in the double digits and staffing was difficult, in part because full freedom of movement within the European Union was still a few years away. These days, the UK is out of the EU, the interest rate is 5%—though the Bank of England is expected to raise it.

“Everyone’s complaining about 5% and it’s the end of the world,” Metcalfe says. “Back then I remember we paid 14%.”

In this week’s In the City, Metcalfe tells hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua that the restaurant business is “incredibly difficult,” but that when you’re determined, you can make it happen. He says his current mission is to make Itsu, a fast-food chain he founded in 1997, a destination for speedy, healthy meals at low prices. 

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NatWest Chief Executive Officer Alison Rose is stepping down after a fight over the way the bank closed accounts held by politician-turned-pundit Nigel Farage.

Pressure for her to quit had been rising. Both UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt indicated her position was untenable after she admitted talking to a BBC journalist about the account closures.

In this week’s episode of In the City, host David Merritt discusses the mistakes made by NatWest and Farage’s call for more resignations at the bank. Joining Merritt are reporters Harry Wilson and Joe Mayes as well as Bloomberg Opinion columnist Paul Davies.

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Jens Grede, co-founder and chief executive of Kim Kardashian’s new underwear label Skims says he finds inspiration in the creation story behind Nike’s Air Jordans. The cross-generational line of basketball shoes started in the 80s remains a part of global culture, and Grede says he aims to do the same with the celebrity influencer and her new brand. 

He joins this week’s In the City with host David Merritt and reporter Katie Linsell to discuss the brand’s identity and expansion plans. Next year, Skims will open stores in New York and Los Angeles. But it also has an aggressive, global expansion plan that starts in the UK. Grede says London is “the best way to market to the rest of the world: It’s the natural entry point for an American consumer brand before it expands into Europe or the Middle East.”

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Twelve years on, and four years after Jeffrey Epstein’s death in a Manhattan jail by suicide, the details of how former Barclays Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley and the convicted sex offender formed a mutually beneficial bond are only now becoming clear. This comes as Staley faces a lawsuit by JPMorgan and a British regulatory probe.

The litigation has unearthed a trove of documents that reveal the extent of the relationship. Reporters Harry Wilson, Jonathan Browning and Ava Benny-Morrison reviewed thousands of pages of documents and emails, as well as conducted interviews with people with knowledge of the events, to construct a detailed timeline of the relationship. They join this week’s In the City to discuss the reporting process and their findings. 

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Adam Posen isn’t ruling out the Bank of England pushing UK interest rates as high as 7%.

The president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, Posen says the 6.25% rate investors have priced in for the end of 2023 is the level he’s been predicting for the past year. “The fact that the inflation is proving more persistent,” he says, just means “they’ll have to go higher.”

Joining David Merritt and Francine Lacqua on this week’s In the City, Posen says that—both in terms of policy and communication—the Bank of England got it wrong repeatedly throughout 2022 and into 2023. He also gives his take on the UK mortgage market meltdown—which he says doesn’t warrant a bailout. 

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Britain’s National Health Service turns 75 years-old this week. But as reporter Suzi Ring and editor Andre Tartar explain in the latest episode of In the City, rather than being a cause for celebration, the NHS anniversary comes at a critical, maybe even dire moment for the service.

Ring and Tartar unpack Bloomberg’s first-of-its-kind analysis of NHS data for eight indicators—including ambulance waiting times, cancer treatment times, overnight hospital bed availability and wait times for diagnostic tests. The study underscores how deep the problems run at the publicly-funded health service—and how difficult they may be to fix.

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The biggest threat to Vladimir Putin’s grip on Russia in his almost quarter-century of rule has huge implications for the oil market. But dissecting the precise impact of last weekend’s mercenary mutiny is difficult, according to Bloomberg Opinion columnist Javier Blas. On this week’s In the City, Blas explains the bearish case and the bullish case. He also on his conversations with the central banking community in Sintra, Portugal at the ECB Forum. 

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The job of chief executive is more demanding than it’s ever been. So says Simon Freakley, CEO of international business advisory firm AlixPartners.

While they still have to handle the core responsibilities—revenue growth, earnings growth and dividends to shareholders—he says there are more duties now than was the case just a few decades ago. “They need to have a voice about the values of the organization, the purpose of the organization and to comment on important issues of the day,” he says.

Freakley joins this week’s In the City with David Merritt and Francine Lacqua to discuss the challenges facing top executives, including managing the ongoing, profound shifts around technology, environmental pressures and supply chains.

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When HSBC bought the UK unit of Silicon Valley Bank over one frantic March weekend, the chief executive of the bank’s UK arm at the time, Erin Platts, was surprised. Having spent almost 20 years with SVB, she wasn’t expecting such a swift end for the lender. But afterwards, she found herself surprised by how positive the outcome was for her and her team. She joins this week’s In the City podcast to discuss her outlook for the City’s technology scene as it vies for AI startups. Also in the episode, Merritt speaks with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and reporter Aisha Gani gives context to the London Week hype. 

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The AI revolution is fast unfolding all across Wall Street. Even as banks in recent months have laid off thousands of workers and instituted hiring freezes, they nevertheless continue to pour money into artificial intelligence. But what are these financial institutions hoping to get out of their investment?

On this week’s episode of In the City, Olson is joined by Alexandra Mousavizadeh, co-founder and chief executive of consultancy Evident. Together, they break down the financial industry’s growing interest in the technology and its likely impact on productivity.

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London’s economy is in trouble. Just ask a taxi driver—or their boss. Liam Griffin is chief executive of Addison Lee, a London-based private hire cab and courier company. On this episode of In the City, he explains how his company’s performance is a reflection of the City’s economic health. Plus, reporter Helen Chandler-Wilde unpacks London's traffic problem. 

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With In the City hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua in Doha for the annual Qatar Economic Forum, this week’s podcast focuses on the growing influence of the Middle East—and whether it will come at the expense of Western financial hubs. Bloomberg reporter Dinesh Nair joins. He says the Middle East is currently the only region that can “call the shots on big transactions.”

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Guy Hands is, perhaps unsurprisingly, bearish on the UK.

The famous financier and chairman of private equity firm Terra Firma says Britain is in a “sort of geriatric decline,” with its post-Brexit business outlook and investment case getting worse every day. Hands tells David Merritt and Francine Lacqua on this week’s episode of In the City that if the UK maintains its weakened relationship with the European Union, it’s destined to be poorer on a relative basis than the bloc. 

Hands, who backed the Remain side in 2016, recently said he’d stop making donations to the Conservatives after the government rejected the possibility of a closer trade deal with the EU. Now he supports Labour because they seem “marginally better.” 

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The Confederation of British Industry is fighting for survival. Known for a half-century as the voice of almost 200,000 UK companies and having the ear of the government, the CBI is now in crisis. In this week’s In the City, reporter Sabah Meddings explores how a 300-employee organization that spoke out against sexual harassment is now unraveling as police investigate allegations of sexual assault.

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There’s a new investment playbook being used by central banks, one that spells opportunity for those who know the rules. This according to Alex Brazier, deputy head of BlackRock’s Investment Institute, who tells In the City that—for investors who can get granular in volatile markets—there’s money to made.

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British entrepreneur Nick Candy is best known for working alongside his brother Christian to create One Hyde Park, a residential development in London’s exclusive Knightsbridge district and home to some of the world’s richest people. When sales opened in 2007, the building was smashing world per-square-foot price records. In this week’s episode of In the City, Candy tells David Merritt and Francine Lacqua that his next project in Dubai will beat those records. 

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The luxury industry is booming. Just look at the latest figures from LVMH and Hermes. Or as Harrods Managing Director Michael Ward says in this week’s episode of In the City, observe the foot traffic in his storied London department store. While mid-market labels are feeling the squeeze, super-brands like Chanel and Dior are thriving, Ward explains. “The great thing about the luxury industry is it’s price insensitive,” he says. “The rich get richer, and that’s the world.” 

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Most of the recent headlines out of Paris focus on strikes and protests. But underneath the heaps of rubbish that were piled up on the city’s streets (and possibly again soon), is an increasingly important hub for global finance. In recent months, we’ve seen big banks like Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup expand their presence in the French capital, ushering in a new reality for the landscape of European banking.  

Francine Lacqua and David Merritt discuss Paris’s growing appeal with reporter Alexandre Rajbhandari and editor Tom Metcalf, and unpack the challenges facing President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-business agenda with Paris Bureau Chief Alan Katz. 

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The outlook for the UK has improved in recent months, with a technical recession now looking like it will be avoided, according to Bloomberg Economics. In fact, the team sees GDP growth in 2023 of 0.1%, up from -0.4%. 

Jim Mellon, chairman of Burnbrae, is predicting an even brighter picture. In this week’s In the City, he tells hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua to look out for 1 to 2% growth this year, thanks to a more stable government, an influx of migrants and gas prices falling sharply.

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Jim O’Neill, the former UK Conservative minister and Goldman Sachs chief economist, says he doesn’t miss being in banking. And no, he wouldn’t accept an offer like we saw with Sergio Ermotti returning as chief executive at UBS. But when asked on this week’s episode of In the City whether he can explain what’s happening in the industry right now, he’s got some ideas. He also weighs in on the race to buy Manchester United, questioning whether the football club is worth its more than £4 billion price tag. 

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Another week, another bank in crisis. This time it was Credit Suisse. After tense talks, UBS agreed to buy its former rival in an all-share deal worth about $3.25 billion. With the Swiss government-brokering the sale, Credit Suisse’s 166-year run came to a sudden end.

In this week’s In the City, host Francine Lacqua is joined by Bloomberg TV’s Manus Cranny, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Paul J. Davies and reporter Marion Halftermeyer to explain the bank’s fall from grace. They also discuss details of the deal, what happens next for Credit Suisse employees, the challenge facing UBS and why Chairman Colm Kelleher is the person to watch right now.  

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In this week's In the City, the outgoing Legal & General CEO calls for a new focus on business education and talent. He also shares a life lesson from turning down an offer to be CFO at Apple.

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“Silicon Valley Bank was a darling of the industry. So clearly it was a very dramatic weekend.”

Bloomberg Wall Street reporter Sonali Basak’s observation leads off this bonus episode of In the City, where she joins fellow reporter Mark Bergen and hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua to unpack the shocking collapse of SVB, the biggest failure of a US bank since 2008, and what happens now.

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London is going through a difficult time, according to Stanhope Capital founder and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Pinto. 

Why? Its investment appeal is dwindling—a fact made clear by a range of companies choosing to list elsewhere. The trend has been developing for some time, and bodes ill for already-flagging UK initial public offerings, says Pinto. While noting that London remains a leading financial center, he warns it has lost its competitive edge.

In this week’s episode of In the City, Pinto tells hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua why he thinks London has been losing out. Brexit wasn’t helpful he concedes, but that’s not the only reason. The key factor is that the pool of money available for investment in British public markets has shrunk. That can be fixed with changes to regulations and pension fund reform, he says.

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The Manchester United bidding war has focused a lot of attention on the eye-watering prices attached to certain football clubs.

A member of the Qatari royal family and Britain’s richest man submitted offers for the English football giant. The Qataris’ opening offer—roughly £5 billion ($6 billion)—might break records. But still, it may not be enough. This week news broke that the current owners, the Glazer family, think the latest offers could be too low. 

In this week’s episode of In the City, reporter David Hellier joins hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua for a conversation about the competition to own Manchester United. He says don’t be surprised if more bids surface, and reflects on why the race to own the team feels different from last year’s competition to own Chelsea. 

We’re also joined by Dan Jones, a sports business adviser and former Global Lead Partner for Sports Business and Head of Sports Business Group at Deloitte, and Christina Philippou, principal lecturer in accounting, economics and finance at the University of Portsmouth. They discuss why buyers are so confident in their investments, whether prices will keep growing and where Wall Street banks fit in.

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When Man Group Chief Executive Officer Luke Ellis started his career in the City almost 40 years ago, the square mile “had many of the worst aspects of the UK,” he says. It was just “a posh part of UK society that looked down on anything other than posh White men.”

But in 2023, things are different. Although he cautions more progress needs to be made, especially at the senior levels, Ellis says “the City is now at least as good as the national average and probably better” when it comes to race and gender equality.

In this week’sIn the City, the leader of the world’s largest publicly listed hedge fund joins hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua in a conversation about the importance of diversity in the City, and how far the UK financial industry has come in terms of recruiting from a bigger pool of talented people.

One of the areas Ellis says needs more attention is “social mobility,” which he calls “the last bastion of open prejudice.”

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This week’sIn the Cityfocuses on a story that’s transfixed the global finance community for weeks: the Adani-Hindenburg clash. Bloomberg Opinion columnist Shuli Ren and Executive Editor Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam join hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua for a comprehensive discussion of the fraud allegations and the fallout. Aside from the obvious impact—Adani’s businesses lost $108 billion in a week—the crisis has shaken investor faith in India. Ren says that it’s acting as a “wake-up call for global investment banks and blue-chip credit funds.” 

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The UK retail industry is having a difficult time of it. And when it comes to some high street brands, that’s an understatement. Similar to the US and Europe, retailers across Britain are dealing with soaring borrowing costs, shrinking savings accounts and a cost-of-living crisis that’s limiting consumer spending. This means more retailers may soon be on the brink of insolvency.

In this week’s episode ofIn the City, hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua are joined by reporters Katie Linsell and Giulia Morpurgo, who discuss big names that have already gone bust—like Matalan and Paperchase—and others that may be at risk.  Plus, reporter Leigh-Ann Gerrans gives a tour of the retail scene around the City. 

Get The Brink newsletter, chronicling corporate distress and turnaround stories. Sign up now: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/the-brink 

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Antony Jenkins is building technology he wanted when he ran Barclays. The former chief executive served at the big bank for three very turbulent years, spending a lot of time wondering why there wasn’t a better way to automate its operations. When he left, he decided to find a way to do just that for everyone else. 

On this week’s In the City, Jenkins joins hosts Francine Lacqua and David Merritt to share his story of starting 10x Banking Technology, a key player in London’s growing fintech scene. He launched the company in 2016 with £1 million of his own money. The company’s name reflects its mission, he said: develop new technology that can make banking 10 times better than what it is. It was most recently valued at about £600 million.

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This week's episode is about UK tax. But trust us, it's interesting. 

Reporter Alex Wickham joins to assess the damage being done to the Tory party’s popularity as a result of Nadhim Zahawi's tax row. And David Merritt speaks with Arun Advani, an associate professor in economics at the University of Warwick and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He says people should be focusing less on why Zahawi paid the wrong amount of tax, and more how small the amount was when compared with the earnings he generated. Advani discusses the UK’s current tax structure and where there’s room for improvement. 

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We continue our coverage from the World Economic Forum in Davos. Francine Lacqua spoke with UK Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves. She says the UK is open for business and discusses the bankruptcy of Britishvolt. Plus, Francine sat down with UK Business Secretary Grant Shapps. He discusses the government’s plans for British business and his concerns with President Joe Biden’s plan to subsidize clean energy.

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The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his chancellor Rachel Reeves arrived in Davos on Wednesday as they step up their business-charm offensive. As senior reporter Phil Aldrick puts it on this week’s In the City, they are there to build up their profile. While an appearance from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak might have been seen as “one billionaire speaking to other billionaires,” in the case of Starmer, who reportedly was invited by World Economic Forum Chairman Klaus Schwab himself, it’s an opportunity to present the Labour Party as the UK’s future. 

Aldrick joins hosts Francine Lacqua and David Merritt to discuss what attendees of this year's Davos conference are saying about the UK. They also discuss the major agenda items — the war in Ukraine and the Inflation Reduction Act in the US — as well as what the conversations in Davos mean for the City, and whether Manchester United’s decision to take over one of the shopfronts on the promenade is an attempt to expand its fan base or its roster of potential investors. Meanwhile, there's something else worth talking about: Is the Davos forum's influence a thing of the past?

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This year is off to a sobering start as bankers keep tabs on who is losing their job. Goldman Sachs is terminating about 3,200 people, one of its biggest rounds of cuts ever. This week on In the City, hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua explore the question of whether this is just the beginning of a broader retrenchment across the financial industry. They’re joined by Bloomberg Opinion columnist Paul J. Davies, who covers banking and finance, and senior editor Tom Metcalf. 

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Things will get worse before they get better, according to Kevin Ellis, chair and senior partner at PwC UK. He says a UK recession is definitely coming and that some businesses will go under. But he also says that investment may rescue the "good bits of business early enough." Ellis tells David Merritt and Francine Lacqua on this week's episode of In the City that he sees signs the UK economy will come out of a downturn "quite quickly." They also discuss the merits of being in the office at least 3 days a week and why a lot of talent is looking to work outside of London.  

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In a conversation earlier this month, senior reporter John Stepek made a prediction: House prices in the UK will continue to fall—and fall. On this week’s episode of In the City, he joins David Merritt to give his reasoning. Stepek explains that rising interest rates and stubbornly high inflation are combining to push home prices ever downward. But that’s not the worst of it. When it comes to the most critical factor underlying the health of the UK economy, there’s a bigger threat than falling house prices, said senior reporter Philip Aldrick. It’s unemployment. The reporters also discuss their expectations for consumer spending, real wages, and the Tory government’s chance of dodging a general election in 2023. 

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It's the end of the year, so we figured it's the right time to look forward to the next. This week, a conversation with reporter Katie Linsell and columnist Andrea Felsted on the outlook for UK spending in 2023. They weigh the resilience of shoppers and retailers going into the new year as bills pile up and savings dwindle. Felsted says that while she's optimistic for Christmas, she's already pessimistic for the next one. And we start the show with reporters from across the London newsroom sharing their predictions for 2023.  

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Brexit was never going to be easy -- we just haven’t really tried yet. That’s the view of prominent UK economist Gerard Lyons, who tells Francine Lacqua and David Merritt that he remains bullish on Brexit in the long run. Lyons is chief economic strategist at Netwealth and a former adviser to House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt. On this episode of In the City, he argues the City is still “pretty-well placed” after Brexit. Political crises since 2016, however, have prevented opportunities from being seized, he says.

Plus, senior reporter Harry Wilson explains whether the investment insights of a newsletter promoted by Nigel Farage could pay off. The answer? Not so much. 

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Brexit has consequences. According to the boss of Europe’s largest exchange group, one of them is that London is no longer the region's dominant financial center. But that's not the worst of it. Euronext Chief Executive Stephane Boujnah tells David Merritt and Francine Lacqua that restrictions on the movement of people, and how that's changing the fabric of finance both in the City and across Europe, will do more damage.

Also on this episode ofIn the City, editor Tom Metcalf discusses the darkening mood within many banks and what that means for finance jobs and bonuses. He also says City Minister Andrew Griffith's coming announcement regarding the government's package of post-Brexit reforms is likely to be a muted affair. 

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A new development this week in the UK government's efforts to deregulate the City of London may be relaxing the ring-fencing around banks, according to a person familiar with Treasury plans. Editor Katherine Griffiths joins this week and asks whether the move is "a small whimper that they're packaging as a big bang." Plus, a conversation with the new Lord Mayor of London, Nicholas Lyons. He shares his vision for the City and says it's time to work together to take advantage of regulatory freedom and capture what he considers the positive aspects of Brexit. 

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Unequal pay in finance is no surprise to many who work in the City, but women might have a new tool for fighting it thanks to Stacey Macken, a former broker at BNP Paribas in London. Macken fought the French lender in court for more than eight years for equal pay, and now her victory may encourage a wave of other women to come forward. In addition to being awarded 2 million pounds after the tribunal ruled Macken had been a victim of “spiteful and vindictive” bosses, the tribunal also ordered BNP to conduct an extensive audit of its London staff to consider whether men were being paid more than women for the same job.

In this week's In the City podcast, Bloomberg legal reporter Jonathan Browning unpacks the details of the case and ruling, and we hear from Stacey Macken and her barrister Sheila Aly as they share their experiences of the "David and Goliath" battle. 

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It's the story of the week. London is no longer home to Europe's biggest stock market. That prize has been taken by Paris. This week on the podcast, David Merritt speaks to reporter Joe Easton. He unpacks the numbers and reflects on the causes. We also cross the channel and speak to reporter Albertina Torsoli on how Paris made itself more attractive to foreign investors, and how that heightened interest is changing the Paris landscape. 

Read the story here. 

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It's In the City in the desert. Francine Lacqua is in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, covering the COP27 climate talks. She sits down with Allegra Stratton, contributing editor and author of The Readout, as well as Akshat Rathi, senior reporter and host of the podcast Zero. They address the increasing skepticism surrounding the UK's commitment to its net-zero targets and the "show me the money" theme of this year's conference.

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It may feel like a lifetime, but less than three weeks ago the UK had a different prime minister, a different Chancellor of the Exchequer and a brewing conflict between the government and the Bank of England. Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and BOE Governor Andrew Bailey were at loggerheads as the deadline for the central bank to end a bond-buying program neared. Cue the blame game with Kwarteng saying any fresh turmoil in markets would be “a matter for the governor.” But Bailey didn't budge. And days after that deadline passed, Kwarteng was out of a job and Truss wasn't far behind.

In this episode of In the City, senior reporter Phil Aldrick and correspondent Lizzy Burden join David Merritt in a conversation about the tension between the government and the BOE, how Bailey navigated both the market turmoil and pressure from Westminster, and what fresh problems now face the governor. 

And here's a list of all the things you need to sign up for:
For a daily look at the stories that matter in the UK, sign up now for our newsletter, The Readout with Allegra Stratton: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/readout
And to figure out what all that means for your money--sign up for John Stepek's daily newsletter Money Distilled. https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/uk-wealth 

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In this bonus episode of In the City, we bring you highlights from Francine's exclusive conversation with Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan. He joined her on Bloomberg “Front Row” in his first television interview since taking the top job a year ago.

Check out the full interview here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2022-10-31/front-row-c-s-venkatakrishnan-barclays-ceo-video  

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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is being heralded by some in the City as "a safe pair of hands" due in part to his resume: An MBA from Stanford University, a stint at Goldman Sachs and some time at The Children’s Investment Fund. But while many finance professionals say they're appreciative of Sunak's moderate tone, some are worried their dream of a reformed, City of London 2.0 is dead.

In this week's In the City, David and Francine speak to Bloomberg editors Katherine Griffiths and Tom Metcalf about Sunak's vision (such as it is) for the City, what his leadership means for a post-Brexit Britain and mounting concerns from banks about the possibility of higher taxes to keep the UK afloat.

Plus, senior executive editor Simon Kennedy joins to discuss his discovery of a "Goldman globe." Since the end of 2005, there have only been about 48 hours in which an alumnus of the Wall Street giant didn't hold either the position of prime minister, finance minister, central bank chief or their equivalents in a G-7 country.

For a daily look at the stories that matter in the UK, sign up now for our newsletter, The Readout with Allegra Stratton: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/readout

And to figure out what all that means for your money--sign up for John Stepek's daily newsletter Money Distilled. https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/uk-wealth 

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As soon as Liz Truss resigned as prime minister, names of possible successors starting popping up. The reactions to some of those names was not so kind within the Conservative party--think exploding head and green vomit emojis, according to our political reporter Alex Wickham. In this episode of In the City, David Merritt and Francine Lacqua discuss the path to prime minister with Bloomberg reporter Ellen Milligan, and we hear insights from Wickham (like all the WhatsApp gossip), Tory MP Karl McCartney, and former Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable. Plus, Bloomberg finance editor Katherine Griffiths joins on what the political mess means to the City of London's reputation and whether business leaders feel the worst is over--or yet to come.

Here's a list of all the things you need to sign up for. 
For a daily look at the stories that matter in the UK, sign up now for our newsletter, The Readout with Allegra Stratton: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/readout

And to figure out what all that means for your money--sign up for John Stepek's daily newsletter Money Distilled:
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Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt ripped up what was left of Prime Minister Liz Truss’s controversial economic program. Is that enough to restore confidence in the UK? Jonathan Goldstein, the chief executive officer of Cain International and co-owner of Chelsea FC, tells David and Francine that as long as Truss is prime minister, Britain will continue to look "uninvestable." Plus, Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait on Truss's battle to survive.

For a daily look at the stories that matter in the UK, sign up now for our newsletter, The Readout with Allegra Stratton:
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