Big Take

The Sentencing of Sam Bankman-Fried

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the nearly five months since a jury found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty, a narrative has started to take shape in crypto circles that the business model...

Elon Musk’s Starlink Terminals Have a Black Market Problem

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite program touts itself as a source of reliable internet in hard-to-reach places. But there are some countries where Starli...

Employees Describe Pattern of Harassment and Drug Use in Citigroup Unit

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Citigroup was the first major Wall Street bank with a female CEO. But interviews with 22 people who worked in or closely with the bank’s equities di...

What TikTok Tells Us About China’s Soft Power

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill with an ultimatum for TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance: sell the app, or be banned in the US. To...

Japan Has a New Interest Rate: Zero.

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time in almost two decades, Japan has raised interest rates out of negative territory. The reason? Inflation has finally arrived in the ...

The MLB Wants to Make It Big in Asia. Shohei Ohtani Can Help

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Major League Baseball has a big problem: it’s tapped out on new fans in the US. So it's looking abroad to Asia to bring in new ones. Japanese baseba...

Crypto Is Back. Bubble or Blastoff?

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cryptocurrencies have been on a tear. Over the past few weeks, Bitcoin has been hitting all-time highs. And many say this is just the beginning.  On ...

The Plumber Shortage Clogging Up the US Economy

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The US has a plumber shortage. And as more and more baby boomer plumbers reach retirement, there aren’t enough young people coming in to fill the ga...

The Federal Reserve's Tricky Economic and Political Terrain, Explained

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is trying to navigate a tricky economy – stubborn inflation and persistent fears of a recession. Now, two men ho...

The Vicuñas and the $9,000 Sweater

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s Big Take podcast, we trace the origin of Loro Piana’s $9,000 vicuña sweaters to the Andes mountains. Bloomberg’s Marcelo Rochabrun j...

The Big Business of Catastrophe-Betting

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today on the Big Take podcast, we visit the hedge fund with one of the world’s largest collections of catastrophe bonds, Fermat Capital Management, ...

What a Cease-Fire in Gaza Would Look Like

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Israeli and Hamas officials failed to come to a cease-fire agreement before the start of Ramadan this past weekend. That’s adding to the difficulty ...

How Much Does it Cost to Buy an Oscar?

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When the 96th Academy Awards airs this Sunday, the year’s biggest films will face off to compete for the highest honor in the movie industry. For a ...

91 Felony Counts and a Campaign to Run

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump faces four criminal trials amounting to 91 felony counts, and three civil cases. None of this has fazed his base as he runs for election....

Inside Microsoft’s Censorship of Bing in China

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft’s Bing is the second most popular search engine in China, a market that Google exited years ago. Today, Bing remains as the only Western s...

The Biden-Trump Race is On

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Fifteen states voted in the presidential primary contest on Super Tuesday, marking a decisive point in the election cycle. Former President Donald Tru...

A New Housing Crisis Is Brewing In Places Prone to Climate Disasters

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As climate risks grow, some private home insurance providers  are retreating from US regions most vulnerable to catastrophe. And homeowners who can’...

Where Does Inflation Go From Here?

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The core personal consumption expenditures price index came in hot last week. After months of evidence that inflation was decelerating, the PCE — th...

Introducing: The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly

03 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Deal, hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, features intimate conversations with business titans, sports champions and game-changing entrepren...

Chinese Emigrants Are Choosing New Destinations - and Transforming Them

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A new wave of Chinese people are leaving China after the Covid-19 pandemic  and they’re headed to places that aren’t the typical destinations for...

The Royal Nephews at the Center of Monaco’s Latest Financial Scandal

29 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s Big Take podcast, an investigation by Bloomberg Businessweek reveals how Prince Albert II’s government regularly favored his nephews in...

Inside Project Maven, the US Military’s Mysterious AI Project

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s episode, the US military’s mysterious project to bring modern artificial intelligence to the battlefield — told by the defense offici...

Private Credit Is Attracting Attention. Not All of It Is Good

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Private credit funds are having a moment. Once under-the-radar lenders that did deals with riskier clients, the firms have gotten a lot more popular a...

Have US Sanctions on Russia Worked?

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Two years after Russia invaded Ukraine, US-led sanctions have incalculably changed its economy – but haven’t ended the war. Treasury’s chief san...

Russia’s Hunt for Arms Meets North Korea’s Need for Cash

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The US and other countries say a deeper connection has been forged over a new arms trade between Russia and North Korea. They accuse North Korea of pr...

The Other MH370 Mystery: Why a Key Safety Measure Keeps Stalling

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 took off from Kuala Lumpur just after midnight on March 8, 2014. Aviation officials lost contact with the flight less tha...

How One Business Decision Set Back the Fight Against Malaria

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For years, it seemed like Papua New Guinea was on a course to stamp out malaria. In 2010, the total number of suspected malaria cases in Papua New Gui...

Inside Top Hedge Fund Earners for 2023

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Ackman has had a big year. His constant posting and vocal condemnation of antisemitism on college campuses has won him over a million followers o...

The Little Sanctions Office That Could

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

America’s use of sanctions has grown by almost 1,000% since 9/11. So why isn’t Congress giving the office in charge of them more resources?Today o...

Commercial Real Estate Can’t Ignore Its Empty-Office Problem Anymore

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The commercial real estate market has been upended by changing office habits and rising interest rates. For years, lenders and global investors did no...

Third Party Candidates May Cause Trouble for Biden or Trump

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

American voters are so disillusioned by their options in the presidential election that pollsters have come up with a term for it: “Double-hater.”...

Unexpected Power Surges Are Putting US Homes At Risk

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The US power grid has long been under pressure. But now, aging infrastructure is facing more extreme weather, more electricity usage and more renewabl...

Why Driving A Few Miles Can Save You Thousands on Health Care

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For years, the true price of health care in the US has been the result of negotiations between providers, insurance companies and government agencies....

What the 2024 US Election Could Mean for China

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

China’s economy has been in rough shape, and the government is trying to address it. But there’s another threat on the horizon: the US election.D...

The Last Great American (Football) Dynasty

08 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This Sunday in Nevada, the Kansas City Chiefs will face off against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. Both teams, like lots of others in th...

How Crypto Is (Finally, Actually) Winning Over Wall Street

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The meltdown at FTX scared a lot of retail investors away from crypto. But many big banks have doubled down, and are pushing cryptocurrency more into ...

Libya’s $5 Billion Fuel-Smuggling Trade Has a Russia Problem

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In September 2022, a tanker called the Queen Majeda was stopped by authorities in Albanian waters, stuffed to the gills with $2 million worth of marin...

Investors Have Sky-High Hopes for AI. Can the Tech Deliver?

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The seemingly vast profit potential of artificial intelligence has helped buoy the stock prices of tech behemoths like Alphabet, Apple and the rest of...

America’s ‘Debt Spiral’ Is Nearing a Critical Threshold

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When the US borrows money, just like any borrower, it needs to pay its loans back with interest.The national debt right now is $34 trillion and rising...

The Brutal Crime Crackdown Taking Hold Across Latin America

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nayib Bukele has brought violent criminal gangs to a heel in El Salvador, transforming the country into one of the safest in Latin America. That’s m...

Why Wind Farms Are Paid Millions to Turn Off

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The UK is in the midst of a green energy transformation, with more than 40% of its electricity coming from wind power as of December. But wind can be ...

A New Era for Microsoft, Activision — And for Gaming

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft recently cut 1,900 jobs from its gaming division and among the layoffs were many at the recently acquired video game developer Activision Bl...

Shawn Fain Takes On the EV Industry and the Election

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain has been in the news almost nonstop for successfully negotiating a new contract for union members and, most r...

Economists May Be Using Bad Data to Make Big Decisions

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Big Take DC podcast looks into how the US managed to avoid a recession — and whether the Federal Reserve’s decisions were based on r...

The Pharmaceutical Rivalry Behind the Weight-Loss Drug Boom

25 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The multi-billion dollar weight-loss drug market has ballooned in the past few years. And the two pharmaceutical companies currently duking it out for...

The Stock Market’s Historic Rally, Explained

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Jan. 19, for the first time in two years. It was the start of a winning streak. In today’s Big Take episo...

Houthi Attacks in the Red Sea Hit the Global Supply Chain

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For two months, Houthi militants have been launching surprise attacks on civilian ships in the Red Sea. Repeated rounds of retaliatory strikes by the ...

How Israel’s War in Gaza Is Hurting Its Own Economy

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over the last few decades, Israel has transformed itself from a relatively poor agrarian economy to a global startup haven. Its per capita GDP now exc...

Big Take DC: Wall Street Is Running Out of Time to Influence the GOP Nomination

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we’re sharing the newest episode from our collaborators over at the Big Take DC. They look at why Wall Street donors are waiting to weigh in ...

Odd Lots: US Oil Is Booming and It's Upending Global Markets

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We here at The Big Take are big fans of our colleagues and friends over at the Odd Lots podcast, hosted by Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway. Please en...

TikTok Made Me Buy It: Inside TikTok Shop

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last year, TikTok Shop officially launched in the US. It’s the latest commercial venture from ByteDance Ltd., the parent company that owns the socia...

How Victor Wembanyama Could Become a Billionaire by Age 33

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At over seven feet tall with an eight-foot wingspan, 20-year-old Victor Wembanyama is not your average NBA rookie. As a center on the San Antonio Spur...

In Taiwan, Flight Plans for China Conflict

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Taiwan’s politics have long been defined by tensions with China, which claims the island as its own. Over the past several years, China has stepped ...

The World Faces a $270 Billion Traffic Jam in Panama

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Panama Canal moves roughly $270 billion dollars worth of cargo annually – it’s the trade route taken by 40% of all US container traffic alone....

Introducing Big Take DC: Iowa Governor Says DeSantis Can Still Pull Off Caucus Win

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds gives an exclusive interview to Big Take DC just days before her state kicks off the 2024 presidential cycle. After months ...

The Taiwanese Soldier Who Lost His Life to Defend Ukraine

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Watching footage of Russian attacks on Ukraine, Jonathan Tseng thought: That could happen here, too. So from his home in Taiwan, Jonathan — Tseng Sh...

The 2024 Elections That Will Shape the Global Economy

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Elections this year will determine the leadership of 40% of the world’s population, spanning the United States, to Taiwan, to Mexico, to Senegal. On...

Elon, Inc: Elon's Bad Trip

09 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We here at Big Take are big fans of our colleagues and friends over at the Elon, Inc podcast from Businessweek, hosted by David Papadopoulos. Please e...

What the World's Top Financial Minds Are Predicting for 2024

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At the end of every year, Wall Street’s best and brightest release their predictions about where the economy is heading next. Markets reporter Sam P...

Team Favorite: Taylor Swift Is A Pop Icon. And A Billionaire

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break this week, here's an episode you might have missed. Taylor Swift’s monumental success is due to her talent as a performer — a...

Team Favorite: You Never Think About Your Car’s Catalytic Converter—Until Thieves Saw It Off

04 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break this week, here's an episode you might have missed. Catalytic converters are a vital part of emissions reduction in gas-powered v...

Team Favorite: The K-Pop Mogul Behind BTS Brings His Winning Formula To The US

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break this week, here's an episode you might have missed. Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw and Sohee Kim join this episode to talk about Bang S...

Team Favorite: Avoiding War With China Is The Top Issue In Taiwan's Election

02 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break this week, here's an episode you might have missed. Taiwan’s current Vice President, ​​Lai Ching-te, leads the polls in the...

Team Favorite : The Junk Food Industry Finds Its Next Sweet Spot: India

01 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break this week, here's an episode you might have missed. Bloomberg’s Pratik Parija and Kai Schultz join this episode to discuss why ...

Team Favorite: Mattel Bets Big On Barbie's Pink Carpet Debut

29 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break for the holidays, so here's an episode you might have missed. She’s been an astronaut, a scientist and the president of the Uni...

Team Favorite: The Not So Easy Trick To Getting Rid of Rats (In Big Cities)

28 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break for the holidays, so here's an episode you might have missed. The number of rat-related complaints in American cities has spiked ...

Team Favorite: Why Is The US Dependent On Russian Uranium?

27 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break for the holidays, so here's an episode you might have missed. About half of the enriched uranium that nations around the world us...

Team Favorite: Police Are Tracking Down Suspects With Google User Data

26 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break for the holidays, so here's an episode you might have missed. Google is able to collect a lot of information about the people who...

Team Favorite: Women's Pro Tackle Football Takes The Field

25 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break for the holidays, so here's an episode you might have missed. Bloomberg Businessweek contributor Mary Pilon joins this episode to...

Team Favorite: Your Pet Is Costing You A Fortune and You Don’t Care

22 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break for the holidays, so here's an episode you might have missed. The global pet economy is expected to reach nearly half a trillion ...

The Five Countries Acting as Economic ‘Connectors’ in a Fragmented World

21 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tensions continue to grow between China and the big economic powers in Europe and the United States. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the war betwee...

Public Transit in the US Is About to Get Worse

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve suffered the slights of US public transportation in recent years, brace yourself for more grief. Transit agencies across the country have ...

Elon, Inc: Grok Is Good, Actually, and a Tesla Recall

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We here at The Big Take are big fans of our colleagues and friends over at the Elon, Inc podcast from Businessweek, hosted by David Papadopoulos. Plea...

The Big Equality Stories of 2023 – and What’s Next

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The past year has been relentless for news, with indictments of a former US president, wars in Europe and the Middle East, and Earth’s hottest year ...

Introducing: Bloomberg News Now

17 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

The Supreme Court Is About to Have a Very Big Year

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

During its last two terms, the US Supreme Court and its six-member Republican-appointed supermajority showed its power to shape important policy issue...

‘Union Joe’ Falls Behind Trump in Michigan Among Autoworkers

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Michigan is a key swing state for next year’s presidential election – and despite Democrats controlling the state’s legislature and holding the ...

Who’s Ready for a Trump-Biden Rematch? Anyone?

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Most American voters are dissatisfied with both President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump. Barring any health surprises (Biden is 81 and T...

Why China's Richest Gen-Zs Are Flocking Home

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

China is facing the world's biggest exodus of millionaires and growing capital outflows. Yet at least one group is bucking the trend -- the growing nu...

From Food to Mortgages, Being American Is Very Expensive

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The cost of living in America has increased significantly since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a sudden deceleration of the world’s larg...

Bonus Episode: Hate Crimes Surge in Wake of Gaza War

10 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Reports of crimes targeting Jews, Muslims and Arabs have risen around the world in since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and the Israeli military’...

Ukraine Struggles for Weapons as Winter Nears

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

With winter falling in Ukraine and Russia’s war there poised to enter its third year, supporters of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy are nerv...

The US Has a Defense Supply Chain Problem

07 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US is selling, lending and donating weapons to its allies all over the world, but its supply chain can't keep up. Increased demand from America's ...

It Is Not A Good Time to Be A New Homebuyer. Anywhere

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Across the globe, the housing boom is ending. In the US, a freeze is approaching, creating a barrier to entry for new homebuyers. In countries like Ne...

Introducing: Elon, Inc.: Deciphering Elon Musk's Politics

05 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We here at The Big Take wanted to introduce you to our colleagues and friends over at the Elon, Inc podcast from Businessweek, hosted by David Papadop...

How These Victims of Deepfake Pornography Found Their Harasser

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode includes some disturbing descriptions of sexual acts and assault. If you have kids around, you might want to use headphones. And please t...

While The World Watches Gaza and Ukraine, The Pentagon Eyes China

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The world's attention has been on the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas, as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine. But US military planners and ...

How HOA Fees and Fines Add to the US Housing Affordability Crisis

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly 80% of new homes built for sale in the US are in homeowners’ associations, or HOAs, or similar communities, which are governed by a board cha...

A Pause Holds In the Israel-Hamas War

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Israel Bureau Chief Ethan Bronner and contributor Fadwa Hodali join host Rosalind Matheison for the latest on the truce between Israel a...

What Comes Next in China's Property Crisis

28 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

China's real estate market was once valued at more than $50 trillion. It made up a full quarter of the country's entire economy and made millions of p...

The Economy Is Up But The Middle Class Is Down

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg reporters Shawn Donnan and Claire Ballentine join this episode to discuss the results of a new Harris Poll for Bloomberg News, which found t...

Team Favorite: Massive Wind Turbines Are Rising From The Atlantic Ocean

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re taking a break today for the Thanksgiving holiday. Here’s a favorite episode from August that you might have missed. We’ll be back on Mon...

Team Favorite: The K-Pop Mogul Behind BTS Brings His Winning Formula To The US

23 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re taking a break today for the Thanksgiving holiday. Here’s a favorite episode from October that you might have missed. We’ll be back on Mon...

Team Favorite: There’s A Lot You Don’t Know About The US Space Force

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break this week for the Thanksgiving holiday, so here's an episode you might have missed. We'll be back on Monday with a new episode. T...

Team Favorite: NYC Tries Supervised Release Instead Of Jail. Other Cities Are Watching

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break this week for the Thanksgiving holiday, so here's an episode you might have missed. We'll be back on Monday with a new episode. H...

Team Favorite: Despite Recession Fears, Small Businesses Keep Opening. Can They Survive?

20 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a break this week for the Thanksgiving holiday, so here's an episode you might have missed. We'll be back on Monday with a new episode. E...

Big Take News Wrap: Shutdown Averted. Trump Legal Battles. 2024 Race

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Catch up on some of the week’s biggest US stories. Bloomberg’s Mario Parker, Megan Scully and Zoe Tillman join this episode to talk about the Cong...

How Two-Party Politics Drives Out Moderates

16 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Congress averted a government shutdown with days to spare. The way lawmakers did it — by leaving out deep spending cuts and relying on a bipartisan ...

The EV Era Is Here. And China Is In The Lead

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The transition from combustion engines to electric vehicles is well under way. It's a critical part of a historic transformation that will soon affect...

Why Wall Street Sells So Many Car Loans That Buyers Can’t Pay Off

14 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomberg’s Paige Smith and Scott Carpenter join this episode to talk about why the subprime auto loan market is thriving—and what that means for ...