Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Taiwan looks to play nice with Trump
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was “ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible”...
US defence stocks get left behind
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The US is suspending military aid to Ukraine, Chevrolet Silverado’s complex supply chain leaves it...
Europe takes the lead on Ukraine peace deal
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cryptocurrencies surged on Sunday after a surprise announcement from US President Donald Trump, and ...
Swamp Notes: Trump vs the press
01 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the White House said it would pick which reporters would get access to Donald Trump. Mean...
Trump greets Starmer at White House
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
US President Donald Trump has said his administration is working on a trade deal with the UK, Santan...
The medical bills hurting China’s economy
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nvidia’s revenues soared in the quarter to the end of January as demand for its AI-focused chips b...
Unilever’s CEO gets the boot
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Kyiv has agreed terms with Washington on a minerals deal, and finance ministers from many of the wor...
Germany’s debt brake problem
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The US and Europe battled in the UN and G7 over whether to blame Russia for its war against Ukraine,...
German voters shift to the right in Sunday’s elections
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The center-right Christian Democrats won the most votes in Germany’s election, and the US stock ma...
Swamp Notes: Trump tries to bring watchdogs to heel
22 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
US President Donald Trump’s executive order this week seeks to “rein in” independent federal a...
Defending Europe without the US
21 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Investors are urging the EU to make sweeping reforms to its debt securitisation market, Walmart has ...
Manufacturing on the ballot in Germany
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
KKR has submitted a preliminary bid to take a majority stake in Thames Water, and HSBC set out its c...
Why Trump wants Ukraine’s minerals
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The US and Russia have agreed to ‘lay the groundwork for future co-operation’ on ending the Ukra...
China pumps the brakes on Tesla’s autonomous cars
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tesla risks being caught up in the China-US trade war, while US officials head to Saudi Arabia to st...
Say hello to the Magnificent 47
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
French President Macron holds an emergency meeting in Paris with Ukraine’s allies, and a stock ind...
Swamp Notes: Trump ices Europe out of Ukraine peace plan
15 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ukraine is dominating discussions at this year’s Munich Security Conference after a call between D...
Has meme-stock kid Robinhood grown up?
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Arm plans to launch its own chip this year, and Shein’s IPO will likely be delayed after US Presid...
Trump excludes Europe from Ukraine peace talks
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
European officials are worried about being cut out of a US-Russia peace deal on Ukraine, and US infl...
Elon Musk gatecrashes OpenAI restructuring
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hong Kong tech stocks are flying high, Elon Musk’s nearly $100bn bid for OpenAI comes with a ton o...
Hizbollah’s murky path forward
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
More than 60 partners have left PwC China after a ban over its audit of failed property developer Ev...
US dealmaking slides in 2025
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
China has imposed retaliatory tariffs on about $14bn of US goods, and US dealmaking has suffered its...
Swamp Notes: How far can Doge go?
08 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, dominated the headlines this week as age...
How to trade the trade war
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon shares fell after a weaker than expected outlook for the first quarter, and investors are fig...
EU pushes ahead with sprawling AI regulation
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
US allies across Europe and the Middle East have condemned Donald Trump’s plans to “take over”...
US companies endure tariff whiplash
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Alphabet’s cloud services missed growth expectations last quarter, American companies are scrambli...
Commercial real estate crawls back
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
US president Donald Trump’s tariffs on Mexico and Canada are paused for now, commercial property i...
The Trump trade war begins
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump hit Canada, Mexico and China with steep tariffs on Saturday, and oil and gas groups are...
Swamp Notes: Trump redefines America’s global role
01 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
American foreign aid supports everything from arms sales to HIV treatment. But this week, with the s...
SoftBank wants a piece of the AI pie
31 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Apple revealed quarterly results that slightly exceeded Wall Street expectations, SoftBank is in tal...
The Fed ignores Trump’s calls to cut rates
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Big Tech earnings season is in full swing, the US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady despite...
Inside the Trump tariff debate
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Advances in artificial intelligence by Chinese start-up DeepSeek caused a frantic sell-off of energy...
China’s DeepSeek AI triggers tech sell-off
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
US tech stocks tumbled after advances by Chinese start-up DeepSeek ignited worries over whether Amer...
Can US oil afford to ‘drill, baby, drill’?
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pressure is piling on the European Union to cut back its sustainability agenda, Wall Street may thwa...
Swamp Notes: Donald Trump’s ‘vendetta agenda’
25 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump has made a lot of enemies over the years. He spent his first week back in the White Hou...
Trump steers the world toward a tax war
24 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A federal judge has blocked US President Donald Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, and...
Trump halts $300bn in clean energy loans
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
European bank dividends are at their highest levels since 2007, US President Donald Trump froze bill...
Markets brace for Trump-era volatility
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Netflix added a record 19mn subscribers in the fourth quarter, fuelled by live sports. US stocks ral...
Apple is accused of profiting from 'blood minerals'
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Belgium has launched a criminal probe into the DRC’s allegation. Donald Trump is sworn in as US pr...
Trump returns to the White House
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump will become US president for the second time on Monday. Investors pile into a fund that...
Swamp Notes: Corporate America goes Maga
18 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Not long ago, American corporations were promoting racial justice initiatives and promising to comba...
Can Hollywood bounce back?
17 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump’s Treasury pick Scott Bessent wants to increase sanctions on Russian oil producers, a...
Israel and Hamas agree to ceasefire
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Israel and Hamas have agreed a deal to halt the war in Gaza and free the remaining hostages. Wall St...
Why China wants Musk to save TikTok
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Saudi Aramco is to expand its investments in lithium production, officials in Beijing are discussing...
A power shift in Lebanon
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Goldman Sachs is building a new private credit unit, and Nawaf Salam is named as Lebanon’s new pri...
Venezuela’s leader starts another disputed term
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The US is on the cusp of a gas boom and the west hits Venezuelan officials with fresh sanctions. A £...
Swamp Notes: Greenland, USA
11 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump has an aggressive negotiating method: he makes big threats in order to extract concessi...
Bond vigilantes target government spending
10 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The EU is preparing for president-elect Donald Trump to roll back his predecessor’s executive orde...
Crunch time for Citi
09 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
EU leaders warn Donald Trump not to meddle with the continent’s territories, and Wall Street analy...
Canadian politics post-Trudeau
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
China’s airlines are rapidly expanding into Europe, and we take a look at what’s next for Canada...
China’s central bank overhaul
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Justin Trudeau is resigning as Canadian Prime Minister, and Germany’s solar power industry is in t...
What’s next for US Steel?
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Eurozone economists warn the European Central Bank has been too slow to cut interest rates, and US S...
Swamp Notes: Where does Musk fit in Maga?
04 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk’s first big foray into politics was a success — he used his world-leading fortune and ...
Climate change is coming for your Bordeaux
03 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tesla’s annual vehicle deliveries declined for the first time in more than a decade, and China’s...
Activist investors give Japan a wake-up call
02 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The UK’s financial watchdog has failed to remove illegal crypto adverts, and in Japan, shareholder...
Biden’s departing gift to Ukraine
31 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
US stocks dropped for the second straight trading session, the Biden administration said it will unl...
Should banks foot the bill for cyber scams?
30 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Defaults on US credit card loans have hit the highest level since the wake of the 2008 financial cri...
Swamp Notes: Listener mailbag, the election and 2025
21 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are the Democrats doomed? Which world leaders are happiest to see Trump back in the White House? And...
Why Microsoft needs nuclear energy
20 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A number of cryptocurrency-focused hedge funds are outpacing their rivals, the Bank of England holds...
What 2024 taught central bankers
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by a quarter-point but signals a slower pace of easing, and ...
Javier Milei scores Argentina economy win
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Argentina emerged from a severe recession in the third quarter, Microsoft buys twice as many of Nvid...
AI investors look beyond chips
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Japan’s SoftBank unveils $100bn US investment plans, fervour around Nvidia cools as investors look...
Arm and Qualcomm head to court
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Germany’s Olaf Scholz is expected to lose a confidence vote in parliament on Monday, and Arm and Q...
Swamp Notes: Europe in the age of America First
14 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Europe has been able to predictably lean on the US for decades. But Donald Trump used tariffs and ot...
The dangers of investor groupthink
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
HSBC is reviewing its retail banking operations outside the UK and Hong Kong, and the European Centr...
Microsoft bets on AI healthcare
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
European Nato members are holding talks about increasing the alliance’s target for defence spendin...
Can big oil escape the ‘valley of death’?
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund prepares for a petrodollar windfall, while oil majors scale back the...
Vanguard doubles down on wealth management
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hiring has fallen more sharply in the UK than in other big economies over the past year, Vanguard wi...
Syrian rebels topple Assad regime
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has resigned and fled the country and South Korean prosecutors have...
The geopolitics of chips: Chips in the USA
08 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The next superpower will be a tech superpower, and to be that superpower you need to have some contr...
Swamp Notes: America’s first ‘Bitcoin president’
07 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump once called cryptocurrencies a “scam”. He’s long since changed his tune, and now,...
The never-ending Trump effect on US stocks
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Large companies rushed to assess whether top employees have sufficient protection after the murder o...
UK uncovers criminal crypto network
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump has nominated cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to chair the US Securities and Exchan...
French prime minister faces no-confidence vote
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The French government will face a no-confidence vote on Wednesday, South Korea’s president said he...
OpenAI explores advertising
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chief executives at Intel and Stellantis stepped down, OpenAI is considering including advertising i...
Where does the ceasefire leave Hizbollah?
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
US government lawyers are clamouring for jobs at corporate law firms ahead of Donald Trump taking of...
The Economics Show: Would Trump’s tariffs really be that bad?
01 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trump is returning to office with many of the same policies that characterised his last term. And fo...
France’s bond market sell-off
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
French bond markets take a tumble, Russia threatens a hypersonic missile attack on Kyiv, and Ireland...
Canal+’s blockbuster London listing
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Vivendi prepares to spin off Canal+ for a London listing. Christine Lagarde says trade wars threaten...
Ceasefire deal reached in Israel-Lebanon war
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Israeli and Lebanese leaders agree to a ceasefire, and Mexico hits back at US president-elect Donald...
Kennedy injects uncertainty into big pharma
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The US Department of Justice is seeking to drop two federal criminal cases against Donald Trump, and...
Wall Street’s ‘sigh of relief’ over Trump’s Treasury pick
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Huawei is poised to launch its first flagship phone that can run its own apps, and Donald Trump’s ...
The Economics Show: What does a Trump presidency mean for immigration?
24 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Clemens of George Mason University is an expert on the economics of migration, and a scholar...
Swamp Notes: Anthony Scaramucci unpacks Trump’s cabinet
23 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump mostly nominated mainstream conservatives to his first cabinet after the 2016 election....
US hits Gautam Adani with bribery charges
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration for US attorney-general, and billionaire Gautam...
UK inflation creeps back
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nvidia’s third-quarter revenue almost doubled from a year ago, and UK inflation accelerated in Oct...
Ukraine strikes Russia with US missiles
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bridgewater is joining forces with State Street’s asset management arm to offer an ETF, Ukraine ha...
US business raises alarm over Trump’s deportation plan
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Israel says it struck a “specific component” of Iran’s nuclear programme last month, and US bu...
The US dollar surges
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
President Joe Biden has authorised Ukraine to launch limited strikes into Russia using US-made long-...
Behind the Money: Wall Street, tech and energy during Trump’s second term
17 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Who will corporate America's winners and losers be under four more years of Donald Trump? This week,...
Swamp Notes: How can Democrats rebuild?
16 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Democratic party is hardly monolithic. But if there’s one thing that’s kept it together over...
Crypto’s Trump card
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to launch an investigation into anti-competitive practices...
Trump’s cabinet takes shape
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Republican John Thune will be the next leader of the Senate, and the president-elect gets to work fi...
Ukraine’s plan to win over Trump
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump’s ‘hush money’ case has been paused, Ukraine has been building on its ‘victory ...
Elon Musk goes to Washington
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Calendar year inflows in to exchange traded funds surpassed their previous full-year record at the e...
China’s $1.4tn fiscal package fails to excite
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump’s election victory has sent shockwaves across the renewable energy industry, and Chin...
Swamp Notes: Trumponomics 2.0
09 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Republicans swept to power in Tuesday’s election, winning the White House, the Senate, and pro...
The highs and lows of the ‘Trump trade’
08 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
US stocks rallied after Donald Trump’s election victory, but the euphoria could be short-lived if ...
Trump’s second chapter begins
07 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Wall Street stocks hit a record high but investors dumped bonds after Donald Trump’s historic US e...
How election day unfolded in the US
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A divided US electorate made their choice at the polls yesterday, after candidates Kamala Harris and...
What to expect on US election night
05 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The dollar weakened on Monday as global markets reined in their bets on a victory for Donald Trump i...