Unhedged

The Buy America trade

07 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

US companies are crushing it this year and it’s not just Big Tech. More than 80 per cent of the S&P 500 companies that have reported first-quart...

Are AI stocks the new railroad bonds?

05 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Transformative technologies create speculative frenzies. Robin Wigglesworth, host of the new FT podcast The Story of Money, joins Katie Martin and Rob...

Introducing: The Story of Money

01 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The economist John Kenneth Galbraith once quipped that “there can be few fields of human endeavour in which history counts for so little as in the w...

The Fed holds steady

30 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Yesterday, JayPowell made his final remarks as chair of the Federal Reserve. And then he announced his intention to remain on the board. Today on the ...

Gloom and boom

28 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The news is bad, but stocks seem happy. Today on the show, Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong unpack the market’s rally and look forward to Fed chair Ja...

China Shock 2.0

23 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the past decade China has transformed itself into a high-value producer of sophisticated goods, threatening jobs in Europe and the rest of Asia. To...

Trading disruption

21 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Today on the show, Rob Armstrong reports from the FT Commodities Global Summit 2026, where hundreds of traders gathered to share war stories about one...

Boing! Spring time for the markets

16 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After a nervous couple of months, markets suddenly roared to life this week, with the S&P 500 reaching a new high. Struggling shoe company Allbird...

Space ecstasy

14 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to go public this year in what may be the largest IPO of all time. But what is SpaceX, exactly? Today on the show, Katie Ma...

What has changed?

09 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As President Donald Trump’s confusing messages on the Iran war seem to coalesce around a retreat, markets have risen. But are we really going back t...

Guns and butter and credit

07 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Economists often compare today’s era to the 1970s, when oil prices were high and inflation was looming. But there is something to learn from the 196...

How an energy crisis unfolds

02 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

World energy supplies have been disrupted by the Iran war. But how long will they take to return to normal after the war is over? Today on the show, K...

 Is this social media's tobacco moment?

31 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A jury in a Los Angeles court has found Meta and Google liable for $6m in damages in a civil suit alleging their social media products are designed to...

The rout in UK and European bonds

26 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The plunge in UK and European bonds has been expensive for hedge funds, whose bets have gone sideways. But it could be expensive for regular people to...

Why are markets listening to Trump?

24 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When President Donald Trump talks, markets listen. But why? Today on the show, Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong try to figure out if the markets really ...

The Fed’s juggling act

19 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The war has caused a spike in oil prices, which will pass costs through the economy. But if the economy is slowing, will there be enough inflation to ...

Are the markets right or wrong about Iran?

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Oil is up, bombs are falling and investors are increasing their piles of cash. But the market isn’t far off its highs. Today on the show, Katie Mart...

Uncomfortable moments in private credit

12 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

There has been a steady trickle of bad news in private credit, and investors have been having a hard time getting their money out of funds. Today on t...

Wildest day for oil ever

10 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Over the weekend, the price of oil had its biggest intraday swing on record, bouncing between $84 and $119 per barrel in just 23 hours. Today on the s...

The case against stablecoins

05 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Genius Act allowed stablecoins to trade in the US as a legal form of currency. But can that really work? Today on the show, financial historian Br...

Energy prices up, markets down

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The US attack on Iran has muddled expectations for the year, especially in energy markets. Today on the show, US energy editor Jamie Smyth joins Katie...

What the actual tariff?

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court just overturned President Donald Trump’s use of the emergency powers provision to impose tariffs. Now importers are suing for refu...

The report that rattled Wall Street

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On Monday, a report by Citrini Research appeared to rattle traders on Wall Street. Its thesis was that massive efficiency increases would lead to wide...

How low can the dollar go?

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

World markets continue to be down on the dollar. Today on the show, Katie Martin and senior markets correspondent Ian Smith discuss how inflation, pol...

Introducing 'Behind the Money': Can Wells Fargo make it in investment banking?

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

For more than 170 years, Wells Fargo built a reputation as an all-American Main Street lender. Now, it is charting a new path and pushing into investm...

Is AI creating jobs?

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Buried deep in the heart of this week’s US jobs report is a hint that companies may be increasing hiring to build all those AI data centres we keep ...

What Takaichi's win means for global markets

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Liberal Democratic Party dominated in a snap election on Sunday and the country’s stock market loved...

The triangle of confusion

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Markets, data and sentiment are often looked to as indicators of the present and guides to the future. But these data points aren’t helping as much ...

The next Fed chair

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump announced his pick for the next Fed chair at the end of last week. It was Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Fed Board of Gove...

The incredible shrinking dollar

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Since the second inauguration of US President Donald Trump, the dollar has been in a slow but persistent decline. Today on the show, Katie Martin and ...

How does a gold rush end?

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Gold and silver are both racing to record highs. But can it last? Today on the show, Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong talk about factors that might put ...

Taco FTW

22 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The “Taco trade” proved profitable again this week as US President Donald Trump walked back his proposals for invading Greenland. ("Taco", of cour...

Trade wars, real wars and the markets

20 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As Donald Trump threatens a takeover of Greenland, Europe responds with military deployments, sending the markets into a low-key swivet. Today on the ...

Introducing 'Business History': Young Warren Buffett

16 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We’re sharing a preview of another podcast we think you’ll enjoy, Business History. Former Planet Money hosts Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith exa...

Stock picking champs 2025

15 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The results of the FT’s 2025 stock picking contest are in! Today on the show, Katie Martin, Rob Armstrong and the FT’s asset aanagement reporter A...

Showdown at the Federal Reserve

13 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On Sunday night, Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell took the extraordinary step of issuing a video saying he is being threatened with a criminal indi...

Outlook 2026

08 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Markets continue their sunny cruise, whistling along as the world is upended by nationalistic meddling in both corporations and other countries. Today...

Imperialism and the markets

06 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

US President Donald Trump has attacked Venezuela and removed its leader. The markets remain nonchalant. Does that make sense? Today on the show, Rob A...

From Behind the Money: Private equity’s push into Japan

01 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Unhedged is on a break over the holidays, so we wanted to share an episode from our fellow FT podcast, Behind the Money. When international private eq...

Quiz show!

30 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Katie Martin spent a restful 20 hours on a plane coming up with some devilishly hard questions for her colleagues, Rob Armstrong and John Foley. Today...

From Against the Rules: Michael Burry Speaks

25 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Here’s another podcast we think you’ll enjoy, The Big Short Companion from Against the Rules, hosted by bestselling author Michael Lewis. Lewis’...

We take some questions

23 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why do companies care about their share price so much? Is Switzerland in danger of losing its banks? What would regime change in Venezuela do to globa...

Three numbers that matter

18 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today on the show, Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong take a look at some revealing numbers about jobs, inflation and borrowing against the Treasuries mar...

Gold, silver and crypto

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Silver is on a tear this year, outperforming gold and even crypto. Today on the show, Rob Armstrong and Katie Martin look at the markets for substitut...

Can 2026 match 2025?

11 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What went right in 2025? What could go wrong in 2026? Recorded last week for the FT’s digital conference The Global Boardroom, Katie Martin and Rob ...

Who Gets to Buy Warner Bros. Discovery?

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Netflix and Paramount are in a bidding war to take over Warner Bros. Discovery and its historic collections of movies and television series. Today on ...

A satanic list of inflationary factors

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today on the show, Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong talk with special guest Adam Posen about the prospects for inflation and even a financial crisis. Po...

Bonds vs budgets

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mature economies such as France, the UK and the US are spending more than they take in. They make up the rest in borrowing. But how long can that last...

What are the hedge funds shorting?

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Short interest in the market is rising. But what are the big players betting against? And what can investors learn from it? Today on the show, Katie M...

Nvidia's crazy day

20 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the morning, Nvidia’s earnings report seemed to have cured the market of its jitters about an artificial intelligence bubble. And then it didn’...

Big deals in Big Pharma

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The battle between Novo Nordisk and Pfizer to acquire Metsera is over. But is this merger a sign of strength or weakness for the industry? Today on th...

Is the K-shaped economy real?

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Companies such as Procter & Gamble and Chipotle say lower-income customers are spending less, while upper-income customers keep splurging. But dat...

Is the US an emerging market?

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s show is a live recording from the Kilkenomics Festival in Kilkenny, Ireland. Katie Martin hosts a panel with guests David McWilliams, founde...

DIY data

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With the government shut down, US investors are looking for data in different places. Today on the show, Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong discuss home b...

Is Big Tech spending too much money?

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tech companies are spending historic amounts of money on computing power and data centres. Today on the show, Rob Armstrong and Katie Martin talk...

Martin Wolf on the economics of populism

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How does populism affect the long-term health of economies? And is there a difference in outcomes between the extreme politics of the left and the rig...

The vigorous nods of Bessent

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has one of the hardest jobs in recent history. He has to implement bizarre economic strategies and keep rational m...

Will the US bail out Argentina?

23 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It won’t be easy, and you’ll think it’s strange, when we try to explain … why US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent is suddenly reversing all cu...

Japan’s next move

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sanae Takaichi is the first female prime minister of Japan. She also claims Margaret Thatcher as a role model. Today on the show, Katie Martin and the...

Rare earth quake

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

China’s announcement that it would be restricting the export of rare earths put markets into a tailspin on Friday. Today on the show, Rob Armstrong,...

UK Budget blues

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On November 26, parliament will make the UK an offer it can’t refuse: The 2026 Budget. But the UK can complain about it! And likely will, as it will...

AI peak is peak AI

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is AI making everybody richer? Or just more entangled in each others’ business? Today on the show, Rob Armstrong and Lex editor John Foley try to un...

Introducing Untold: Toxic Legacy

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Introducing Toxic Legacy, a new season of Untold from the Financial Times. Host Laura Hughes uncovers a lead poisoning epidemic across the UK. You mig...

Gold now! Gold forever! Only gold! Gold! Gold!

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Gold keeps hitting all-time highs, and no sober talk about speculation or productivity has stopped it. Today on the show, Rob Armstrong and Katie Mart...

AI, shutdowns and shadow banks

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today on the show, Rob Armstrong and Katie Martin take on three things they’ve been thinking about: the markets' complete lack of worry about a gove...

The largest leveraged buyout in history?

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Electronic Arts, a publicly traded company, was just purchased for $55bn by a consortium of investors led by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner...

Troubling signs in corporate debt

25 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

First Brands Group, a roll-up of car parts manufacturers, is preparing a bankruptcy filing after amassing as much as $10bn in debt. And last week, Tri...

Hedging the dollar

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The dollar is down almost 10 per cent since the beginning of the year. Yes, it has fallen from a very strong position, but the drop might also re...

Should companies report only twice a year?

18 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, President Donald Trump suggested that companies only report earnings twice a year. This would be a significant change to how markets in the...

Private equity’s public reckoning

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With interest rates high, private equity has had a harder time finding investors … and making money. To solve this problem, the industry has found n...

The mystery of the vanishing jobs

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The annual jobs numbers are in. And they have been revised down by 911,000 positions. But in a quickly changing economy, with many laborers literally ...

Live from the FTWeekend Festival in London

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

2025 has been a chaotic year, with seemingly random tariffs, the reduction of the labour force, the partial nationalisation of major companies and a l...

What’s a central bank supposed to do?

04 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Central banks have been around for hundreds of years. But they haven’t always done the same thing. Today on the show, Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong...

OK, Doomer

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Valuations are high. Employment is down. The Federal Reserve is under attack. For many market watchers, this looks a lot like a recipe for disaster. T...

The people’s chip manufacturer

28 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration has again extended its control over the US economy, now taking a 10 per cent stake in the chip manufacturer Intel. Control of...

The Fed under attack

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is supposed to be an intellectual retreat. Instead, it was overshadowed by personal an...

The new pump and dumps

21 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

US markets reporter George Steer has been tracking stocks that have soared, then crashed. Some of them might be “pump and dumps”, an old-fashioned...

Is the market too concentrated?

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Eight of the 10 biggest stocks in the S&P 500 are technology stocks, and tech as a sector represents 40 per cent of the value of the index. Today ...

Will markets ever care about anything?

14 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As the US president upends the global order, and consolidates power, markets keep climbing. Does it make any sense? Today on the show, Katie Martin an...

Lies, damn lies and statistics

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump has just installed loyalists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve. The idea is to ensure good news and low...

Swamp Notes: Trump’s case against Fed chair Powell

07 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we're sharing an episode from our fellow FT podcast, Swamp Notes.The US president is angry with the chair of the Federal Reserve over interest ...

The Economics Show: Trump is accelerating the dollar’s decline

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we're bringing you an episode from our fellow FT podcast, The Economics Show. The US dollar has been in slow decline for around a decade – so...

The Little Railroad Merger That Could

31 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Tuesday, the American railroad giant Union Pacific announced its intention to buy Norfolk Southern, promising to fulfill Abraham Lincoln’s dream ...

The EU folds on tariffs

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Experts agree: When it comes to tariffs, Europe just got trounced. So did the American consumer, who will pay these taxes. Today on the show, Rob Arms...

Is M&A turning around?

24 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Republicans won the White House and both houses of Congress last fall, mergers and acquisitions bankers celebrated. But when President Donald Tru...

Robotaxis, tech earnings and 24-hour trading

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today on the show, Aiden Reiter talks with Lex editor John Foley about three things to watch this summer: 24-hour trading, tech earnings and Tesla’s...

Is Nvidia really worth $4tn?

17 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nvidia is now the most valuable company in America, as AI seems to power an unstoppable market. Today on the show, Katie Martin and Aiden Reiter ask i...

Heinz, Kraft and Warren Buffett

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The acquisition of Heinz and Kraft by 3G Capital and Warren Buffett seemed like a classic play from the world’s most famous investor: buy boring sta...

The secret giant of finance

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jane Street is one of the biggest traders in the world, and they have become embroiled in accusations of market manipulation in India. Today on the sh...

Three surprises that might spook the markets

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Despite looming economic problems, the stock market continues to climb. Today on the show, Katie Martin, Rob Armstrong and Aiden Reiter ask what could...

The dilapidated dollar

03 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The US dollar is having its worst year since 1973. And 1973 was a really bad year. As the US takes a break to celebrate independence from the UK,...

Building a big beautiful Europe

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The weakening dollar suggests international investors are looking for other places to put their money. This could be an opportunity for Europe to fina...

Can anything stop the US economy?

26 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of people are worried about the Middle East, but markets are doing just fine. Today on the show, Rob Armstrong and Aiden Reiter talk about why i...

Who wants to be a Fed chair?

24 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump has called US Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell “very dumb, hardheaded” and a “numbskull” for not lowering interest rate...

Behind the Money: Inside Moët Hennessy’s crisis

19 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Unhedged is off today so instead we're bringing you an episode from our fellow FT podcast, Behind the Money. In this episode, we look at how LVMH’s ...

What the Israel-Iran war means for markets

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Israel and Iran are at war, but markets have yet to freak out. Today on the show, Rob Armstrong and Katie Martin dig into what’s happening with oil,...

What makes Tesla run?

12 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tesla stock feels like it runs on uncut animal spirits. But the company’s fortunes have been bound up with the US government since long before the T...

Welcome to the ‘Hotel Crypto’

10 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) continues its meteoric rise as new investors purchase a company whose basic business is to own bitcoin. Naturally, t...

Walmart’s very good year

05 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The last 12 months have been great for Walmart, with its stock price rising on growing sales. And it’s all happening despite impending tariffs, and ...

Stock market party but why?

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Equities are on a tear, led by the usual tech giants that make up the Magnificent Seven. But why? Rob Armstrong and Katie Martin go over the odd lands...