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Money Talks from The Economist
Money Talks: Is the car industry running out of gas?
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Buying a car used to be about two things: style and performance. But as motorists trade in their petrol or diesel cars for electric vehicles, manufacturers are increasingly focusing on experience by adding features like karaoke machines and mood lighting. Those drivers also have a lot more choices. The ditching of internal combustion engines in favour of battery-power has allowed new car makers to enter the market. But rather than thinking like BMW or Ford, they are looking to firms like Apple for their inspiration.
On this week’s podcast, hosts Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Tom Lee-Devlin examine the remaking of the auto industry. The Economist’s Simon Wright explains that software, rather than hardware, will define car brands in the future. Henrik Fisker, the founder of one of those new brands, tells them that a history of making petrol-powered cars doesn’t necessarily qualify established car makers to make electric vehicles. And advisor Tu Le explains why Western car makers are worried about competition from China.
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Indian capitalists: What’s behind India’s stock market rally?
48:51|India’s financial system is going through a rapid transformation. With the spread of fintech, and financial products aimed at small investors, millions of ordinary Indians who never before had access to capital markets now own tiny stakes in publicly traded companies. It’s fuelled the country’s remarkable stock market rally over the last five years. But is India’s financial system resilient enough to sustain this change? And what happens if things go wrong?Hosts: Ethan Wu, Mike Bird and Alice Fulwood. Guests: The Economist’s Tom Easton; Saurabh Tripathi, Head of Financial Institutions at BCG in Mumbai; and Sundararaman Ramamurthy, CEO of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Middle-class wilt: what’s happened to Asia’s middle-earners?
39:22|For decades, western companies looked to Asia for growth. They saw an opportunity to establish their brands with a rapidly-expanding middle class. But now, in many parts of Asia, the growth of that aspirational class is slowing. So, what happened to Asia’s middle classes?Hosts: Mike Bird and Alice Fulwood. Guests: The Economist’s Ethan Wu; Wolfgang Fengler, CEO of research firm World Data Lab; and Ibrahim “Ben” Suffian of the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Green money: how much is the energy transition really going to cost?
48:50|Countries around the world finally agreed on the need to transition away from fossil fuels at last year's COP summit. The latest climate conference is now underway in Baku, Azerbaijan. But how much is the immense transition to clean and green energy really going to cost? And who is going to pay for it?Hosts: Mike Bird and Alice Fulwood. Guests: The Economist’s Gavin Jackson; and Adair Turner, Chair of the Energy Transition Commission.For more on COP29, check out the latest episode of our “Babbage” podcast, in which our correspondent travels to South Africa for lessons on how to end coal.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.The Trump trade: what investors expect from a second term
47:46|Stock markets rallied, the dollar surged and Treasury yields jumped higher as it became clear Donald Trump would be returning to the White House. Investors bet on lower taxes boosting growth, while higher tariffs and an immigration crackdown may drive up inflation. But will investors get what they’re expecting from the return of Trumponomics?Hosts: Alice Fulwood and Mike Bird. Guests: The Economist’s US economics editor Simon Rabinovitch; and Piper Sandler’s Donald Schneider, who was the chief economist on the House of Representatives’ main tax-writing committee last time Trump was in the White House.For more US election analysis, check out our sister podcasts “The Intelligence” and “Checks and Balance”.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.All that glitters: the new gold rush
47:43|Investors and central banks can’t get enough of gold. The precious metal’s price has climbed by 38% over the past year to over $2,700 per troy ounce—a record high. But gold pays no dividends, generates no yield and its value has very little to do with demand for jewellery, in which it is commonly used. So what’s behind the surging price of gold?Hosts: Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Tom Lee-Devlin. Guests: Gregor Gregersen, founder of The Reserve, a gold vault in Singapore; Shaokai Fan of the World Gold Council; and economic historian Nicholas Mulder.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Robotaxis: how close is a driverless future?
45:13|Earlier this month, Elon Musk unveiled a new autonomous taxi, designed by his car company Tesla. Musk promises that his Cybercab, a two-seater car without a steering wheel or pedals, will be on sale before 2027. But how realistic is this vision? With driverless technology still under development, how long will it be until autonomous vehicles become part of everyday life?Hosts: Tom Lee-Devlin, Mike Bird and Alice Fulwood. Guests: Simon Wright, industry editor at The Economist; Gavin Jackson, CEO of driverless software company OXA; Holly Watson Nall, an engineer at Oxa; and Kersten Heineke, head of the McKinsey Centre for Future Mobility.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Democratic dividend: the winners of the 2024 Nobel prize in economics
44:13|Why do some countries become rich, while others remain impoverished? It’s a question that inspired three academics awarded this year’s Nobel prize in economics—Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson of MIT, and James Robinson of the University of Chicago. We speak to the three laureates about their seminal work on the economic legacy of colonialism, why they think institutions such as private property rights and democracy deliver long-term prosperity, and what they make of the resurgence of authoritarianism.Hosts: Alice Fulwood, Mike Bird and Tom Lee-Devlin. Guests: Daron Acemoglu of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Simon Johnson of the MIT Sloan School of Management; James Robinson of The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts at the University of Chicago; and The Economist’s Gavin Jackson.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Centres of attention: building for the global data boom
43:07|For everything that happens online, there is a server in a room somewhere doing the work. The physical underpinning of everything that happens online has become big business. Demand for server capacity is growing rapidly with the development of cloud computing and AI, and so is the need for the massive, energy-hungry data centres that support it. The location of those digital warehouses is now crucial, not just for speed and proximity, but for the new tussles over data protectionism. So how will economic and geopolitical considerations shape the data-centre industry?Hosts: Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Tom Lee-Devlin. Guests: The Economist’s Ethan Wu; Cheam Tat Inn, managing director of Equinix Malaysia; and Waldemar Szlezak, global head of digital infrastructure at investment firm KKR.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Out of commission: Will America’s realtors change their ways?
42:19|Agent commissions are a key part of how the US housing market operates. Realtors representing the seller and the buyer have typically taken a large cut of the sale price - usually 5% or 6%. Now the National Association of Realtors has lost a class action lawsuit brought by homesellers, claiming these high commissions are the result of anti-competitive practices. So will new rules, agreed in the settlement of this suit, bring down the cost of buying and selling a home?Hosts: Alice Fulwood and Mike Bird. Guests: Michael Ketchmark, personal injury attorney at Ketchmark and McCreight; and Rob Hahn, real estate strategist and author of the Notorious ROB Substack.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.