This week we're sharing an episode from, Unhedged, another podcast from the FT network.

The annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is supposed to be an intellectual retreat. Instead, it was overshadowed by personal and political attacks on US Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook. Today on the show, Katie Martin talks to US economics editor Claire Jones about her reporting from Jackson Hole and what might happen if the central bank falls under the president’s control. Also, we attempt to go long and short but are interrupted by a fire alarm.

For a free 30-day trial to the Unhedged newsletter go to: https://www.ft.com/unhedgedoffer.

You can email Robert Armstrong and Katie Martin at unhedged@ft.com.

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Palantir shares have soared this year, making the data analytics company one of the most valuable listed US tech groups. The FT’s Tabby Kinder explains how a paradigm shift in Silicon Valley helped propel Palantir to new heights and why many think it will be among the biggest winners of more US federal spending on national security, immigration and space exploration – even as others have started questioning its valuation.

Clips from Bloomberg, CNBC, FOX Business, HBO, More Perfect Union, Newsweek, TechCrunch, Palantir Vision, The 92nd Street Y, New York

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For further reading:

Palantir becomes a ‘Trump trade’ as investors bet on higher defence spending

How Donald Trump’s spending bill will boost Silicon Valley’s defence companies

Palantir lifts outlook as AI boom sends quarterly revenue to $1bn

Palantir’s ‘revolving door’ with government spurs huge growth

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Follow Tabby Kinder on X (@Tabby_Kinder) and Saffeya Ahmed on X (@saffeya_ahmed) or follow Saffeya on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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This is a revised version of an earlier episode and clarifies the position of Zyn in the US market.

As the popularity of cigarettes has slid in the past couple decades, Big Tobacco has been searching for a new hit product. Now, they think they’ve found it: nicotine pouches. FT reporters Clara Murray and Mari Novik explain how nicotine pouches became popular, and whether they’ll become the sector’s newest addiction or if they will be snuffed out.

Clips from ABC News, ABC4 Utah, CBS Mornings, Theo Von Podcast, Time, TikTok

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For further reading:

The new nicotine hit that could save Big Tobacco

Big Tobacco stock rally reveals uncomfortable truth

Big Tobacco will take heat on its smokeless transformation

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Follow Clara Murray on X (@clara__murray) and Bluesky (‪@claradoodle.bsky.social‬). Follow Mari Novik on X (@marinoevik) and Bluesky(@marinovik.bsky.social‬). Saffeya Ahmed is on X (@saffeya_ahmed), or you can follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two summers ago, hedge fund manager Bobby Jain set out with a huge goal: build a hedge fund that can rival the likes of industry giants Citadel and Millennium. But in the year since his firm started trading, Jain has found the going tough. FT hedge fund correspondents Amelia Pollard and Costas Mourselas explain what difficulties he has encountered, and whether building a true rival in this space is possible.

Clip from Bloomberg TV

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For further reading & listening:

Big launch, small gains: Bobby Jain struggles to match hedge fund giants

The next Millennium’s slow start

Citadel and Millennium outshone by smaller hedge fund rivals after trade war turmoil

🎧 Hedge fund pioneers face signs of a reckoning

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Follow Amelia Pollard (@ameliajpollard), Costas Mourselas (@CostasMourselas) and Saffeya Ahmed (@saffeya-ahmed) on X, or follow Saffeya on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re sharing an episode from Fixable, a podcast from TED. In it, hear about the resurrection of Barnes & Noble.

Chief revival architect and CEO James Daunt joins hosts Anne Morriss and Frances Frei to discuss the unconventional leadership strategies that helped him navigate through the pandemic and keep bookstores alive in the age of Amazon and e-books. Anne and Frances explore James’s non-hierarchical approach to team building, dive into the challenges he faced on his mission to revitalise the company, and discover the principle at the heart of his strategy. Listen to Fixable wherever you get your podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The competition for junior talent between private equity and Wall Street banks reached a new peak this summer. That’s thanks to a controversial recruiting practice that is causing both industries to find talent earlier and earlier.

Now, powerful figures such as JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon are publicly decrying the strategy. The FT’s Wall Street editor Sujeet Indap and banking editor Ortenca Aliaj explain the origins of this friction and what it says about the future of Wall Street and private equity’s top firms.

Clip from the Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy

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For further reading:

Wall Street vs private equity: can anyone stop the grad recruitment creep?

Is investment banking still a jewel in Wall Street’s crown?

Private equity abandons early recruiting after Jamie Dimon fightback

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Follow Ortenca Aliaj on X (@OrtencaAl) and Bluesky (‪‬‪@ortenca.bsky.social‬), and Sujeet Indap on X (@sindap) and Bluesky (‪@sindap.bsky.social‬‪‬). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can Tim Cook save Apple from the trade war? Has Mark Zuckerberg really been a fan of Donald Trump all along? And is the bromance between Elon Musk and the president really over?

In a new season of Tech Tonic, Murad Ahmed explores the relationships between Trump and some of the titans of the tech world. What is really driving those relationships, and what might they mean for the future of technology in the US and beyond?

Free to read:

‘He is power’: billionaires line up for Donald Trump’s inauguration

Donald Trump lashes out at Apple over plan to ship US iPhones from India

How Jeff Bezos made peace with Donald Trump

What has Elon Musk’s Doge actually achieved?

How Joel Kaplan became Mark Zuckerberg’s most trusted political fixer

How Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley funded the sudden rise of JD Vance

This season of Tech Tonic is presented by Murad Ahmed and produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. The senior producer is Edwin Lane and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music, Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz are the FT’s acting co-heads of audio.

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Top consulting firms have repeatedly found themselves facing a reputational crisis. The most recent example was in early July, when a Financial Times investigation revealed that Boston Consulting Group had modelled a plan to ‘relocate’ Palestinians from Gaza after entering into a multimillion-dollar contract to help launch an aid scheme for the enclave.

In this week’s episode, the FT’s US accounting editor, Stephen Foley, explains his reporting and examines what these events say about how effective the consulting industry’s ability to avoid reputational scandals is.

Clips from the UN

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For further reading:

BCG modelled plan to ‘relocate’ Palestinians from Gaza

Inside Gaza’s ‘death traps’

The little-known group poised to take over Gaza’s aid

BCG gets caught up in a scandal in Gaza

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Follow Stephen Foley on X (@stephenfoley) and Bluesky (‪@stephenfoleyft.bsky.social‬). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.