In the City (Bloomberg)

Most of the recent headlines out of Paris focus on strikes and protests. But underneath the heaps of rubbish that were piled up on the city’s streets (and possibly again soon), is an increasingly important hub for global finance. In recent months, we’ve seen big banks like Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup expand their presence in the French capital, ushering in a new reality for the landscape of European banking.  

Francine Lacqua and David Merritt discuss Paris’s growing appeal with reporter Alexandre Rajbhandari and editor Tom Metcalf, and unpack the challenges facing President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-business agenda with Paris Bureau Chief Alan Katz. 

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David Merritt speaks with senior editor Tom Metcalf and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Paul J. Davies about the consequences of changing the financial crisis-era policy.

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London's stock market is facing the quietest period for listings since the financial crisis. British companies are instead flocking to the deeper pockets found in New York and Europe. In this episode of In The City, Francine Lacqua speaks to Mark Austin, the latest person charged with sprucing up the UK’s listing rules, about his plan to help London maintain its position as one of the world's leading financial centers. Plus, Bloomberg editor Kat Van Hoof explains why a big chunk of the IPO market share disappeared from London post-Brexit and why government efforts to attract more startups haven't paid off yet.

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Bloomberg Daybreak: Europe Edition delivers today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes. Available every morning by 7am GMT in your feed. 

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It's In the City in the desert. Francine Lacqua is in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, covering the COP27 climate talks. She sits down with Allegra Stratton, contributing editor and author of The Readout, as well as Akshat Rathi, senior reporter and host of the podcast Zero. They address the increasing skepticism surrounding the UK's commitment to its net-zero targets and the "show me the money" theme of this year's conference.

Sign up for The Readout with Allegra Stratton here:
https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/readout 

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The winner of the conservative party leadership race is not yet decided--and yet there is already a loser: The Bank of England. The central bank has caught a lot of heat from the contest to become Britain's next prime minister. Tensions are brewing over political influence in central banking and financial regulation. This week, David Merritt unpacks those tensions with Bloomberg senior reporter Phil Aldrick and Bloomberg Television's Lizzy Burden. They discuss the history of the bank's independence, the threat it's currently facing, and whether the man at the helm of the bank, Andrew Bailey, is savvy enough to tackle the challenges.

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 At this week's Tory conference in Birmingham, party members thought it fitting to sing "Things Can Only Get Better" by Northern Irish musical group D:Ream. But is that wishful thinking?

In this episode of In the City, we debrief on Liz Truss's performance at the conference. We look at how much her first month in government has wiped from the the nation’s stock and bond markets, and discuss whether the mini-budget fallout has turned Labour into the new party of business.

Dave and Francine speak with Bloomberg editor in chief John Micklethwait, Lord Bilimoria, former chairman at the Confederation of British industry and founder of global beer brand, Cobra Beer, and Tiina Lee, chief executive officer, UK and Ireland at Deutsche Bank.

For a daily look at the stories that matter in the UK, sign up now for our newsletter, The Readout with Allegra Stratton:
https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/readout 

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What is Jeremy Hunt’s plan for the UK budget this week? Where are tax and spending plans heading? Will any version of the budget make a dent in the Labour Party’s lead in the polls?

UK government reporter Joe Mayes, creator of the UK budget game, joins this week’s In the City to explore those questions and outline what options he believes the Chancellor of the Exchequer has available to him.

Hosts Francine Lacqua, Allegra Stratton and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Adrian Wooldridge also ask about the Conservative Party’s attitude toward its election chances and what we might expect to see from a Labour budget should the party come to power in the next election.

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Economists and policymakers have descended on Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this week for its famous, eponymous economic policy symposium. Among those attending are US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey. On this week’s episode of In the City, senior reporter Phil Aldrick joins hosts Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton to discuss what signals the two men might send on monetary policy plans for the US and UK.

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Did you know you can buy a multi-million pound house via WhatsApp? Well, you probably can't. But some Londoners can. And if they want to, they call the Secret Agent. He's a top buying agent for the city's ultra-rich and he joins David Merritt and Francine Lacqua this week for an inside look on the buying and selling of London's most expensive homes. Plus, an update for the rest of us with London bureau chief Neil Callanan who says houses in England are at their least affordable level ever--a sign of a market that might be vulnerable.

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What will office districts do if back-to-the-office stalls? Canary Wharf Group Chief Executive Officer Shobi Khan explains how his company is revitalizing the famous center of finance on this episode of In the City. 

Canary Wharf, Khan tells hosts Francine Lacqua, David Merritt and Allegra Stratton, is no longer the “suit and tie” financial district of ten years ago. What was just blocks of banks now hosts residences, laboratories and cultural destinations, he says, with potential plans for a theater at the base of the HSBC tower. 

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Alex Baldock joins to share his take on a Labour government’s policies and their impact on business.

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This week’s In the City focuses on a story that’s transfixed the global finance community for weeks: the Adani-Hindenburg clash. Bloomberg Opinion columnist Shuli Ren and Executive Editor Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam join hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua for a comprehensive discussion of the fraud allegations and the fallout. Aside from the obvious impact—Adani’s businesses lost $108 billion in a week—the crisis has shaken investor faith in India. Ren says that it’s acting as a “wake-up call for global investment banks and blue-chip credit funds.” 

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Britain’s National Health Service turns 75 years-old this week. But as reporter Suzi Ring and editor Andre Tartar explain in the latest episode of In the City, rather than being a cause for celebration, the NHS anniversary comes at a critical, maybe even dire moment for the service.

Ring and Tartar unpack Bloomberg’s first-of-its-kind analysis of NHS data for eight indicators—including ambulance waiting times, cancer treatment times, overnight hospital bed availability and wait times for diagnostic tests. The study underscores how deep the problems run at the publicly-funded health service—and how difficult they may be to fix.

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On this episode of Voternomics, hosts Allegra Stratton and Stephanie Flanders discuss decisions by US executives not to endorse either Vice President Kamala Harris or Donald Trump in the presidential election. From Warren Buffet to the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post, Charles Elson, founding director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance,  argues such displays of impartiality are a “return to the tradition.”

Bloomberg Businessweek senior writer and Elon, Inc. podcast contributor Max Chafkin also joins this episode to explain Elon Musk’s devotion to Trump and the potential consequences for his company and the country. What is Tesla set to win or lose in this election? And will Musk be given a government role by Trump should he win? 

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David Merritt and Francine Lacqua speak to Soren Jessen, owner of One Lombard Street, the Square Mile’s first Michelin starred restaurant, and Bloomberg food writer Bill Knott, about the City's restaurant culture and whether it is catching up to its European neighbors.

Plus: Francine and Bloomberg's Oliver Crook go to lunch at City institution Sweetings, which describes itself as the oldest fish and oyster restaurant in London. 

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Entrepreneur and angel investor Rachel Delacour joins Allegra Stratton to discuss why a new EU sustainability law will impact business in the UK and elsewhere.

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“We, the left, have messed up,” said Yanis Varoufakis, the former Greek finance minister who came to fame negotiating on behalf of the Greek government during the country’s 2015 debt crisis. “We’ve tried, we’ve been tested and we failed our test.”

Varoufakis joins this week’s Voternomics podcast, in which hosts Allegra Stratton, Stephanie Flanders and Adrian Wooldridge take a closer look at the rise of far-right populism in Europe and the retreat of left-wing progressivism. Francesco Giubilei, author of The History of European Conservative Thought and president of the conservative foundation Fondazione Tatarella, also joins this week’s episode to discuss the success of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. 

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Donald Trump is heading back to the White house. What impact will that have on the US-UK relationship?

To discuss what this redefined relationship may look like, hosts Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton are joined by Sir Nigel Sheinwald. Sir Sheinwald served as Foreign Policy and Defence Advisor to the Prime Minister from 2003 to 2007, then became the UK ambassador to the US from 2007 to 2012. He is also a Non Executive Director of Invesco Ltd, and is Chair of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House.

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On this week’s episode of In the City, Catherine Ashton, the former high representative for European Union foreign policy and EU Commission first vice president, joins to discuss the international challenges faced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government and the importance of Britain’s determination to be more present on the global stage. 

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The Tory leadership contest is inching closer to its end, but while rhetoric on the campaign trail has been primarily focused on economics, it's a type of campaign economics, not the governing kind, according to Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Gordon. He joins host Francine Lacqua for a critical look at Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak's visions for tax and spending, and suggests the best candidate is the one willing to pivot to governing economics, a switch he says Sunak is more likely to make. Plus, a taste of optimism at the end of the episode as Simon shares his outlook for UK assets.

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Brexit has consequences. According to the boss of Europe’s largest exchange group, one of them is that London is no longer the region's dominant financial center. But that's not the worst of it. Euronext Chief Executive Stephane Boujnah tells David Merritt and Francine Lacqua that restrictions on the movement of people, and how that's changing the fabric of finance both in the City and across Europe, will do more damage.

Also on this episode of In the City, editor Tom Metcalf discusses the darkening mood within many banks and what that means for finance jobs and bonuses. He also says City Minister Andrew Griffith's coming announcement regarding the government's package of post-Brexit reforms is likely to be a muted affair. 

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In this bonus episode of In the City, David Merritt and Francine Lacqua unpack the government's humiliating reversal on its signature tax cut. Bloomberg's Managing Editor for European Economy and Government Ben Sills joins to hammer home that this is still a prime minister who's struggling to regain credibility and questions about her leadership chops are not going away. Plus, former Bank of England policy maker Andrew Sentance says the new government thinks it has a "magic wand" to create economic growth in the short-term but "that's just not realistic." 

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There’s a new investment playbook being used by central banks, one that spells opportunity for those who know the rules. This according to Alex Brazier, deputy head of BlackRock’s Investment Institute, who tells In the City that—for investors who can get granular in volatile markets—there’s money to made.

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Easy access to financial markets has made London a prime spot to wash dirty money, with Britain’s National Crime Agency estimating annual figures run into the hundreds of billions. But the war in Ukraine is forcing the government to rethink its accommodation of the world's richest. However, even with additional powers imposed by the Economic Crime Act, loopholes mean some can circumvent sanctions. Calling into question: is dirty money too ingrained into the City to clean out? 

David Merritt speaks to Stephanie Baker, senior writer at Bloomberg, and Caroline Knowles, professor of sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, and author of Serious Money: Walking Plutocratic London about the City's super rich and how they're shaping London in their own image.

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Ben Page, chief executive of market research company Ipsos, joins Voternomics this week to outline what he’s discovered about voters and what they think about their politicians, governments and economies. He tells Stephanie Flanders and Allegra Stratton that trust in politics is the “lowest we’ve ever measured.” 

Also on this episode, Flanders, Stratton and Adrian Wooldridge ask Bloomberg Opinion columnist John Authers whether—given the question of when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates between now and the election—the central bank can remain above the political fray.

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The aftermath of far-right violence in the UK has triggered some soul searching on the part of social media giants. Google EMEA President Matt Brittin says inflammatory online rhetoric and misinformation like that which followed the stabbing deaths of three young girls requires greater scrutiny. 

Brittin joins Francine Lacqua on this episode of In the City. He also discusses what he considers the UK’s emerging advantage in the region following Labour’s landslide victory, and AI's role in the productivity question. 

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Karen Ward, EMEA chief market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management and a key adviser to Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, joins hosts Francine Lacqua and David Merritt to unpack key points by central bankers who attended the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, and what it all means for the BOE and the UK. For the latter, the answer is recession.

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On this episode of Voternomics. hosts Stephanie Flanders, Allegra Stratton and Adrian Wooldridge are joined by reporter Ailbhe Rea to discuss Stephanie's exclusive interview with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the International Investment Summit in London, and his pushback over capital gains taxes.

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The Deal, hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, features intimate conversations with business titans, sports champions and game-changing entrepreneurs who reveal their investment philosophies, pivotal career moves and the ones that got away. From Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals, The Deal is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, Bloomberg Carplay, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch The Deal on Bloomberg Television, and Bloomberg Originals on YouTube.

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Britain’s biggest supplier of water is in trouble. 

The parent company of Thames Water is at risk of running out of money, having been forced to deal with a seemingly endless series of leaks and sewage spills while struggling to adapt to global warming and its effect on London’s future. So how did it get into this big of a mess, and is there a way out? Bloomberg reporter Jess Shankleman joins this week’s In the City with Allegra Stratton and Ailbhe Rea to discuss. 

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The deadly April 1 airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Syria and Iran’s retaliation against Israel with a drone and missile attack changed the “rules of engagement” right before our eyes, according to geopolitical strategist Tina Fordham. “This is the most significant uptick in Middle East risk for 20 years.”

Fordham is the founder of Fordham Global Foresight, an independent consultancy dedicated to advising boards and C-suite executives on geopolitical, socio-economic and financial risks. She joins David Merritt and Francine Lacqua on this week’s In the City to discuss the Israel-Hamas war, the resulting carnage in Gaza and how long-standing tensions between Israel and Iran are coming to a head. She also addresses what happens next and what it means for stability in the region as well as global markets. 

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The Bank of England has been placed in a difficult position by the UK government’s mini-budget, says NatWest Chairman Howard Davies. He joins David and Francine to discuss the challenges facing the central bank and explain why he believes the chaos in UK markets is not fundamentally the bank's fault. He also discusses the liquidity crisis for pension funds, the mortgage market and the unprecedented moves in the gilt market.

For a daily look at the stories that matter in the UK, sign up now for our newsletter, The Readout with Allegra Stratton:
https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/readout 

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Since her appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer in July, Rachel Reeves warned that the Autumn Budget would be full of tough measures, including steep tax hikes and spending cuts meant to address the budgetary morass left behind by the last government. Her warnings were followed by a decline in business and consumer confidence, an uptick in voluntary liquidations and even some reports of capital flight. 

Now that the budget has been revealed, Bloomberg reporter Philip Aldrick tells In the City her warnings may have undersold the historic nature of the Labour government’s first financial statement. 

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On this week’s episode of In the City, Senior Executive Editor Will Kennedy and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Javier Blas join to discuss the takeover bid that’s set the mining industry alight. We’re talking about BHP’s offer for Anglo American—how the offer came together, what happens next and what it means for the future of FTSE. 

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Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder of the billion-dollar Chobani yogurt empire, is on a mission to convince companies everywhere that helping refugees is good business. It’s the guiding principle behind his nonprofit Tent Partnership for Refugees, a global network of companies committed to integrating refugees into the labor market.

Ulukaya joins this week’s episode of In the City with hosts Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton to discuss the launch of the Tent UK coalition.

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In a conversation earlier this month, senior reporter John Stepek made a prediction: House prices in the UK will continue to fall—and fall. On this week’s episode of In the City, he joins David Merritt to give his reasoning. Stepek explains that rising interest rates and stubbornly high inflation are combining to push home prices ever downward. But that’s not the worst of it. When it comes to the most critical factor underlying the health of the UK economy, there’s a bigger threat than falling house prices, said senior reporter Philip Aldrick. It’s unemployment. The reporters also discuss their expectations for consumer spending, real wages, and the Tory government’s chance of dodging a general election in 2023. 

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Former European Union Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says the bloc is “in a sense at a crossroad.” With European Parliament elections set for June and focus turning to the far right, which is forecast to make gains, deep concern is rising for many in Europe— including Barnier. On this week’s episode of In the City, he speaks with Francine Lacqua on the sidelines of the Bank of America conference in Rome. 

Also on this episode, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Adrian Wooldridge joins to discuss Barnier’s comments. Wooldridge said he sees a surge in right-wing populism defining the European elections, and predicts it will “upend a lot of conventional wisdom of how politics should work in Europe.” 

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The pound is notoriously difficult to trade. It’s a “graveyard for G-10 traders,” says Mark Cudmore, senior macro strategist for Bloomberg’s Markets Live blog. When it comes to making calls on the British currency, he says, “people only ever lose money.”

Cudmore joins reporter Sofia Horta e Costa on this week’s In the City to try and make sense of why markets are again turning on sterling, just one year after ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss’s spending plans drove the pound to a record low.

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Former Trade Representative and Council on Foreign Relations President Michael Froman discusses what the world can expect from Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, and how Harris is breaking from Joe Biden. Hosted by Stephanie Flanders and Adrian Wooldridge. 

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Is London having another moment? Shaken by Brexit, decimated by the pandemic, threatened by new ways of working and a worsening cost-of-living crisis, London remains Europe’s (and arguably the world’s) beating heart for finance and for culture. In the wake of turmoil, the City of London is reinventing itself. Every week on In The City, Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua and David Merritt go behind the scenes in the Square Mile and the wider metropolis, uncovering the stories and speaking to the people that matter.

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A decline in growth in China may take some heat out of the global economy, helping bring down inflation. But a full stop would trigger deep recessions. Bloomberg Economics Chief Economist Tom Orlik joins this week for a conversation on what China's slowdown means for the rest of the world, and in particular the UK.

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Another week, another bank in crisis. This time it was Credit Suisse. After tense talks, UBS agreed to buy its former rival in an all-share deal worth about $3.25 billion. With the Swiss government-brokering the sale, Credit Suisse’s 166-year run came to a sudden end.

In this week’s In the City, host Francine Lacqua is joined by Bloomberg TV’s Manus Cranny, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Paul J. Davies and reporter Marion Halftermeyer to explain the bank’s fall from grace. They also discuss details of the deal, what happens next for Credit Suisse employees, the challenge facing UBS and why Chairman Colm Kelleher is the person to watch right now.  

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Skipton Group CEO Stuart Haire joins host Dave Merritt to explain where British homebuyers can get the most for their money and to discuss the latest data from Skipton’s Home Affordability Index. They also discuss the UK’s wider affordability problem for first-time buyers. 

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Skipton Group CEO Stuart Haire analyses the promises being made by Labour and the Tories when it comes to housing, and shares what direction home affordability is heading in the UK.

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In the immediate aftermath of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by members of the Minneapolis Police Department, countless companies in cities everywhere responded to the worldwide uproar and Black Lives Matter movement by pledging more diversity, equity and inclusion. Bloomberg reporter Tiwa Adebayo, who has been investigating the progress of these initiatives across London, joins In the City to explain what’s happened in the four years since. 

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The AI revolution is fast unfolding all across Wall Street. Even as banks in recent months have laid off thousands of workers and instituted hiring freezes, they nevertheless continue to pour money into artificial intelligence. But what are these financial institutions hoping to get out of their investment?

On this week’s episode of In the City, Olson is joined by Alexandra Mousavizadeh, co-founder and chief executive of consultancy Evident. Together, they break down the financial industry’s growing interest in the technology and its likely impact on productivity.

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Established in 1689, Lloyd’s of London is a marketplace housing different insurers that sell policies in the UK and around the world. Lloyd’s received more than £50 billion worth of premiums in 2024 alone.

All of this is overseen by Chief Executive Officer John Neal, who’s been in the insurance industry for more than four decades. In this episode of In the City, Neal sits down with hosts Francine Lacqua, David Merritt and Allegra Stratton to discuss the difficulties of using artificial intelligence in the insurance industry, how climate change is impacting premiums and the way in which governments can use insurance policies to protect their economies. 

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves joins Francine Lacqua for an interview on her first visit to the City of London since taking over. She warns of 'difficult decisions' ahead as she tries to fix Britain's public finances. Plus, senior reporter Phil Aldrick debriefs on their conversation. 

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It’s been a rough week for UK assets. The pound fell to its lowest level in a year, gilt yields surged and investors are losing confidence in the government’s ability to control the nation’s deficit and high borrowing costs. Why are things spiraling now?  Senior reporter Phil Aldrick joins this week’s In the City to explain. 

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The Confederation of British Industry is fighting for survival. Known for a half-century as the voice of almost 200,000 UK companies and having the ear of the government, the CBI is now in crisis. In this week’s In the City, reporter Sabah Meddings explores how a 300-employee organization that spoke out against sexual harassment is now unraveling as police investigate allegations of sexual assault.

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Adam Posen isn’t ruling out the Bank of England pushing UK interest rates as high as 7%.

The president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, Posen says the 6.25% rate investors have priced in for the end of 2023 is the level he’s been predicting for the past year. “The fact that the inflation is proving more persistent,” he says, just means “they’ll have to go higher.”

Joining David Merritt and Francine Lacqua on this week’s In the City, Posen says that—both in terms of policy and communication—the Bank of England got it wrong repeatedly throughout 2022 and into 2023. He also gives his take on the UK mortgage market meltdown—which he says doesn’t warrant a bailout. 

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The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

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When Julian Metcalfe helped launch the sandwich and coffee-chain Pret A Manger in 1986, interest rates were in the double digits and staffing was difficult, in part because full freedom of movement within the European Union was still a few years away. These days, the UK is out of the EU, the interest rate is 5%—though the Bank of England is expected to raise it.

“Everyone’s complaining about 5% and it’s the end of the world,” Metcalfe says. “Back then I remember we paid 14%.”

In this week’s In the City, Metcalfe tells hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua that the restaurant business is “incredibly difficult,” but that when you’re determined, you can make it happen. He says his current mission is to make Itsu, a fast-food chain he founded in 1997, a destination for speedy, healthy meals at low prices. 

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Francine Lacqua sat down with Allegra Stratton, Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait, Opinion Columnist Adrian Wooldridge and Head of Government and Economics Stephanie Flanders to discuss the Autumn Statement at the UnHerd club in Westminster. 

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Robert Pickering, once the chief executive of former private British investment bank Cazenove, joins to discuss his book Blue Blood: Cazenove in The Age of Global Banking and reflect on London's banking landscape. He says that competitive pay is a big problem and that “too many regulations” are getting in the way of snaring top talent. Discussing the prospect of NatWest’s retail offer, Pickering says there’s an ethical dilemma at work.

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Nobel laureate and economics professor Joseph Stiglitz joins Francine Lacqua, Allegra Stratton and Adrian Wooldridge to explain why he feels the political right has warped the true meaning of freedom.

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In 2023, Credit Suisse collapsed, shaking the foundations of the global banking establishment. But for onlookers who were aware of the lender’s numerous afflictions, it’s sudden demise was no surprise at all. From one perspective, the bank’s succession of scandals arguably started as early as its founding some 167 years ago. 

One of those observers who saw it coming was Bloomberg editor Duncan Mavin, author of Meltdown: Greed, Scandal, and the Collapse of Credit Suisse. Mavin has covered banking malfeasance for more than a decade, which in Europe necessarily involved Credit Suisse on an almost regular basis. In this episode of In The City, Mavin sits down with hosts Francine Lacqua and David Merritt to discuss his book and some of the lesser-known crises at the Swiss bank that led to its downfall. 

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They say time heals all wounds. But it seems the damage done to the UK economy by Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget last year has yet to be forgiven by investors. According to a new Bloomberg survey, about two-thirds of UK finance professionals said an outright win for Keir Starmer’s Labour Party or a Labour-led coalition would be the “most market-friendly outcome.”

Senior reporters Phil Aldrick and John Stepek join to discuss the survey and what its findings tell us about the City’s thinking heading into the next general election.

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This year is off to a sobering start as bankers keep tabs on who is losing their job. Goldman Sachs is terminating about 3,200 people, one of its biggest rounds of cuts ever. This week on In the City, hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua explore the question of whether this is just the beginning of a broader retrenchment across the financial industry. They’re joined by Bloomberg Opinion columnist Paul J. Davies, who covers banking and finance, and senior editor Tom Metcalf. 

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For centuries the London Metal Exchange has been the home of global benchmark prices for the world’s key industrial metals. But how the LME handled nickel trading in March has put its status as a City of London institution in doubt. Questions are being raised about its structure, ownership and future as lawsuits pile up and market experts forecast a mass exodus of LME members down the road. Bloomberg reporter Jack Farchy joins to unpack the long-term consequences for the exchange.

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This week, the UK government is hosting global leaders and business executives in Bletchley Park, north of London, for the first major meeting on artificial intelligence. But what exactly can Britain contribute when it comes to understanding—and managing—the future of AI?

Bloomberg technology editor Nate Lanxon, co-host of the Bloomberg Originals series AI IRL, says the UK effort to get in early on AI regulation is a smart one. He joins this week’s In the City with hosts Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton to explain why. 

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The Bank of England has found itself caught in the middle of a global divide over who will cut interest rates first—and when. Senior UK economy reporter Phil Aldrick joins David Merritt, Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton on this week’s In the City to explain the two schools of thought, and their implications.

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Capitalism as we know it isn’t really working, according to economist and author Mariana Mazzucato. Take the current concrete crisis across UK schools. For Mazzucato, that’s a case of too little being spent on the school buildings themselves. But there’s another problem: lax regulation. If we continue to weaken the rules in the name of a stronger economy, she says, we risk tragedy. 

Mazzucato, a professor in the economics of innovation and public value at University College London, joins this week’s episode of In the City to discuss the re-release of her book, The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths. The book has been credited with provoking widespread debate about the role of government in innovation.

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Francine Lacqua sits down with Dan Hanson, chief UK economist at Bloomberg Economics, to discuss how tariffs on the EU would complicate its relationship with the UK, and how the UK is bracing for tit-for-tat tariff policies. 

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The end of lockdown restrictions had the UK travel industry breathing a sigh of relief. But even after being given the green light, hopeful travelers were left grounded at airports across the country. And that smell? Not freshly cooked paella... but the pile of uncollected luggage festering at Heathrow's Terminal 2. With cancellations, delays, lost baggage and strikes likely to last all summer, David and Francine explore how Britain's unique brand of travel chaos is affecting the business person's attitude toward travel. Has the ease and reliability of remote working rendered work trips obsolete?

The hosts divide and conquer this episode, as Francine's been whisked away for a business trip to Rome, and had her own helping of disruption. She speaks to Paul Charles, chief executive officer of The PC agency and former director of communications of Virgin Atlantic, to find out what's behind all this turmoil. Plus, Martin Ferguson, vice president of communications and public affairs at American Express Global Business Travel, tells David why he thinks business travel is here to stay and what the next leader of the Conservative party needs to do to end the turbulence.

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Last weekend, Bloomberg revealed that activist investor Elliott Investment Management had built a large stake in BP Plc. BP shares climbed as the news broke, perhaps attributable to the fact that Elliott has a track record of driving significant change within companies. Investors may also see this as a timely intervention, given BP’s performance has slumped over the past few years, relative to its competitors. 

On this week’s In The City, hosts Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton sit down with Bloomberg’s Aaron Kirchfeld to discuss the potential geopolitical ramifications of Elliott’s move, why BP’s poor performance over the last few years made a takeover more likely and how the shift away from net-zero, despite the accelerating climate crisis, has facilitated such a move. 

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Misinformation and disinformation generated by artificial intelligence was near the top of the World Economic Forum’s report on global threats this year. But it’s not just AI that’s the culprit — it’s also “politicians willing to exploit, distribution patterns over social networks, the capacities of media organizations to verify." 

Azeem Azhar, creator of the Exponential View, a platform dedicated to in-depth technology analysis and Saadia Zahidi, managing director at the WEF, join hosts Francine Lacqua and David Merritt in Davos to discuss the risk that AI poses to the global order--and why its impact is in our hands. 

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In a special edition of Voternomics, the former CEO of Legal & General Nigel Wilson urges the new UK government to be bold and act fast. He speaks with host Stephanie Flanders and Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait.

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This summer, we bring you the Voternomics Summer Reading List. First up, a conversation between Stephanie Flanders and author and journalist Anne Applebaum about her latest book Autocracy, Inc: The Dictators Who Want to Run The World. 

She says a network of dictators from China to Venezuela could be the beneficiaries of a welcoming White House should Donald Trump win the US election come November and warns that the self-proclaimed dealmaker and convicted felon’s foreign policy may be more personal and even less predictable in a second term. 

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Abrdn Chairman Douglas Flint joins this week to explain why he thinks the new government needs to build up transportation and education. Senior reporter Phil Aldrick also joins to discuss the sort of economy Labour will inherit if it wins this week's election. Hosted by Stephanie Flanders, Adrian Wooldridge, and Allegra Stratton. 

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The tide is turning in the UK jobs market. Earlier this year, a shortage of skilled workers meant employees had the upper hand. But with more indicators pointing toward a recession, inflation on the rise and the cost of living crisis starting to bite, we ask is the UK job market succumbing to economic reality?

David Merritt speaks to James Reed, Chairman and CEO of Reed UK, Britain's largest recruitment company, who says the rate at which vacancies have been increasing has slowed down. He also explains why the company's data doesn't paint such a bleak picture. Plus, Tom Metcalf, who heads Bloomberg's finance coverage in London, discusses the outlook for City jobs. 

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Anthony Scaramucci, a Wall Street veteran and former communications director in Donald Trump’s White House, joins Francine Lacqua and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Adrian Wooldridge on this week’s In the City to explain why he thinks a second Trump presidency would be “dangerous.” He also talks about why he isn’t voting for his former boss and why he doesn’t think the majority of Americans will either.

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Bloomberg Opinion columnist Parmy Olson joins Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton to explain what DeepSeek’s surprise innovation means for the UK and everyone else. 

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On this week’s In the City, we discuss the immediate questions around replacing Ebrahim Raisi and how that may affect Iran’s relationship with Saudi Arabia. Bloomberg regional news director Rosalind Mathieson joins hosts David Merritt, Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton to discuss these thorny issues.

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Are the bulls about to return to Britain? Positive outlooks for UK equities are breaking through the clouds. London Stock Exchange Chief Executive Julia Hoggett says it’s about time. Hoggett also discusses executive pay, saying the UK’s restrictions are hindering companies’ efforts to recruit top talent and undermining a push to make the City of London more appealing to businesses post-Brexit.

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Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt ripped up what was left of Prime Minister Liz Truss’s controversial economic program. Is that enough to restore confidence in the UK? Jonathan Goldstein, the chief executive officer of Cain International and co-owner of Chelsea FC, tells David and Francine that as long as Truss is prime minister, Britain will continue to look "uninvestable." Plus, Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait on Truss's battle to survive.

For a daily look at the stories that matter in the UK, sign up now for our newsletter, The Readout with Allegra Stratton:
https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/readout 

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What do rising incomes and interest rates mean for residential and commercial markets across Britain? Senior reporters John Stepek and Jack Sidders, as well as Sue Munden, a senior property analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, join with answers. 

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London’s economy is in trouble. Just ask a taxi driver—or their boss. Liam Griffin is chief executive of Addison Lee, a London-based private hire cab and courier company. On this episode of In the City, he explains how his company’s performance is a reflection of the City’s economic health. Plus, reporter Helen Chandler-Wilde unpacks London's traffic problem. 

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In her first major speech as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves laid out the new Labour government’s plan to spur private investment. On this week’s episode of In the City, hosts David Merritt, Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton talk with reporter Joes Mayes about the details behind the blueprint and whether Reeves and her boss, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, have what they need to pull it off. 

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David Merritt and Francine Lacqua speak to reporter Joe Mayes about Bloomberg's Levelling Up scorecard, and why the data shows that despite the government's pledge to reduce regional inequalities--London is still ahead.

Plus, Nigel Wilson, chief executive of one of Britain's biggest financial services companies Legal & General tells us why he's an advocate for levelling up--and why it's a smart investment strategy.

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“Silicon Valley Bank was a darling of the industry. So clearly it was a very dramatic weekend.”

Bloomberg Wall Street reporter Sonali Basak’s observation leads off this bonus episode of In the City, where she joins fellow reporter Mark Bergen and hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua to unpack the shocking collapse of SVB, the biggest failure of a US bank since 2008, and what happens now.

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British entrepreneur Nick Candy is best known for working alongside his brother Christian to create One Hyde Park, a residential development in London’s exclusive Knightsbridge district and home to some of the world’s richest people. When sales opened in 2007, the building was smashing world per-square-foot price records. In this week’s episode of In the City, Candy tells David Merritt and Francine Lacqua that his next project in Dubai will beat those records. 

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Brexit was never going to be easy -- we just haven’t really tried yet. That’s the view of prominent UK economist Gerard Lyons, who tells Francine Lacqua and David Merritt that he remains bullish on Brexit in the long run. Lyons is chief economic strategist at Netwealth and a former adviser to House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt. On this episode of In the City, he argues the City is still “pretty-well placed” after Brexit. Political crises since 2016, however, have prevented opportunities from being seized, he says.

Plus, senior reporter Harry Wilson explains whether the investment insights of a newsletter promoted by Nigel Farage could pay off. The answer? Not so much. 

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Standard Chartered’s Bill Winters joins David Merritt and Francine Lacqua to talk climate finance, the UK’s Autumn Budget, and European M&A from the United Nations General Assembly. 

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Rishi Sunak is calling for the proceeds from frozen Russian assets to go to Ukraine. But concerns have been raised over whether such a maneuver would be legal. Stephanie Baker, a senior reporter on Bloomberg’s investigations team, joins to explain how “financial engineering” can address that.

Check out Stephanie Baker's upcoming book Punishing Putin: 
https://rb.gy/34qik3

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Will the UK economy rally, stall or dive in 2024? What will British house prices do? Where is inflation heading and has the Bank of England interest rate peaked at 5.25%?

On the last 2023 episode of In the City, senior reporters Phil Aldrick and John Stepek join host Francine Lacqua to answer those questions and share their outlook for the UK economy next year. 

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Editor Katherine Griffiths and reporter Ben Stupples join to discuss the growing number of the UK's ultra-wealthy people considering an exit, what's driving them away and why the government should care.

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The UK retail industry is having a difficult time of it. And when it comes to some high street brands, that’s an understatement. Similar to the US and Europe, retailers across Britain are dealing with soaring borrowing costs, shrinking savings accounts and a cost-of-living crisis that’s limiting consumer spending. This means more retailers may soon be on the brink of insolvency.

In this week’s episode of In the City, hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua are joined by reporters Katie Linsell and Giulia Morpurgo, who discuss big names that have already gone bust—like Matalan and Paperchase—and others that may be at risk.  Plus, reporter Leigh-Ann Gerrans gives a tour of the retail scene around the City. 

Get The Brink newsletter, chronicling corporate distress and turnaround stories. Sign up now: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/the-brink 

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We know we've said this before, but really, truly it is a big week for Britain. The Bank of England decision on Thursday and the chancellor's fiscal statement on Friday---a particularly high stakes moment. It offers a taste of the Truss-Kwarteng economic vision. But the question looming--what promises in the mini-budget will come to fruition? And will the messages from the BoE and the government this week feel joined up?

In this week's In the City, Legal & General CEO Nigel Wilson joins David Merritt and Bloomberg finance editor Katherine Griffiths to discuss what business leaders need to hear -- and whether any of it matters if they can't deliver. Plus, Bloomberg Opinion's Marcus Ashworth joins David and Francine Lacqua to discuss some headline-grabbing policies that might be coming (think scrapping bonus caps)--and whether Kwarteng's all systems go approach is winning anyone over.

Get more insights from Allegra Stratton by subscribing to her newsletter The Readout.

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Hear Francine's full interview with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. They discuss his plan for the economy, cutting taxes, election timing, and the situation in the Middle East. 

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“Nice people become horrible people” during an election year, says Richard Harrington. But as the ex-Tory minister who recently led a government review of the UK’s approach to attracting foreign investment, he adds that he hopes his recommendations will be embraced by Labour and Conservatives, rather than being “sucked into” a political fight. 

On this week’s episode of In the City, Harrington joins Francine Lacqua and Allegra Stratton to discuss why the UK’s attractiveness as an investment destination has faded. A former parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Harrington complains the government is “old fashioned” and disorganized.

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Welcome to the first episode of Voternomics. On this podcast, Stephanie Flanders, Bloomberg’s head of government and economics coverage, Allegra Stratton, author of Bloomberg’s The Readout newsletter and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Adrian Wooldridge discuss how voters have the opportunity to affect markets, countries and economies like never before. Historian Niall Ferguson and Bloomberg Washington reporter Nancy Cook join our hosts to give their take on this unique moment in time.

Ferguson explains why he believes the 2024 US presidential election isn’t about foreign policy, why Donald Trump is using his 2016 campaign strategy and why the second Cold War is escalating faster than the first. 

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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 stories around the world.     

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Bad actors using machine-learning, generative artificial intelligence and the power of digital networks are seeding ever-more distrust in democracy, warns Audrey Tang, former digital affairs minister for Taiwan. Tang joins this week’s episode of Voternomics to discuss the risk of foreign interference in the many elections happening around the world, as well as lessons learned while combating efforts to distort the political debate in Taiwan. 

Plus, Bloomberg political correspondent Nancy Cook discusses the latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult polling which reveals the unease voters feel around the US election—from misinformation to political violence and foreign interference.

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The biggest threat to Vladimir Putin’s grip on Russia in his almost quarter-century of rule has huge implications for the oil market. But dissecting the precise impact of last weekend’s mercenary mutiny is difficult, according to Bloomberg Opinion columnist Javier Blas. On this week’s In the City, Blas explains the bearish case and the bullish case. He also on his conversations with the central banking community in Sintra, Portugal at the ECB Forum. 

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The global elite gathered in Davos this week but the conversation centered on Trump back in DC. Businessweek Editor Brad Stone joins Francine Lacqua and Dave Merritt on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum to make sense of the Stargate announcement, the Elon Musk-Sam Altman spat and when the alliance between Big Tech and Trump could sour. They also discuss pessimism about Europe and why everyone at Davos is talking about Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek.

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Rishi Sunak is the latest leader headed to Israel. The Gaza hospital attack “should be a watershed moment for leaders in the region and across the world to come together to avoid further dangerous escalation of conflict,” the UK PM said.

But how likely are efforts by Sunak, Biden and other Western leaders to prevent the conflict, which in just 11 days has killed thousands on both sides, from escalating?

In this week’s In the City, hosts Francine Lacqua, David Merritt and Allegra Stratton are joined by Bloomberg news director Rosalind Mathieson to try and tackle that question. 

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On this special edition of Voternomics, we discuss the possible reasoning behind the Conservative’s decision to gamble on an earlier-than-expected vote. 

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From the Paris Bureau, host Stephanie Flanders speaks with Jean-Claude Trichet, former European Central Bank president and Bank of France governor, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Lionel Laurent, and Eleonora Mavroeidi, an economist for Bloomberg Economics, to debrief on the election results.

"The worst has been avoided," says Trichet, but now France must embark on a "very complex maturing process."

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