Prospera is a city-state operated by a private company on the Honduran island of Roatan. It offers businesses single-digit tax rates and the ability to choose their own regulations. Its proponents have touted it as a poverty relief initiative for the country and as the most ambitious experiment in self-governance ever undertaken. But that dream is now facing an existential crisis. A little more than a decade after Honduras changed its constitution to allow for places like Prospera, a new politic...
Feb 17, 2025•20 min
This Valentine’s Day, as many as 13 million more Americans are single than before the pandemic. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg reporter Ben Steverman shares what he’s learned about the cause of this love slump and how it’s taking a toll on Americans’ hearts and on the US economy. And host Sarah Holder meets a group of singles taking matters into their own hands. Read more: The Covid Pandemic Left an Extra 13 Million Americans Single See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Feb 14, 2025•15 min
President Trump’s attacks on a key international aid agency, USAID, has left its work frozen and kicked off a fierce legal battle between his administration and US courts over its future. On today’s Big Take DC podcast, we hear from Bloomberg’s Simon Marks and health care workers on the ground in Nairobi about how the fight playing out more than 7,000 miles away is affecting HIV treatment there. And national security editor Nick Wadhams explains why Trump has taken aim at USAID and what a guttin...
Feb 13, 2025•17 min
Intel invented computer processors and was a dominant supplier of chips for decades. Now AI is fuelling record demand for next-generation chips. But Bloomberg’s Ian King says Intel is no longer the go-to partner for the global tech industry, and the company is at risk of disappearing. What went wrong? Today on the show: The rise and fall of Intel, and where it could go from here. Read Ian King’s coverage of Intel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Feb 12, 2025•18 min
As US President Donald Trump imposes new tariffs on China, Xi Jinping's government has had a far more muted response than it did during the trade war in Trump’s first term. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha is joined by Bloomberg editor Jenni Marsh and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Shuli Ren to unpack China’s response to Trump’s barrage of tariffs and discuss what’s at risk for both countries if they find themselves in another trade war. Read more: China’s Mr. Big Won’t Cave In to ...
Feb 11, 2025•18 min
Financial markets in Europe have long been fragmented and constrained, driving home-grown startups to list and raise capital in the US. Now, Europe is trying to reverse the trend. Can it hold onto innovative firms — and talent? Today on the show, host Sarah Holder talks to Bloomberg’s Sagarika Jaisinghani about why location matters so much for startups and what Europe’s challenges mean for the region’s economic outlook. Read more: Broken Markets Hold Back Europe as Trump Amps Up the Pressure See...
Feb 10, 2025•16 min
It’s bonus season on Wall Street. But if you work for a bank, you know that the number you’re quoted is almost never the number you get when it comes time for that bonus to pay out. On today’s Big Take podcast, global finance reporter Laura Noonan shares what she learned by crunching the numbers on which banks deliver more or less than they promised. Read more: How Much Your Wall Street Bonus Is Really Worth See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Feb 07, 2025•11 min
Nine days after his swearing in, Scott Bessent sat down with Big Take DC host Saleha Mohsin at the US Treasury Department. They discussed topics in his purview dominating the headlines — Elon Musk’s DOGE efforts, tariffs — and his plans for taxes, trade, the Fed and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 06, 2025•22 min
Silicon Valley tech leaders have been brimming with optimism in recent years about the future of artificial intelligence — and investors have bet big on the transformational power of the technology. Then last week, China’s DeepSeek emerged as a disruptive force and the value of Nvidia Corp. fell by half a trillion dollars. More than ever, investors are wondering about whether big bets on AI will pay off in the long run. Bloomberg Economics Chief Economist Tom Orlik sees three cases for how AI co...
Feb 05, 2025•14 min
Trump says the president should be able to decide how to spend taxpayer money – not Congress. Part of his plan? Impoundment: A controversial maneuver that could wrest control of trillions of dollars in federal spending away from Congress. Bloomberg politics reporter Gregory Korte joins Big Take DC host Saleha Mohsin to explain what impoundment is, the pushback against Trump’s efforts and how the battle over its legality could play out. Is there an idea in the news that you want explained? Email ...
Feb 04, 2025•14 min
Is it a trade war or is it whiplash? On Saturday, President Trump announced new 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods. On Sunday, he said tariffs were coming for the European Union, too. The tariffs were initially supposed to take effect at 12:01 am Tuesday morning eastern time, but since that weekend announcement, the tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods have been delayed for one month. Meanwhile, the tariffs on Chinese goods are proceedin...
Feb 03, 2025•18 min
Shuibei, in southern China, is home to one of the world's biggest retail markets for gold. Over the past year, it's seen a boom in demand for the jewelry, sold by thousands of stallholders, as the Chinese property crisis and slowing economy spurred a flight into gold. So much so that Chinese consumers helped propel the global gold price to record highs in 2024. On today's Big Take Asia podcast, K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg's Chongjing Li about the enduring appeal of the precious metal in China,...
Jan 31, 2025•13 min
On Wednesday, the Navajo Nation and the mining company, Energy Fuels Inc., announced a new agreement detailing how uranium could be transported through tribal lands. The agreement ends a stalemate between the two parties. And it comes at a time when interest in nuclear energy — and the cost of the uranium that fuels it — is surging. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Jacob Lorinc joins host Sarah Holder to break down the painful history of uranium mining in the Navajo Nation and what the d...
Jan 30, 2025•16 min
It’s been a tough stretch for Boeing. Its new CEO Kelly Ortberg is trying to rebuild public trust and turn the company’s finances around, all while navigating pressure from President Trump to deliver new Air Force One jets and working with the founder of one of Boeing’s chief rivals, Elon Musk. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg senior aerospace reporter Julie Johnsson joins host David Gura to explain the turbulent road ahead for the US planemaker. Read More: Elon Musk’s Air Force One Scruti...
Jan 29, 2025•13 min
Chrystia Freeland sent shockwaves through Canada when she resigned as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Finance Minister in December. Her public resignation letter blasted Trudeau for not doing enough to prepare for the second Trump administration. Now, she’s running to replace him. Freeland sat down with Big Take host David Gura in Toronto on Tuesday to discuss her views on US-Canada trade, and how she says she would negotiate with Trump if she becomes Canada’s next leader. See omnystudio.com/lis...
Jan 28, 2025•34 min
The AI chatbot from DeepSeek, a Chinese company, rocketed to the top of US app stores over the weekend — and sent US tech shares plummeting Monday morning. The US has been trying to choke off China’s access to cutting-edge AI chips, but DeepSeek claims it’s still managed to develop tech that rivals ChatGPT and its competitors at a fraction of the cost. Today on the show, Bloomberg’s Jackie Davalos on what DeepSeek’s models can do, why they’ve sent tech stocks tumbling — and what kind of pressure...
Jan 27, 2025•17 min
Zyn nicotine pouches hit the market as a run-of-the-mill tobacco-replacement product, but over the past few years, they’ve gone viral thanks to so-called “Zynfluencers”: content creators who post about Zyn. They’re not paid by Zyn’s parent company Philip Morris, and while the online hype has likely helped sales, it also presents risks for the tobacco giant. Today on the show, Bloomberg Businessweek writer Ellen Huet joins host Sarah Holder to discuss what could become an existential question: Ca...
Jan 24, 2025•17 min
As President Trump and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon require workers to come back to the office full-time, the costs and benefits of remote versus in-office work are still up for debate. Bloomberg’s work and management editor Heather Landy says many CEOs are at odds with their employees and what they want. On today’s Big Take podcast, Landy joins host David Gura to explain what’s behind the return-to-office trend and how US workers feel about it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 23, 2025•14 min
With Donald Trump back in the White House, global business leaders attending the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland this week seem to be falling into line with the US president’s “America First” agenda. Today on the show, host David Gura talks to Bloomberg’s Ted Mann about Trump’s influence over Davos, and the CEOs who missed the opening of the conference — including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg — but had front-row seats at his inauguration. Read more: ‘Whic...
Jan 22, 2025•14 min
The US ban on TikTok saw millions of users – predominantly Americans – flock to another Chinese social media platform: Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote. So far, the vibe between Chinese and American users has been convivial. But can the good times last? On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha is joined by a TikTok user from Mississippi who recently joined RedNote and by Bloomberg reporter Gao Yuan to discuss what this sudden influx means for the app, its users and China’s censorship ...
Jan 21, 2025•18 min
On Monday at the US Capitol, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th American President. He then took to the podium to make his inaugural address and, shortly after, gave a rally-style speech for his supporters. Today on the show, Washington, DC bureau chief Peggy Collins joins host Sarah Holder to discuss what Trump’s first remarks say about his priorities for the next four years. Read more: Trump Inaugural Speech Vows ‘Golden Age’ to Reverse US Decline See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...
Jan 21, 2025•19 min
In his final month as the United States’ chief diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken raced around the globe, responding to conflicts in the Middle East and the latest developments in the war in Ukraine. During a stop in New York, he sat down with host David Gura to talk about how he is preparing to hand over the country’s sprawling foreign policy portfolio to the incoming Trump administration. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 18, 2025•18 min
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been a fixture in the economic policy world for decades. She was President Clinton’s chief economic adviser, a Federal Reserve governor and served as Fed Chair under President Obama. As her tenure at Treasury comes to an end, Yellen sits down with host David Gura to discuss the possibility of additional sanctions on Russian oil and communication between the US and China, and she reflects on her long career as a pioneering economic policymaker. See omnystudio.c...
Jan 18, 2025•18 min
Gary Gensler’s tenure as Wall Street’s top regulator is coming to an end, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission chair is reflecting on his time at the agency. In an interview with host David Gura, Gensler responds to his critics, discusses his concerns about AI, China and crypto — and shares the advice he gave President-elect Trump’s pick to replace him. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 18, 2025•17 min
The relentless rise in government bond yields has Wall Street worried. Higher treasury yields can impact borrowing costs on everything from mortgage rates to auto loans. Today on the show, host David Gura talks to Bloomberg’s Liz McCormick about why bond yields have been climbing, and what the consequences could be for consumers, markets and the economy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 17, 2025•18 min
Scott Bessent is President-Elect Trump’s pick to be the treasury secretary, a role that spans oversight of the $28 trillion market for US government debt to economic sanctions. Today on the show, Big Take DC’s Saleha Mohsin joins host David Gura to discuss the tightrope act that landed Bessent the nomination: winning over both MAGA and Wall Street. Read more: How Scott Bessent Won Over MAGA and Wall Street See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 16, 2025•15 min
After 15 months of a grueling war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, Israel and Hamas agreed to phase one of a ceasefire deal on Wednesday. The agreement will create a pause in fighting that will allow critical aid to reach Gaza, and begin an exchange of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. But the next phases of negotiations are expected to be more complicated — and it’s unclear if this pause in fighting will hold. On today’s Big Take podcast, Israel bureau ...
Jan 16, 2025•19 min
A record 600,000 people traveled to South Korea for medical procedures in 2023, with roughly half of those visiting dermatology and plastic surgery clinics. On today's Big Take Asia Podcast, host Rebecca Choong Wilkins talks to Bloomberg's Oanh Ha about the rise of the medical tourism industry, and how it’s colliding with a shrinking supply of doctors and a struggling medical system. Further listening: Netflix’s Big Bet On ‘Squid Game’ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 14, 2025•15 min
The US Supreme Court is set to rule on TikTok’s fate this week. The social media platform is in court challenging a law that would force its Chinese parent company ByteDance into a sale or face a US TikTok ban. After hearing oral arguments for and against the ban, the Supreme Court appears poised to uphold it. It would go into effect on Sunday. But incoming President Donald Trump will be sworn in the following day, and could scramble whatever decision is reached this week. Legal editor Sara Ford...
Jan 13, 2025•14 min
Gary Gensler’s tenure as Wall Street’s top regulator is coming to an end, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission chair is reflecting on his time at the agency. In an interview with host David Gura, Gensler responds to his critics, discusses his concerns about AI, China and crypto — and shares the advice he gave President-elect Trump’s pick to replace him. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 10, 2025•16 min
