Fortnite may be the biggest video-game phenomenon with more than 200 million registered players. It's also a good place to start if you want to understand globalization -- and the new directions the global economy is taking today. In the premiere episode of Stephanomics, hosted by Bloomberg Economics head Stephanie Flanders, reporter Shawn Donnan explains how Fortnite has not only bypassed the U.S.-China trade war, but is also a key example of what's happening in the new digital economy. Then St...
Apr 04, 2019•26 min
Stephanie Flanders, Bloomberg's head of economics, takes you on location each week to bring the global economy to life. From Asia's factories to Brazil's ports and America's hospital corridors, Stephanomics delivers on-the-ground reporting from the Bloomberg Economics team around the world and talks with experts for analysis of hot topics. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 28, 2019•2 min
Stephanie Flanders, Bloomberg's senior executive editor for economics, has some exciting news about what's coming in the Benchmark feed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 20, 2019•57 sec
On this new show from Bloomberg, hosts Francesca Levy and Rebecca Greenfield navigate the productivity industry by way of their own experiences. In each episode, one of the two becomes a human guinea pig as she tries to solve a specific work-related problem. Using the advice of so-called productivity experts, the duo tackles obstacles like ineffective to-do lists, overflowing inboxes and unruly meetings. Follow along with their attempts, insights and missteps, and maybe find a solution that will...
Jan 08, 2019•3 min
Most U.S. economic data, such as jobs and consumer spending, is based not on actual data, but on surveys of Americans and businesses. What if you could look at every single purchase that people make, or peek at the bank accounts of every small business? The JPMorgan Chase Institute is trying to do just that -- using the bank's vast customer data -- and sniff out trends in the economy that are invisible in the official numbers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 29, 2018•28 min
Wildfires and hurricanes are causing increasing destruction, part of how climate change is reshaping economies around the world. There are also business and investment opportunities in dealing with the effects -- though you may have to think in the very long term. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 22, 2018•21 min
With power-shifting elections, emerging-market turbulence and a trade war making waves, how does it all add up for the world economy in 2019? Catherine Mann, chief global economist at Citigroup, joins Benchmark for a tour of major economies including the U.S., China and Japan, highlighting what's going to be OK, what's not, and why it's wrong to think of "emerging markets" as their own entity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 15, 2018•31 min
Look beyond headlines on unemployment and job creation and you'll see a bigger transformation. The global market for labor was boosted for three decades by a handful of historical flukes now going into reverse. Robots everywhere, including China, will be at the forefront of this change, says Andrew Schwedel, a partner at Bain & Co. He tells Bloomberg Opinion's Daniel Moss and Scott Lanman of Bloomberg News why the era of plentiful labor is ending. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...
Nov 08, 2018•22 min
What’s the most sure-fire way to get a flight upgrade? How can you find the best, secret local restaurants by asking just one question? What's the first thing you should do when you get into a hotel room? On Bloomberg's new podcast Travel Genius, we'll give you those answers—and plenty more—as hosts Nikki Ekstein and Mark Ellwood quiz the world’s most experienced globetrotters for their tried-and-true travel hacks. Listen weekly, and even your work trips will go from a necessary evil to an exper...
Nov 07, 2018•2 min
Where does a medical cure come from? 100 years ago, it wasn't uncommon for scientists to test medicines by taking a dose themselves. As medical technologies get cheaper and more accessible, patients and DIY tinkerers are trying something similar—and mainstream medicine is racing to catch up. Prognosis explores the leading edge of medical advances, and asks who gets—or should get—access to them. We look at how innovation happens, when it fails, and what it means to the people with a disease tryin...
Nov 02, 2018•2 min
Paul Volcker made his mark as the inflation-defeating chairman of the Federal Reserve. Now at age 91, he's just published a new memoir called "Keeping At It." His collaborator happens to be Bloomberg Markets editor Christine Harper, who shares the inside story of what it was like to work with him. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 01, 2018•31 min
The housing market is one of the few sectors of the U.S. economy that isn't sharing in the recent pickup in growth. Purchases are slowing down, builders aren't building so much, and some people are even reluctant to post their properties for sale. Scott Lanman digs into the details with Bloomberg reporter Prashant Gopal and Bloomberg economist Yelena Shulyatyeva. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 25, 2018•20 min
Bloomberg’s head of economics Stephanie Flanders calls on Bloomberg's worldwide network of reporters and expert commentators to cast a fresh eye on looming challenges for the world economy which affect us all. This 6 part podcast combines on the ground reporting with expert discussion on the future of cities, finance and technology, trade, global governance and making growth more inclusive. It's the start of a global conversation on how to confront these issues which will continue in Singapore i...
Oct 24, 2018•2 min
In the final episode of our special series on China's Belt and Road initiative, we go to Europe to learn more about how that continent is involved with the giant infrastructure project. Bloomberg reporter Tom Mackensie takes us to a sprawling port in Athens dubbed the "Dragon's Head," and run by China in partnership with Costco; and then to a small town in Germany that is being transformed by the project. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Oct 23, 2018•14 min
The creation story of the first exchange-traded fund is actually the best way to understand how they work. And it's not just educational, it's entertaining. Like the PC and the MP3, the story of the creation of SPY -- which turned 30 this year -- is full of characters, twists and turns, and subplots. In the end, the product launched an industry that's reshaping not just investing but the entire financial ecosystem. This six-episode miniseries will weave together interviews with the founding fath...
Oct 19, 2018•2 min
Why do some emerging markets consistently succeed while others flame out? Anu Madgavkar, partner at McKinsey Global Institute, shares the secret sauce with Bloomberg Opinion's Daniel Moss. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 18, 2018•19 min
Don't fret too much about tariffs and trade deficits. The real competition between the U.S. and China will be in artificial intelligence and data, says Kai-Fu Lee, author of "AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley and the New World Order." Lee explores who wins in this struggle for influence, and how it affects workers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 11, 2018•22 min
In the third episode of this four-part series on China's Belt and Road initiative, we look at Kenya and how Chinese investment in cargo and commuter railways between Mombasa and Nairobi is impacting economic development in the region. Bloomberg TV producer Rosalind Chin and series host David Tweed discuss how strengthening ties between these two countries may play out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 09, 2018•18 min
The job numbers are strong and GDP growth looks great, but is it really the "best economy" in U.S. history as President Donald Trump says? Robert Gordon, a Northwestern University professor and author of the 2016 book “The Rise and Fall of American Growth,'' dives into the history and discusses what's not so great about the current situation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 04, 2018•20 min
For all the current strength of American economy, the country lacks the economic clout to bend the world to its liking. The U.S. lacks a foreign policy that truly reflects the shift in commercial gravity toward Asia, says Jeffrey Sachs, one of the world's most prominent economists. Sachs tells Bloomberg Opinion's Daniel Moss and Bloomberg News's Scott Lanman that it's time for a new brand of statecraft to match the retreat in U.S. economic muscle. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...
Sep 27, 2018•26 min
In the second of this four-part series on China's Belt and Road initiative, we talk to Haslinda Amin, who hosts the second episode of Bloomberg's TV series on the initiative and has traveled extensively through Southeast and Central Asia for the project. She looks at the complex ways countries in the region view China's sprawling infrastructure investment. India, for example, has one of the world's largest rail networks, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has committed in excess of 3 b...
Sep 25, 2018•15 min
Can South America's largest economy get any worse? It may all depend on the outcome of next month's presidential election in Brazil. The campaign has already seen its share of drama, and investors are spooked about a return to heavy government intervention in the economy that could see banks forced to offer cheap credit. Scott Lanman and Daniel Moss discuss the election with Bloomberg editor Bruce Douglas in Brasilia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Sep 20, 2018•21 min
The force of the trade war unleashed by Donald Trump goes beyond peeved farmers and pricier gadgets. The entire economic model of modern corporations is up for grabs, just as China is undergoing a huge internal shift that's likely to upend supply chains. Frances Lim of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts shares with Daniel Moss of Bloomberg Opinion her conclusions from a recent trip to the epicenter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Sep 13, 2018•22 min
As a special bonus, we’re bringing Benchmark listeners the first peek at a four-part series on China’s Belt and Road Initiative. President Xi Jinping calls it the project of the century: a massive infrastructure spending program that hopes to enhance trade and connectivity throughout Eurasia. Through a networks of projects that span the transportation, finance, telecom and power industries, the economic corridors and maritime roads that span Eurasia could fundamentally change the dynamics of glo...
Sep 10, 2018•15 min
The auto industry is being buffeted from all sides. Consumer tastes have shifted, forcing manufacturers to retool product lines. President Donald Trump is threatening tariffs on imported autos. And the move toward electric vehicles and autonomous cars could have profound implications for our world. Ellen Hughes-Cromwick of the University of Michigan, a former chief economist at Ford and the Commerce Department, discusses these topics with Bloomberg's Scott Lanman. See omnystudio.com/listener for...
Sep 06, 2018•23 min
Economic divisions in the U.S. brought an end to World War II as much as the atomic bombs. On the anniversary of Japan's surrender, historian Marc Gallicchio explains how bitter fights between business, unions and Congress marred the final months of the conflict. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 30, 2018•21 min
Why do so many Americans ignore their hip pocket? Portions of the country where citizens are increasingly dependent on government programs, like Kentucky, have become the most conservative. This transformation in the nation's economics and politics goes beyond Donald Trump; some of the most anti-government lawmakers come from Kentucky. Cornell University's Suzanne Mettler discusses this paradox with Scott Lanman of Bloomberg News and Daniel Moss of Bloomberg Opinion. See omnystudio.com/listener ...
Aug 23, 2018•23 min
Turkey's currency plunged this month after President Donald Trump stepped up economic sanctions in a dispute over a detained pastor. It was already going downhill after the nation's leader vowed to shun the traditional playbook of dealing with soaring inflation. And global investors are spooked. Onur Ant, a reporter for Bloomberg in Turkey, discusses the situation and how we got here with Scott Lanman. Note: This episode was recorded on Tuesday, Aug. 14. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...
Aug 16, 2018•15 min
Bitcoin was recently called a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster by one of the world's leading authorities on finance and economics. But underneath that sensational description, cryptocurrencies are saddled with underlying technological flaws that will likely prevent them from living up to the hype or merely becoming a more commonly used currency. Hyun Song Shin, head of research at the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland, discusses the topic with...
Aug 09, 2018•22 min
It's not tastebuds or the latest fetish at trendy health food stores that's driving the boom in bug gastronomy. Broad economic forces like climate change and population growth mean insects and grubs are appearing on more menus around the world. Bloomberg's Agnieszka de Sousa talks with Scott and Dan about how little critters can avert a food crisis, while Olympia Yarger talks about her bug-food startup. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 02, 2018•25 min