The Big View

Reuters Breakingviews columnists tap their best contacts to explore the biggest issues driving business and markets today. Every Tuesday, Global Editor Peter Thal Larsen and his team tackle a pressing question with a senior executive, financier, policymaker, or other expert. The Big View helps you understand what is going on, explore all sides of the argument, and think about what happens next.

[For previous The Exchange podcast users, we didn't want to leave you hanging so we've decided to repurpose this feed for the launch of The Big View podcast. You can still find the legacy episodes below marked under the old title]

News
101
Australia’s investing giant is taking on the world
Inflation and rate hikes made for a tough first year atop AustralianSuper for Paul Schroder. In this week’s Exchange podcast, he lays out his plan to quadruple the country’s largest pension manager in size by expanding abroad, learning from peers and targeting private equity.
48 min
102
Thoma Bravo is riding the tech downturn
Tech valuations are in freefall amid a darkening economic picture, leaving private equity buyers to sift through the wreckage. In this episode of The Exchange podcast, Thoma Bravo managing partner Seth Boro explains how his firm is navigating the market shift.
26 min
103
ESG is more of a muddle than a fiddle
Environmental, social and governance investing is under the spotlight. In this episode of The Exchange podcast, Bridgewater’s sustainable finance gurus Karen Karniol-Tambour and Carsten Stendevad explain how ESG’s main problem is a lack of clarity over its goals.
40 min
104
GSK’s bid to dominate longer-life HIV drugs
Deborah Waterhouse and Dr Kimberly Smith have spent decades battling the deadly virus. In this edition of The Exchange podcast, the leaders of the British drug giant discuss breakthroughs in the $26 bln market and how Gilead is also making a play for the growing sector.
28 min
105
Hong Kong’s last governor on dealing with China
Chris Patten was Britain’s top representative in the colony before its handover 25 years ago. In this edition of The Exchange podcast he talks about his newly published diaries, businesses sucking up to the People’s Republic, and whether the West will defend international rules.
34 min
106
Pete Stavros and his equity-for-all quest
The KKR partner started the non-profit Ownership Works to help companies grant stock to entire workforces. He discusses the resistance, the success stories, and an ambitious plan to create $100 bln of wealth for employees on this episode of The Exchange podcast.
36 min
107
How Brooks ran into Warren Buffett’s arms
The athletic-shoe company nearly expired while trying to compete with Nike and Adidas. Then Jim Weber stepped in and sharpened its focus to runners. The company’s boss explains in this episode of The Exchange how staying the course caught the attention of the Sage of Omaha.
24 min
108
Australia can charge up a war on climate change
Saul Griffith, author of “The Big Switch”, tells Antony Currie why neither hydrogen nor carbon capture can tackle global warming. Instead, electrifying everything from cars to stoves will, thanks to ample sun and wind Down Under. That can spark a jobs and exports boom, too.
57 min
109
The cost of corporate kowtowing to China
In “America Second”, Isaac Stone Fish lays into executives who suck up to Beijing. He and Pete Sweeney discuss how politics and economics are forcing U.S. companies to reframe their approach, what legislations might be in the pipeline, and whether military conflict is inevitable.
14 min
110
Why U.S.-China financial tension is hard to disarm
Relations between the world’s two largest economies were already tense, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further increased the pressure. In this episode of The Exchange, James Fok explains how the relationship became so fraught, and why it’s unlikely to improve anytime soon.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
37 min
111
How Mad Men are waking up to the metaverse
The pandemic sped up the shift to online advertising and e-commerce. In this episode of The Exchange Mark Read, CEO of WPP, tells how his clients coped with Covid-19, why virtual reality is the next big thing for consumer giants, and why corporate purpose is more than a buzzword.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
25 min
112
The climate revolution is underhyped
Kleiner Perkins Chair John Doerr outlines in his new book a plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. As an early backer of Amazon and Alphabet, he also explains how saving the planet is a business opportunity akin to the internet in this episode of The Exchange podcast.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
27 min
113
VCs are victims of their own success
That’s an argument author Sebastian Mallaby makes in his new book on the financiers behind the world’s technology giants. He also discusses the role of luck, founders’ increasing power, late-stage investment pile-on risks and Chinese tech in this episode of The Exchange podcast.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
25 min
114
Ukraine war is tectonic shift for global finance
Investor turned anti-corruption campaigner Bill Browder joins Dasha Afanasieva on The Exchange podcast to explain why tougher sanctions from the West, including freezing oligarch assets, threaten Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grip, and cripple the country’s economy.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
25 min
115
The Exchange: Why economic walls don’t work
Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden both embraced barriers like tariffs as a U.S. response to technology and globalization. Former White House economic adviser Glenn Hubbard argues that such strategies will fail. But policymakers can do more to take care of those left behind.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
27 min
116
The Exchange: Consumers have the retail whip hand
From Saks Fifth Avenue to Target,&nbsp;U.S.&nbsp;retailers are under intense pressure to change their businesses to meet consumers’ needs. Alix Partners’&nbsp;Joel Bines&nbsp;tells Jennifer Saba&nbsp;it’s about more than just a shift in shopping habits. He argues that consumers&nbsp;now&nbsp;hold all the power.&nbsp;<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
30 min
117
The Exchange: Margrethe Vestager
Europe’s antitrust tsar is responsible for keeping U.S. digital behemoths in check and making sure that the bloc doesn’t slip too far behind on technology. She joined Liam Proud to talk about a string of recent court losses and the future of competition policy.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
45 min
118
The Exchange: UniCredit’s Andrea Orcel
The Italian banker wants to return 16 bln euros to investors by 2024. Choppy markets and growing geopolitical risks raise the bar for European banks’ promised returns. UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel tells Breakingviews how his $35 bln lender can navigate through uncertain times.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
50 min
119
The Exchange: San Francisco Fed boss Mary Daly
U.S. inflation is at its highest in four decades. The central banker explains to Swaha Pattanaik how the Federal Reserve plans to tackle price pressures without jeopardising growth or job creation, and outlines her views on the outlook for monetary policy.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
44 min
120
The Exchange: Hydrogen wave
Can green hydrogen decarbonise big chunks of our economies? Air Products CEO Seifi Ghasemi, who’s backing the carbon-free gas in a major Saudi Arabia project, thinks so. He tells Lisa Jucca&nbsp;how his $61 bln group plans to be the world’s top green hydrogen producer in five years.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
36 min
121
The Exchange: Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman
After a year of record revenue and global dislocations, the Wall Street CEO talked with Breakingviews about the future of wealth, why Morgan Stanley won’t be buying <strong>an </strong>European rival <strong>anytime</strong> soon, and how the market will have to get used to the end of free money, like it or not.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
44 min
122
The Exchange: Xpeng boldly goes
The Chinese electric-car maker has navigated everything from shrinking subsidies to Covid-19. Embracing new ways of working is critical, boss Brian Gu tells Katrina Hamlin. Future forays into Europe, the metaverse, and flying cars will test the Tesla rival’s resilience again.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
56 min
123
The Exchange: Zurich CEO takes on 2022’s big risks
Failure to reduce carbon emissions is top of mind for Mario Greco, who has run the 65 bln Swiss francs insurer for the past six years. But other hazards, like loss of social cohesion and geopolitics, are also on the horizon, he tells Rob Cox in a Breakingviews Predictions chat.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
48 min
124
The Exchange: Riding the high-tech fitness boom
Signa Sports United is a network of web shops and fulfilment systems for cycling, team sports and outdoor kit. Its CEO Stephan Zoll speaks to Dasha Afanasieva about going public through a Ron Burkle-backed SPAC, and how punters are spending big on sophisticated bikes and rackets.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
20 min
125
The Exchange: Environmentalist on Exxon’s board
Kaisa Hietala was one of the directors elected by shareholders in May through activist Engine No. 1’s successful campaign to green up the $250 bln oil giant. The former Neste executive from Finland sat down with Rob Cox to explain her vision for creating sustainable businesses.&nbsp;<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>
30 min