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
126
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
127
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
128
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
129
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
130
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
131
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
132
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
133
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
134
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
135
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
136
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
137
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
138
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
139
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
140
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
141
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
142
The Exchange: Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg
With an election looming early next year, the Liberal Party’s deputy leader discusses everything from booster shots to Big Tech, climate change to China, immigration to inflation, and more. He tells Jeffrey Goldfarb how his country can overcome the many economic challenges ahead.<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
143
The Exchange: Top chef who turned his back on meat
Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park in New York garnered three Michelin stars and was voted the world’s best restaurant in 2017. But after the pandemic, the marathoning Swiss transplant pivoted his kitchen entirely towards plant-based cuisine. He tells Rob Cox why.<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>
21 min
144
The Exchange: Breakingviews at Reuters Next
<h3>At the global conference, our columnists interviewed the movers and shakers at Ola Electric, Philip Morris, ViacomCBS and Klarna about disruption at scale in India, the challenges of making bold corporate transitions in tobacco and media, and Europe’s fintech frenzy.&nbsp;&nbsp;</h3><p><br><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>
64 min
145
The Exchange: The deal market takes a turn
After a year of record activity, global antitrust watchdogs are becoming more scrupulous of big deals, Morgan Stanley’s Rob Kindler and Paul, Weiss’s Scott Barshay agree. But they disagree about what that means for the deal market in general.&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
146
Viewsroom: Omicron hits, Dorsey quits
As the world gets to grips with a new coronavirus variant, Swaha Pattanaik looks ahead to how Omicron could frustrate attempts to rein in rising prices. Meanwhile, Gina Chon watches Twitter say goodbye to founder Jack Dorsey and usher in a new, still-quirky governance setup.<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>
18 min
147
The Exchange: Making nukes greener and friendlier
The fight to reduce CO2 emissions is forcing a rethink about the role of nuclear power, says Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. But convincing holdouts like Greta Thunberg will take more than turning Homer Simpson into a paragon of nuclear safety.<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>
29 min
148
The Exchange: Fintech evolves
Companies from JPMorgan to Goldman Sachs are upgrading their banking businesses. Al Goldstein, one of the pioneers of peer-to-peer lending and online funding, tells Lauren Silva Laughlin how he reshaped those areas and why he is moving into private equity and venture capital.<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>
22 min
149
The Exchange: Hollywood broadens its horizon
<p>The entertainment industry is hard to break into without connections. Hollywood producer Tyler Mitchell is trying to make the process more diverse with an online network. He explains to Jennifer Saba how his firm Impact helps discover writers who might otherwise be overlooked.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><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>
33 min
150
The Exchange: Bank of America boss Brian Moynihan
With a $2.8 trln balance sheet, BofA is one of the largest banks in the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. Moynihan tells Rob Cox what this means operationally, how the bank is helping “hard to abate” firms to transition, and what it’s like to be back at conferences.<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>
15 min