Behind the Money

When the hedge fund Elliott Management pursued the acquisition of the oil refinery business Citgo a few years ago, the deal was already a complicated one. A US court had ordered its current owner, Venezuela, to sell the business, and the country was not happy about it. But, things only got thornier after the US President Donald Trump removed the Caribbean nation’s leader Nicolás Maduro. The FT’s US investment correspondent Amelia Pollard and hedge fund correspondent Costas Mourselas explain how Elliott often thrives pursuing complex deals, and how they might navigate closing this one.

Clips from Citgo, CNN, Norges Bank Investment Management, The White House, VTV

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For further reading:
Donald Trump’s removal of Maduro clouds fate of Elliott’s Citgo deal
How Venezuela lost Citgo
Hedge funds hunt for Venezuela’s unpaid financial claims

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Follow Costas Mourselas on X (@CostasMourselas) and Bluesky (@costasmourselas.bsky.social). Amelia Pollard is on X (@ameliajpollard) and Bluesky (@pollard.bsky.social). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

US President Donald Trump on Friday made his pick to lead the Federal Reserve: Kevin Warsh. The former central bank governor with ties to Wall Street is seen as a mainstream pick. Still, some economists say if Warsh is confirmed, he will trigger a sweeping rethink of the Fed’s role at the centre of the world’s biggest economy. The FT’s US economics editor Claire Jones explains who Warsh is, what he wants to do at the Fed, and how it might go.

Clips from Fox Business, Group of Thirty

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For further reading:
Kevin Warsh’s nomination as Fed chair to spark rethink of bank’s role
Kevin Warsh, the Fed chair nominee shaped by the 2008 financial crisis
How Kevin Warsh won the race to become Donald Trump’s new Federal Reserve chair

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Follow Claire Jones on X (@senoj_erialc). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For more than 170 years, Wells Fargo built a reputation as an all-American Main Street lender. Now, it is charting a new path and pushing into investment banking, something that many other banks have tried and failed to do. The FT’s US banking editor Joshua Franklin and US banking correspondent Akila Quinio discuss what Wells Fargo does — and doesn’t have — going for it as it pursues this strategy.

Clips from, CNN, CBS News, CNBC, CNN, HBO, KPIX, KRON4, NBC News, Wells Fargo

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For further reading:
Wells Fargo wants to be taken seriously as an investment bank. Will it succeed?
Wells Fargo has finally shed its dunce cap
Netflix leans on $59bn bank loan to fund Warner Bros takeover

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Follow Joshua Franklin on X (@ftjfranklin). Akila Quinio is on X (@akilazoe). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Saks Global, the parent company of the historic luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The move occurred a little more than a year after the company purchased Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman in a debt-fuelled takeover. The FT’s Wall Street editor Sujeet Indap and the US investment editor Eric Platt walk through how that acquisition played a role in the bankruptcy and whether more highly leveraged companies will seek bankruptcy protection in 2026.

Clips from ABC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Warner Brothers

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For further reading:
Death of a dream: Saks’ crisis exposes luxury department store woes
Leveraged luxury: fall of Saks Global to scorch US business stars
Saks divisive debt reshuffle shows a retail sector under strain

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Follow Sujeet Indap on X (@sindap), or on Bluesky (@sindap.bsky.social). Eric Platt is on X (@EricGPlatt), or on Bluesky (@ericgplatt.ft.com). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every January a collection of the world’s top business and political leaders head to the Swiss town of Davos for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. The event is a week of panels and networking meant to promote dialogue among elites. But a scandal last year threatened to overshadow the 2026 meeting, which begins in a few days. Critics have also questioned the event’s relevance in a changing world. The FT’s Switzerland and Austria correspondent, Mercedes Ruehl, explains the problems the WEF has faced and shares her reporting on how this year’s event is shaping up.

Clips from the World Economic Forum, Instagram: @christinelagarde

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For further reading:
Microsoft and McKinsey pay up to $1mn each to back Donald Trump’s Davos hub
Davos assured Trump ‘woke’ topics were off the agenda
The Davos set in decline: can the World Economic Forum save itself?
‘A family enterprise’: WEF founder Klaus Schwab on alleged wrongdoing at Davos

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Follow Mercedes Ruehl on X (@mjruehl), or on Bluesky (@mjruehl.bsky.social) Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.