A Long Time In Finance

Private equity firms have amassed vast fortunes for their owners by snapping up companies in a rising stock market using ultra cheap debt. But what happens when values go down and interest rates rise? We talk to US investor and private equity sceptic Dan Rasmussen about the coming buyout Götterdämmerung.(Dan has written recently on this and his note can be found here https://verdadcap.com/archive/private-equity-still-overrated-and-overvalued)Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Dan Rasmussen.Produced by Ewan Cameron and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sponsored by Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prices are high; supply is insecure; basically it's a nightmare. But which levers do you pull to make things better, and which do you leave well alone? We talk to former Number 10 adviser and consultant Josh Buckland about how to fix the UK's energy woes.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Josh Buckland.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sponsored by Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's now the world's most watched PowerPoint presentation: the pitch by HSBC's head of responsible investing to a conference on green finance in which he suggested the climate crisis was overstated and we should get on building more sea walls instead. We talk to Roger Pielke Jr, the US academic and political scientist about what Kirk was trying to say (or should have said) and his own experience with climate controversies.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Roger Pielke Jr.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sponsored by Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gripped by sluggish growth and low investment, the UK decides to solve its problems by embarking on a "dash for growth" - spending big and cutting taxes. We talk to economic historian Duncan Weldon about the Heath government's disastrous 1972 "Barber Boom" (named for the chancellor Tony Barber) and what lessons it holds for Boris Johnson's wayward administration.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Duncan Weldon.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sponsored by Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cryptocurrencies are collapsing across the etherspace. Neil and Jonathan talk to Izabella Kaminska, founder of the Blind Spot and keen cryptowatcher, about Terra, Luna and Tether, the death spiral of the stablecoins, and whether anyone in the real world should care..Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Izabella Kaminska.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sponsored by Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second of our two-part series looking at Gordon Brown's 1997 decision to give the Bank of England control of setting interest rates, we talk to our guest Paul Tucker, a former deputy governor of the Bank, about the financial crisis, Quantitative Easing and the future of central bank independence.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Sir Paul Tucker.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sponsored by Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 6 May 1997, Gordon Brown raised interest rates as chancellor for the last time and then handed the keys to monetary policy to the Bank of England. In the first of a two part series, we reflect on that decision with Paul Tucker, a former deputy governor of the Bank, discussing how it was taken, the institutional upheavals and the fruits of independence.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Sir Paul Tucker.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sponsored by Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Non-doms are back in the news following revelations about Rishi Sunak's wife, Akshata Murthy and health secretary Sajid Javid. We extract a definition of this archaic fiscal concept from top tax lawyer Dan Neidle, then discuss how it's lasted so long (around 220 years) and how to reform it. Lastly we all ponder how on earth Rochdale-born Javid came to be a non-dom in the first place.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Dan Neidle.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sponsored by Briefcase.news Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China declared that its friendship with Russia had “no limits” just before Vladimir Putin plunged into Ukraine. Neil and Jonathan talk to China watcher and economist George Magnus about how the war has changed Beijing’s relations with the West, and what it all means for Taiwan, financial decoupling, and whether China is still an investable place to put your cash.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With George Magnus.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sponsored by Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk to Merryn Somerset Webb of Money Week and FT columnist about why the Russian crisis is also a crisis for ESG investment, Carl Icahn’s war with McDonalds, and how your investment choices could actually make the world a better place (without putting your loot in an ESG fund).Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Merry Somerset Webb.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.