Unhedged

By Financial Times & Pushkin Industries

What's Unhedged about?

Katie Martin, Robert Armstrong and other markets nerds at the Financial Times explain the big ideas behind what’s happening in finance right now. Every Tuesday and Thursday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Unhedged episodes:

05.16.2024
Bridgewater’s new boss
Bridgewater Associates is one of the largest hedge funds in the world, and one of the most unusual. Its founder, Ray Dalio, has retired and moved on to other things, such as deep sea submarines. Can the new chief executive...
05.14.2024
GameStop again?
‘Roaring Kitty’, aka Keith Gill, aka the GameStop memelord, leaned in again this week, sparking a massive rally in the retailer and its sidekick, AMC. FT correspondents Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong take stock of the mayhem and ask if...
05.10.2024
The fight for Paramount
It's high noon for Paramount Studios, one of the most legendary names in Hollywood. In one corner, Wall Street and private equity. In the other corner, talented producer David Ellison, head of Skydance. OK, to be fair, he’s partnering with...
05.07.2024
What’s next for Warren Buffett
The annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway this past weekend was a celebration of Warren Buffett’s unparalleled record and his legendary charm. Today on the show, FT correspondents Katie Martin and Robert Armstrong talk about recent investments in energy stocks, Apple...
05.02.2024
Is Fed policy working?
The Federal Reserve this week chose to hold interest rates unchanged. But inflation still continues to outpace its 2 per cent target. Today on the show, capital markets correspondent Kate Duguid joins us to ask if the US central bank...
04.30.2024
Why the US dollar is the world’s problem
The American economy is strong — and the dollar is extremely expensive. Today on the show, we talk about how the strong dollar affects the rest of the world, pressuring importers, benefitting manufacturers, and causing capital to flow into the...
04.26.2024
Bonus: The fraudster's guide to magic money with Tim Harford
The FT’s Rob Armstrong sits down with Tim Harford, host of the podcast Cautionary Tales, to discuss Ponzi schemes, how they spiral out of control and what differentiates them from bubbles — and from Amazon. Plus, we go long pyramid...
04.25.2024
The diamond market disrupted
Diamond output by the mining giant De Beers is down 23% this quarter. Demand is slowing as a bounce from the coronavirus pandemic wears off and synthetic diamonds eat into market share. Today on the show, we try to understand...
04.23.2024
Active changes to passive indices
When the S&P; 500 finally let Tesla join the index a few years ago, its stock soared. Similarly, the fortunes of countries have changed when their debt and equities have been included on one index or another. Today on the...
04.18.2024
How oil got to $90 a barrel
While we’ve been watching Nvidia and other sparkly tech stocks, oil has been sneaking up to touch $90 a barrel. Today on the show, we talk about oil supplies, demand and the role of geopolitics. Also, we go short Ark’s...
04.16.2024
High interest rate anxiety
Last year, Katie and Ethan made a bet about when the Fed would cut interest rates. Today, as the first quarter ends and markets flatten a bit, it’s time for one of them to eat crow. As for the other,...
04.11.2024
Shopify vs Amazon
Shopify was an online darling during the pandemic but has faced challenges since then. However, it has still grown into an e-commerce site that handled more than $235 billion in transactions last year. Today on the show, FT reporter Anna...
04.09.2024
Should we worry about private credit?
Private credit is booming, nearing $2tn in assets globally. Most of that debt is being traded out of the public eye, a fact highlighted in the latest Global Financial Stability report from the IMF. Is the IMF right to be...
04.04.2024
Rethinking Tesla and Apple
In the last months, the stock market has been a joyride, but not for two of the biggest names in tech: Tesla and Apple. Today on the show we look at how these two former high-flyers have come down in...
04.02.2024
Navigating the next super cycle
Today on the show, we’re taking the long view, the very long view. Our guest is Peter Oppenheimer, the head of macro research in Europe for Goldman Sachs, and the author of Any Happy Returns: Structural Changes and Super Cycles...
03.28.2024
Wall Street bets on Reddit
Reddit has never had a profitable year. And yet its IPO this week saw its shares skyrocket on the first day of trading. Today on the show, we ask if Reddit is a withering social network riding irrational exuberance, or...
03.26.2024
The great British bargain show
The major stock index in the UK, the FTSE 100, includes some of the biggest and most profitable multinational companies in the world. But in recent years the index has trailed the US markets and is now considerably cheaper. Today...
03.21.2024
Inside the crypto hype machine
FT correspondent Josh Oliver spent years covering crypto and the legal troubles of Sam Bankman-Fried. Last week, he published Hype Machine, a book about it all. Today he joins us to talk about SBF’s sentencing next week, FTX caretaker boss...
03.19.2024
Listener Questions
You asked, we answered. Today on the show, we team up with our sibling podcast, Behind the Money, and answer questions from listeners. We’re tackling chips (both salty and silicon), market capitalizations, the future of India and more. And for...
03.14.2024
Can the US stock market stand 3% US inflation?
This week's US inflation numbers came in and they’ve remained higher for longer than many expected, or wanted. How does this change the Federal Reserve’s outlook and will the US stock market respond or continue its jaunty ascent? Today on...
03.12.2024
Does factor investing still work?
Factor investing came out of academic work in the 1990s, and offered a way to pick stocks without relying on judgments about stories or sectors. It’s had good years and bad years, but has recently struggled to do more than...
03.07.2024
Inside the traders’ black box
Market watchers have wondered for years about what really goes on inside trading firms like Citadel Securities, Susquehanna and Virtu. A recent ruling in a lawsuit brought by a medical company may provide some answers. Today on the show, host...
03.05.2024
Learning to love the boom
Rates are up and so are the markets, baffling the bears. Today on the show, FT correspondents Ethan Wu and Katie Martin look at five reasons the market might be rationally booming, including investor sentiment numbers, the AI revolution, changing...
02.29.2024
Is ESG over?
ESG investing has been a dominant topic in finance for the past few years. But ESG seems to be taking a back seat. Today on the show, we talk about the future of mindful investing with Simon Mundy, who writes...
02.27.2024
Three markets, three highs
In the last few weeks, markets have hit highs in the US, Europe, and Japan. Today on the show, we try to understand what has powered the results. We talk about chip company Nvidia, but also renewed optimism in Japan...
02.22.2024
WeWork rework
WeWork, the co-working company founded by Adam Neumann, collapsed in bankruptcy last year. And since then, the commercial real estate market has only gotten worse. Which makes this a perfect time for value investors to swoop in. Today on the...
02.20.2024
Active investors! Assemble
Of course we all know that passive investing delivers superior returns. But what if everyone is investing passively? Is there a case for active investing then? Recent research has shown that the explosion in index funds has made equities slower...
02.15.2024
The dilemma of the supercompany
We live in the age of supercompanies: massive, dominant players that seem to get better as they grow — for customers and investors. And they also make us uncomfortable about our rights and freedoms. Think Walmart, Apple, Meta and so...
02.13.2024
Are dividends back?
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta just announced its first-ever dividend, which is something that rapidly growing tech companies rarely do. Dividends have been shunned in favour of corporate buybacks for decades. Is this a sign of change in the relationship between shareholders...
02.08.2024
How not to pick stocks
Each year the FT hosts a stockpicking contest. Today on the show, we go over our picks for 2023, which were brilliantly bad. We guessed wrong on housing, on streaming, and even on crypto. Of course, if listeners had bet...
02.06.2024
High-yield bond bonanza
Demand for riskier corporate bonds is intense. The spread between higher yielding (riskier) bonds and safer Treasuries is narrowing, and nearing long-term lows. Today on the show, we try to understand the hot market for these bonds, and ask what...
02.01.2024
Will commercial real estate hurt regional banks?
New York Community Bancorp shares fell 38% on Wednesday, partly on worries about the bank’s exposure to commercial real estate. Today on the show, Ethan Wu is joined by Robert Armstrong and FT property correspondent Joshua Oliver, who explain what’s...
01.30.2024
Can China rebound in 2024?
While markets around the world took off last year, China continued to stumble. Will 2024 be any different? Today on the show, Ethan Wu and Katie Martin try to understand why the country is lagging, and if its leadership can...
01.25.2024
Boardroom games
New rules about how board members are elected could change how corporate America is governed. In March, the Starbucks shareholder meeting may be a first test for new powers long sought by unions and other activists. Today on the show,...
01.23.2024
Two stock markets, two takes
While the S&P; 500 just hit a new high, the FTSE 100 is down about 3 per cent for the year. Today on the show, we talk about the two markets. First, we ask if antitrust cases might slow the...
01.18.2024
Is America overpriced?
There is an historically large premium on the S&P; 500, when compared to markets in the rest of the world. That reflects strong outperformance in the past decade, but can that last? Today on the show, hosts Ethan Wu and...
01.16.2024
Cash Rethink Energises Asset Markets
As interest rates jumped, cash ruled for a lot of investors. The payment for doing absolutely nothing – in the form of money market funds and other interest-bearing instruments – was the highest in decades. But that may be changing...
01.15.2024
Introducing Untold: The Retreat
Introducing Untold, a new podcast from the special investigations team at the Financial Times. In its first series, The Retreat, host Madison Marriage examines the world of the Goenka network, which promotes a type of intensive meditation known as Vipassana....
01.11.2024
Today's inflation numbers
Today on the show, we dig into the latest inflation numbers, examining the results for shelter, goods and energy, and think about what it all means for the 10-year Treasury yield. Also, we go long darts and short Tinder’s $499...
01.09.2024
Tech stock winners
In July, the FT’s Rob Armstrong and Elaine Moore went head-to-head in a stock-picking competition, drafting their favourite stocks from the Magnificent Seven, the seven tech stocks dominating the markets. Today on the show, we announce the winner of our...
01.04.2024
Cool markets, hot takes
After a roaring December, the markets cooled a bit in the first days of 2024. Today on the show, hosts Ethan Wu and Robert Armstrong think big thoughts about long yields in treasuries, the historical correlation of equities and debt,...
01.02.2024
The year ahead, according to AI, and humans
Today on the show, we’re looking at the year ahead, with AI by our side. Our colleague Bryce Elder at the FT built an online quiz that pits AI against analysts in writing prose about the future. We take the...
12.21.2023
The Unhedged Awards
Today on the show, hosts Ethan Wu, Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong dole out the first-ever Unhedgies, awards for categories such as the best overall deal, scam, IPO, central banker – we do not choose Jay Powell, by the way...
12.19.2023
Markets gone wild
Last week’s Fed statements revealed that its Open Market Committee was thinking about the possibility of interest rate cuts at some point, and the markets responded with insane glee, unexpectedly sending the S&P 500 up to nearly an all-time high....
12.14.2023
Thirty-seven years of wisdom
Jonathan Guthrie has been covering finance for 37 years. Today on the show, he talks with hosts Ethan Wu and Robert Armstrong about what he’s learnt, covering everything from market collapses to investing in banks. Also, we go long the...
12.12.2023
Central bank lookahead
Inflation has slowed in the US, the UK, and the EU. Will this mean interest rate cuts next year? Markets seem to think so, but comments from central bankers this week may temper that enthusiasm. Also, we go long the...
12.07.2023
The return of crypto
Bitcoin just hit $40,000, Coinbase is up 300 per cent this year, and French bank Société Générale is rolling out a stablecoin. All this frothy news comes after a record penalty levied on Binance by the SEC and the guilty...
12.06.2023
Introducing Hot Money: The New Narcos
The Financial Times’ award-winning podcast series Hot Money is back. In this series our reporter Miles Johnson investigates a mysterious murder in a small town that leads to a web of drugs, money laundering and state-sponsored assassinations stretching from Dublin...
12.05.2023
Gold just set a record. Why?
The price of gold reached a record high last week. That’s surprising, because normally the price of gold goes down when interest rates go higher. Today on the show, we try to figure out what’s driving gold’s rise. Also, we...
11.30.2023
Down the liquidity hole
Market watchers cannot help but notice how the stock market and money supply often track one another. But does liquidity in the financial sector matter more to stock prices than the economy? In this show, we discuss the liquidity theory...

What's Unhedged about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Unhedged episodes:

Bridgewater’s new boss

GameStop again?

The fight for Paramount

What’s next for Warren Buffett

Is Fed policy working?

Why the US dollar is the world’s problem

Bonus: The fraudster's guide to magic money with Tim Harford

The diamond market disrupted

Active changes to passive indices

How oil got to $90 a barrel

High interest rate anxiety

Shopify vs Amazon

Should we worry about private credit?

Rethinking Tesla and Apple

Navigating the next super cycle

Wall Street bets on Reddit

The great British bargain show

Inside the crypto hype machine

Listener Questions

Can the US stock market stand 3% US inflation?

Does factor investing still work?

Inside the traders’ black box

Learning to love the boom

Is ESG over?

Three markets, three highs

WeWork rework

Active investors! Assemble

The dilemma of the supercompany

Are dividends back?

How not to pick stocks

High-yield bond bonanza

Will commercial real estate hurt regional banks?

Can China rebound in 2024?

Boardroom games

Two stock markets, two takes

Is America overpriced?

Cash Rethink Energises Asset Markets

Introducing Untold: The Retreat

Today's inflation numbers

Tech stock winners

Cool markets, hot takes

The year ahead, according to AI, and humans

The Unhedged Awards

Markets gone wild

Thirty-seven years of wisdom

Central bank lookahead

The return of crypto

Introducing Hot Money: The New Narcos

Gold just set a record. Why?

Down the liquidity hole