US opens criminal investigation into Fed chair
US federal prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell, and civil unrest continues to threaten the Islamic regime in Iran. Plus, earnings season kicks off this we...
12 Jan 12min
Swamp Notes: Why Trump wants to ‘run’ other countries
This is a repeat of an episode published on Swamp Notes, a sister podcast of the FT News Briefing on January 9, 2026. Subscribe to Swamp Notes on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.Af...
10 Jan 21min
Iranians protest over economic pain
Glencore and Rio Tinto resume mining megamerger talks, protests in Iran over economic conditions are the largest in years, and the US trade deficit narrowed to its lowest level since 2009. Plus, is th...
9 Jan 12min
Venezuela’s crumbling oil infrastructure
The US wants to control Venezuelan oil sales ‘indefinitely’ but the ‘catastrophic’ state of the Latin American nation’s crude facilities presents several hurdles. Plus, President Donald Trump banned i...
8 Jan 11min
A wave of repression in Venezuela
Leading asset managers are positioning for a sharp sell-off in US technology stocks, Venezuela’s government has launched a crackdown after the US captured Nicolás Maduro, and the Trump administration ...
7 Jan 10min
The investors eyeing Venezuela’s oil
Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty to narco trafficking charges, and smaller private investors are eager to invest in Venezuelan oil. Plus, Chinese carmarkers are expected t...
6 Jan 11min
Trump plans to ‘run’ Venezuela. What now?
US President Donald Trump has warned Venezuela’s defacto leader she must meet America’s demands following Nicolas Maduro’s capture. We explore what Trump hopes to achieve in the Latin American country...
5 Jan 12min
Predicting 2026: Will the Magnificent 7 tech stocks continue to diverge?
Financial Times columnist Gillian Tett predicted that the Magnificent 7 tech stocks were not going to fall, but they wouldn’t ride a lot higher either in 2025. What actually happened was a bit of a mi...
2 Jan 9min
