Ft News

Saudi Arabia has shocked the world with a wave of arrests of princes, tycoons and former ministers as part of an anti-corruption drive initiated by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Siona Jenkins discusses the lightning crackdown with Simeon Kerr, Anjli Raval and Arash Massoudi  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Ganges is one of the world’s most revered watercourses, a lifeline to millions of Indians, but it is also the most polluted river in the world. Jyotsna Singh talks to the FT’s Victor Mallet about efforts to clean up the river and about his latest book, 'River Of Life, River Of Death'.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The answer, according to a study commissioned by the charity Help Musicians UK, has found that the answer is yes, if you are a professional musician working in unsympathetic conditions. Dr George Musgrave, one of the study's authors, talks to Darren Dodd about the findings.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Several multinationals have become embroiled in a scandal over allegations that South Africa's president Jacob Zuma has allowed a prominent business family to use its friendship with him to control state appointments and the award of big government contracts. Andrew England discusses the repercussions of the scandal with the FT's David Pilling and Joseph Cotterill  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Shinzo Abe has won a third term as Japan’s prime minister in an unexpectedly decisive victory. The supermajority won by his Liberal Democratic party gives him a platform from which to consolidate the economic policy named after him, Abenomics, but it also gives him a mandate to amend the country’s pacifist constitution. Sarah Witt discusses the implications of this with the FT's Robin Harding and Emiko Terazono.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The US jury rejected Mark Johnson’s defence that ‘pre-hedging’ was standard industry practice, Caroline Binham, the FT's financial regulation correspondent tells Martin Arnold, banking editor. Music by Kevin MacLeod  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The annual ritual of setting off firecrackers, added to smoke caused by farmers burning stubble at harvest time, causes choking levels of smog in India's capital city during the Diwali festival. Those who can opt to escape the city, Amy Kazmin, the FT's South Asia bureau chief, tells Jyotsna Singh  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Credit Suisse has come under attack from an activist shareholder RBR that is trying to win support for a plan to break up the Swiss banking group. Patrick Jenkins discusses whether there is any merit in the plan with the FT's Laura Noonan and Attracta Mooney and with David Herro of Harris Associates and Davide Serra of Algebris. Music by Kevin MacLeod.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Saudi Arabia is reconsidering plans for an international listing of shares in its state oil company Saudi Aramco, in favour of a private share sale. John Murray Brown asks the FT’s oil and gas correspondent Anjli Raval, and Alan Livsey, a Lex writer, why the change of plan?.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There is a clear business case for doing something about mental health in the workplace, because if employers don’t, they can have a real problem with absenteeism. But it's a problem companies do not always handle well. Emma Jacobs discusses what can be done to improve this, with Jaan Madan of Mental Health First Aid England and Nigel Jones, chair of the City of London Mental Health Alliance.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A concession by Angela Merkel on curbing the number of refugees allowed into Germany has paved the way for German coalition talks that could bring together her CDU-CSU bloc with the Greens and liberal Free Democrats. Carol Major discusses the deal and what kind of coalition is likely to emerge with Guy Chazan, the FT's Berlin correspondent.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The UK's Royal Bank of Scotland was the biggest bailout of the financial crisis back in 2008 and 70 per cent of the bank remains in government hands. Patrick Jenkins talks to Ewen Stevenson, RBS finance director, about progress made to improve the bank's balance sheet and the prospects for a return to private ownership. Music by Kevin Macleod  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Richard Thaler has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics for his work on incorporating insights from psychology into economic theory and policy making. Adam Samson discusses Professor Thaler’s contribution to economic thinking with the FT’s Gemma Tetlow  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Uber’s board has approved a sweeping governance overhaul that will tip the balance away from founding investors and open the way for an investment from SoftBank that could be worth $10bn. Chris Nuttall discusses the compromise, and what it means for new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, with Leslie Hook, FT correspondent in San Francisco.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Carles Puigdemont, Catalan president, steered his Spanish secessionist movement to a significant victory in Sunday's referendum, but now faces difficult choices, as Michael Stothard, FT correspondent in Madrid, tells James Wilson.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Death rates have fallen dramatically but scientists now need to focus on the diseases's heartlands to win the fight against malaria, Janet Hemingway, outgoing director of the Liverpool School for Tropical Medicine tells Andrew Jack and Clive Cookson.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Devon Nixon, great nephew of Richard Nixon, the former president, studied for an MBA at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. He reflects on his time there and on the rise of China's entrepreneurial economy in conversation with the FT's Jonathan Moules. Music by David Sappa Read more in the FT's special report on Educating the next Chinese business leaders at www.ft.com/chinese-mba  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Iraqi Kurds voted in favour of independence this week in a non-binding referendum that angered Baghdad and provoked a furious reaction from neighbouring Turkey. Daniel Dombey discusses what the Kurds hoped to gain and why President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused them of treachery with the FT's Erika Solomon in Irbil and Mehul Srivastava in Istanbul.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Japan's banks are getting together to launch a digital currency, the J Coin to try to wean customers away from cash and at the same time keep track of consumer data. Yasuhiro Sato, president and chief executive officer of Mizuho Financial Group, told Martin Arnold, the FT's banking editor, about the initiative. Music by Kevin MacLeod  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Germany’s ThyssenKrupp and India’s Tata Steel are to merge their European operations in a bid to create savings and reduce capacity in the continent’s oversupplied steel market. Matthew Vincent discusses the deal with Patrick McGee, Frankfurt correspondent, and Jonathan Eley, deputy head of the Lex column.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.