Ft News

India's foreign minister this week threatened to expel all of Amazon's foreign employees over a doormat imprinted with the Indian flag that was on sale on its website. Josh Noble asks the FT's Kiran Stacey why the item caused such offense.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A rush of high profile winter signings has prompted the authorities in China to intervene to curb spending on foreign players. Josh Noble asks the FT's Tom Hancock and Murad Ahmed what's behind the spending splurge and what impact it is likely to have on China's World Cup hopes.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Egypt recently clinched a deal with the IMF for a $12bn loan over three years. But it has had to implement painful measures which include floating the currency and reducing subsidies. The FT's Heba Saleh talks to Sahar Nasr, Egypt's minister of international co-operation, about the government's latest efforts to restore the economy.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mark Zuckerberg plans to tour the US following Donald Trump’s election as president. The Facebook founder said, “we are at a turning point in history” and spoke of the need to “find a way to change the game so that it works for everyone”. Chris Nuttall discusses the reasons for the tour and how other tech leaders are reacting to the Trump victory with Hannah Kuchler, the FT's San Francisco correspondent.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rohingya Muslim refugees have been leaving Burma for decades but in the last few months, the numbers have swelled amid allegations of a campaign of brutal violence by the Burmese military. The FT's Kiran Stacey talks to refugees in Cox's Bazar on the Bangladesh-Burma border.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Denis Koslowski former head of Tyco, tells Andrew Hill, FT management editor, how he reinvented himself in the wake of public disgrace and imprisonment.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Marcela Sapone, chief exec and co-founder of Hello Alfred, tells Andrew Hill, FT management editor, how she coped with the pressure of maintaining momentum after a successful launch.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Former chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland Stephen Hester tells Andrew Hill, FT management editor, how he found himself in the eye of the storm during the financial crisis.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Pascal Soriot, chief executive of the Anglo-Swedish drugs company AstraZeneca, tells Andrew Hill about his 2014 battle to head off a hostile takeover bid from Pfizer of the US.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It was a familiar story: a small town, a big factory, overseas owners and job cuts, another tear in the social fabric of an English community. Except that in Kendal, on the edge of the Lake District, the ending has been rewritten. Andrew Bounds, the FT's north of England correspondent, tells the story.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For the world's largest and most influential companies, 2016 brought plenty of megadeals, controversies, crises and some big cross border investments. Matthew Vincent discusses the most notable of these with Brooke Masters, the FT's companies editor.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A terror attack on a Christmas market in Berlin has shocked Germany and seems likely to add to pressure on Angela Merkel, the chancellor, over her decision to welcome so many refugees from the Middle East. The FT's Guy Chazan reports from Berlin.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

LLoyds Bank has struck a £1.9bn deal to buy credit card company MBNA from a subsidiary of Bank of America, in its first acquisition since a taxpayer-funded rescue more than seven years ago. Patrick Jenkins asks Martin Arnold, FT banking editor, what the deal means for the UK bank. Music by Kevin MacLeod  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was credited with helping broker the end of the country's bloody civil war in 2003. But after two terms in office, his refusal to step down is threatening to tip the country back into violence. David Pilling, the FT's Africa editor, talks to John Aglionby, a regional correspondent just back from Kinshasa, about the crisis. Clip courtesy of Reuters.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Deloitte’s Brazilian arm was fined a record $8m this month for falsifying reports and providing false testimony during an investigation into the audits of a low-cost airline. This case and others like it reflect growing scrutiny of auditing carried out by the Big Four accounting firms in different regions of the world, Brooke Masters, the FT's companies editor, tells Matthew Vincent.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Boeing has signed a $16.6bn deal with Iran’s national carrier in the first major deal between a US company and Iran since the 1979 revolution. Matthew Vincent asks Peggy Hollinger, FT industry editor, and Geoff Dyer, US diplomatic correspondent, whether the deal could be scuppered by the incoming administration of Donald Trump.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The latest stage of Jean-Pierre Mustier’s plan for Italy's largest bank involves slashing jobs and shedding a vast bad-debt portfolio. Patrick Jenkins, the FT's financial editor discusses the plan with Martin Arnold, banking editor. With clips from Unicredit's chief executive Jean-Pierre Mustier. Music by Kevin MacLeod.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Oliver Bäte, chief executive of the German insurer Allianz, talks to the FT's Patrick Jenkins and Oliver Ralph about the company's digital growth strategy and contingency planning in light of the uncertainty resulting from the US election and the UK vote to leave the European Union  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How should journalists respond to readers who comment on their articles? Should offensive comments be deleted? Sarah Gordon, the FT's business editor, discusses the merits of engaging with readers with Andrew Hill, management editor, Lilah Raptopoulos, from the FT's audience engagement team, and Sarah O’Connor, employment correspondent.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Park Geun-hye, South Korea's president, embroiled in a corruption scandal, is facing an impeachment vote on Friday, while her so-called "shaman adviser" has been indicted on a host of charges. Meanwhile, the country's top businessmen have been hauled before a parliamentary inquiry. Victor Mallet discusses the crisis and possible outcomes with Bryan Harris, FT correspondent in Seoul.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.