logo
episode-header-image
May 2024
10m 56s

Paramount’s a long way from its peak

Financial Times
About this episode

SoftBank is leading an investment of more than $1bn into a UK self-driving car start-up, and poppy and marijuana farming money is disappearing from rural areas as traffickers shift to synthetic drugs. Plus, the FT’s Anna Nicolaou explains the rival bids to buy Paramount. 


Mentioned in this podcast:

SoftBank leads $1bn funding for UK artificial intelligence group Wayve

El Chapo’s opium heartland bereft as Mexico cartels embrace fentanyl

Shari Redstone, a media scion weighing the future of her ravaged empire

James Cameron and Ari Emanuel back Skydance bid for Paramount

Brussels seeks to ban Russian funding of European politicians


The FT News Briefing is produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help by Denise Guerra, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Monica Lopez. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
Global copper market weighs Trump tariff threat
The UK and France have pledged for the first time to co-ordinate the use of their nuclear weapons, and the copper markets are reeling from US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 50 per cent tariffs on the metal. Plus, Nvidia has hit a record market capitalisation at $4tn.Me ... Show More
7m 18s
Jul 9
BCG tries to limit Gaza work fallout
EU negotiators are closing in on a trade deal with Donald Trump that would cement higher tariffs than those granted to the UK, and Boston Consulting Group’s chief executive said the group’s involvement with a postwar plan for Gaza had been “reputationally very damaging”. Plus, Eu ... Show More
10m 31s
Jul 8
Liechtenstein's zombie-trust apocalypse
US President Donald Trump extended tariff deadlines, and Liechtenstein’s trust industry is in a crisis spurred by American sanctions against Russia. Plus, Shein filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, and Elon Musk is trying to save Tesla from Trump. Mentioned in this ... Show More
11m 18s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2023
Could a reshuffle revitalise Sunak’s government?
It’s almost time to wave goodbye to the summer, but is Rishi Sunak also poised to bid farewell to some of his ministers? The FT’s Whitehall editor Lucy Fisher is joined by columnist Stephen Bush and political editor George Parker to discuss a cabinet shake up. Plus, the FT’s US p ... Show More
35m 52s
Jul 2023
Money Talks: Lights! Camera! Inaction…
The only action taking place in Hollywood is on the picket lines. Thousands of writers and actors have taken to the streets to protest the way that technology has affected their wages. At the top of their list of demands is a change to the way they are compensated when shows air ... Show More
39m 37s
Jul 2023
Money Talks: Lights! Camera! Inaction…
The only action taking place in Hollywood is on the picket lines. Thousands of writers and actors have taken to the streets to protest the way that technology has affected their wages. At the top of their list of demands is a change to the way they are compensated when shows air ... Show More
39m 37s
Jan 2023
What Keir Starmer did at Davos
Sir Keir Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves gave a pre-Davos interview to the FT before setting off to woo the global elite in Switzerland at the World Economic Forum in a remarkable turnround in Labour sentiment. Why were they going, with what message, while Prime Minis ... Show More
24m 7s
Dec 2022
Money Talks: The changing ideology of Silicon Valley
Startup founders in Silicon Valley are often motivated by an almost religious idealism: young tech workers, looking to move fast and break things, want to use technology to make the world a better place. But 2022 has brought about a reckoning: the business models of once-star fir ... Show More
40m 45s
Dec 2022
Money Talks: The changing ideology of Silicon Valley
Startup founders in Silicon Valley are often motivated by an almost religious idealism: young tech workers, looking to move fast and break things, want to use technology to make the world a better place. But 2022 has brought about a reckoning: the business models of once-star fir ... Show More
40m 45s
Sep 2022
The sterling sinks as the dollar's rally continues
The British pound has fallen to its lowest level against the US dollar since 1985, as a new Prime Minister takes office and investors flock to the safe-haven currency. We hear more from Kenneth Rogoff, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. Cineworld has filed ... Show More
27m 49s
May 2023
Inflation and migration: Sunak’s problematic pledges
Cutting inflation and stopping small-boat migration are two of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s five core priorities, but there's no let-up in inflation or unhappiness with the government's policy on asylum seekers. George Parker, the FT’s political editor, discusses with economics c ... Show More
29m 47s
May 2022
Money Talks: Proxy wars
A record number of company shareholders have put forward resolutions at annual meetings this year, pressuring companies on everything from their environmental practices to political donations. Host Alice Fulwood asks our US business editor Charlotte Howard why the new frontline i ... Show More
33m 31s
May 2022
Money Talks: Proxy wars
A record number of company shareholders have put forward resolutions at annual meetings this year, pressuring companies on everything from their environmental practices to political donations. Host Alice Fulwood asks our US business editor Charlotte Howard why the new frontline i ... Show More
33m 31s