Ft News

The personality of bankers is a far bigger risk factor than pay or bonuses, an analysis of more than 1,500 top bankers has found. Patrick Jenkins talks to Sascha Steffen, one of the authors of the study, and Laura Noonan, the FT's investment banking correspondent, about the findings. Music by Kevin MacLeod  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Virginia Raggi, a 37-year old lawyer, has become the first female mayor of Rome after an election that delivered a resounding victory to the populist Five Star Movement and a blow to Italy's centre-left prime minister Matteo Renzi. Joshua Chaffin discusses what the result means for Rome and for the Renzi government with FT correspondent Rachel Sanderson.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the final days of the referendum campaign on Britain's European Union membership, Lionel Barber, editor of the Financial Times, spoke to former prime minister Sir John Major about why he is campaigning to stay in the EU.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

French scientists have carried out the first human trial of an ultrasound device that pushes drugs through the “blood-brain barrier”, potentially clearing a big obstacle to using chemotherapy on brain tumours. Clive Cookson, the FT's science editor, tells John Murray-Brown how it works. Music by David Sappa.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bill Winters, chief executive of Standard Chartered, tells the FT's Patrick Jenkins and Martin Arnold about the steps he has taken to stamp out a “cancer” of complacency and lax controls that he blames for recent misconduct among senior staff at the emerging markets bank. Music by Kevin MacLeod.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Microsoft has struck a landmark deal to acquire LinkedIn for $26.2bn, its largest acquisition ever, as chief executive Satya Nadella seeks to transform one of the world’s best-known companies. Matthew Vincent discusses the risks and benefits of the deal with the FT's US West Coast editor Richard Waters.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The FT's Barney Jopson reports from the attacker's home town of Fort Pierce, Florida, as details emerge about what happened at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Visit FT.com for more on the story.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A trial in London promises to give a rare glimpse into Goldman Sachs's dealings with one of world’s richest investors. The Libyan Investment Authority claims that Goldman exploited the sovereign wealth fund’s financial inexperience in 2008, forcing it into risky and ultimately loss making derivative trades. Goldman denies this. Matthew Vincent discusses the case with Jane Croft, the FT's law courts correspondent.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Omar Mateen, the gunman who left 50 dead when he stormed a gay nightclub in Orlando on Sunday, was an employee of the private security company G4S. What could or should the company have known to alert it to the risk that this individual would turn into a mass killer? John Murray Brown puts the question to the FT's Gill Plimmer and Jonathan Guthrie.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Andres Schipani, the FT's Andes correspondent, talks to Jonathan Wheatley, deputy emerging markets editor, about the challenges facing Peru's president-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Britain's North Sea oil infrastructure is being dismantled, rig by rig, after falling oil prices made the industry unprofitable. Many in the north of Scotland hope decommissioning can provide a lifeline for a local economy. Matthew Vincent asks FT oil correspondent Kiran Stacey and Lex writer Alan Livesy who will foot the bill.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Britain's Aldeburgh music festival was founded after the second world war by the composer Benjamin Britten and the singer Peter Pears. Britten used to take “composing walks”, drawing inspiration from the birdsong he heard in the surrounding countryside and this year, birdsong forms the centrepiece of the festival, as artistic director Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and chief executive Roger Wright, told FT critic Hannah Nepil Music: Biber, Sonata Representativa: II. Nightingale, Romanesca; Williams, The Lark Ascending, Hugh Bean; Messiaen, Catalogue d'oiseaux / Book 3 - 6. L'Alouette Lulu, Pierre-Laurent-Aimard  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

British voters will decide this month whether to remain in the European Union. Ahead of the vote Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence party and one of the most vocal Brexit campaigners, tells Lionel Barber, editor of the Financial Times, why he thinks Britain would be better off outside the EU.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

FT Alphaville writers Cardiff Garcia and Matt Klein discuss the latest US employment report, what it says about the economy, and how it might affect Federal Reserve policy.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Uber has just received a $3.5bn investment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, making it the best backed start-up in the world. Ravi Mattu asks Leslie Hook, the FT's San Francisco correspondent, and Simeon Kerr, Gulf correspondent, what the investment means for Saudi Arabia and for Uber's ambitions.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hissène Habré, the former president of Chad, has been convicted of crimes against humanity, the first time an ex-leader has been tried in an African Union-backed prosecution in another African country. William Wallis asks John Aglionby, the FT's East Africa correspondent, if the case could set a precedent.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Some of the leading names in the US peer-to-peer lending industry have been hit by governance problems as well as a withdrawal of some of the big institutional investors. Martin Arnold, FT banking editor, asks Rhydian Lewis, chief executive of UK-based RateSetter, whether the bubble is bursting and how the US model differs from its UK counterpart. Music by Kevin MacLeod.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The boss of Gunvor, one of the world’s biggest oil traders, has awarded himself a bumper $1bn dividend to sever his ties to a former Russian business partner who is the subject of US sanctions. Neil Hume, FT commodities editor, tells Emiko Terazono the story  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

US-backed forces this week launched an attack on Raqqa in Syria, close to the de facto capital of the Islamic State, as the Iraqi government launched its own attack on Fallujah. Siona Jenkins asks the FT's Middle East correspondent Erika Solomon if the two assaults on Isis-held territory were related.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

President Barack Obama used a visit to Hanoi this week to announce that the US was ending a 50-year arms embargo on Communist Vietnam, in the latest push to strengthen opposition to China's territorial ambitions in Asia’s seas. Michael Peel, the FT's Bangkok correspondent, reports.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.