Ft News

A shrinking labour force is driving huge economic change in China. James Kynge talks to Jamil Anderlini about the human cost of China's mass migration from rural areas to the cities and why it is now beginning to slow.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Harsh sentences handed out against opponents of the regime have focused attention on the severity of Egypt's security state. But many in business applaud what they see as a return to stability. Heba Saleh, FT Cairo correspondent, talks to tycoon Naguib Sawiris about his decision to resume investing in the country.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

All great enterprises start like a troupe of inspired circus performers. But over time, most end up churning out the equivalent of processed food. Andrew Hill asks how inventive companies can avoid this fate.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Henry Mance asks why the oil price is smashing the people recycling our yoghurt pots, why American bank bosses are paid when they leave their jobs, and whether Ireland, once one of Europe's most Catholic countries, will vote in favour of a referendum on legalising gay marriage.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The collapse in oil prices is pushing plastic recyclers towards the brink of bankruptcy, with potentially disastrous consequences for the environment, Pilita Clark, FT environment correspondent, tells Andrew Parker.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Many Iranians believe a comprehensive nuclear deal will bring a lifting of sanctions and the return of foreign investors, in particular Americans, who have been absent from Iran for over thirty years. Najmeh Bozorgmehr, reports from Tehran on their hopes for a deal.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

America’s biggest trade union federation is campaigning against “golden parachutes” in which bank executives pocket millions of dollars before taking jobs in government. Patrick Jenkins discusses the issue with Heather Slavkin Corzo, head of the federation’s investment office, and Caroline Binham.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The list of technology companies based in Ireland is long and growing. But some European states complain Ireland's enforcement of European data protection rules is lax. Ravi Mattu asks Duncan Robinson and Murad Ahmed whether a new supranational regulator would resolve such disputes.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Why is the world finally ready to criticise Turkey over the Armenian genocide? Why can't Europe end its migrant crisis and how did supermarket giant Tesco lose £6.4bn last year? Henry Mance answers these and other questions in his 'Best of the Financial Times podcasts.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The US shale industry has transformed the outlook for US energy security, created tens of thousands of high-paying jobs, and rattled the leaders of rival oil-producing countries from Riyadh to Caracas. But as oil prices have sunk, the fledgling industry is facing its first real test, Ed Crooks tells Matthew Vincent.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Turkey was shocked earlier this month when the Pope and the European parliament described the mass killing and deportation of Armenians from Turkey a hundred years ago as genocide. Daniel Dombey in Istanbul tells Fiona Symon why Turkey finds it so hard to confront this part of its history.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

China’s president is in Pakistan to announce an ambitious programme of infrastructure investment and military deals. Fiona Symon talks to Farhan Bokhari, FT correspondent in Islamabad, about what this means for Pakistan and the region.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How is the Chinese premier facing up to the country's economic slowdown? What's the big fiscal difference between the main parties in the British election? And can robots really cook like humans? Henry Mance considers these and other questions in his review of the best of the FT podcasts.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Iraqi forces suffered reverses this week in their battles against Islamic State militants in the province of Anbar, west of the capital Baghdad. Fiona Symon talks to FT Middle East correspondent Borzou Daragahi about what went wrong.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Twelve years ago, Jeff Bezos, chief executive of Amazon, gave the green light for an experimental business that would rent out computing power by the hour. Amazon Web Services now dominates a multibillion dollar and growing market. Murad Ahmed talks to Leslie Hook about the group's decision to disclose details of its cloud service.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The global economy is recovering, but how sustainable is the modest upturn? Ferdinando Giugliano talks to Eswar Prasad, economist at Cornell University and senior fellow at Brookings, about the findings from the latest FT/Brookings Tiger Index report.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The founder of France's far right National Front party Jean-Marie Le Pen has bowed out of politics after a public row with his daughter and party leader Marine Le Pen over his remarks that he considered the Nazi gas chambers a mere "a detail of history". Fiona Symon talks to Anne-Sylvaine Chassany, FT Paris bureau chief about the family feud.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The rebels trying to topple Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad have made gains in the north and south of the country. But an unexpected attack by Isis, the jihadi group, inside the capital Damascus has reminded the world that this is a three-way conflict. Erika Solomon tells Fiona Symon about the latest developments.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kenyans are in mourning after Islamist militants shot their way into a university in the remote northeast, leaving 148 dead. It was the worst terrorist atrocity in the country for nearly two decades and appears to have been carried out by home-grown militants. Fiona Symon talks to Katrina Manson, FT correspondent in Nairobi, about who was behind the attack.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The death of a prominent Istanbul prosecutor after he was held hostage by two leftist extremists has raised tensions ahead of Turkey's election in June. Fiona Symon talks to Istanbul correspondent Dan Dombey about the incident and how the government has reacted.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.