Asian nations are walking a tightrope between Washington and Beijing – juggling trade, tech and security pressures as the heavyweights vie for influence.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks with Adam Farrar, Bloomberg’s senior geoeconomics analyst for Asia Pacific, to unpack what may have been overlooked at the APEC summit as the Xi-Trump show came to town.

Read more: Xi Calls for Stable Supply Chains After Sealing Trump Truce

Further listening: Trump Got an ‘Amazing’ Meeting. China Got Much-Needed Time

Listen and follow The Big Take Asia on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts

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The last time the United States saw layoff numbers this high was during the Covid-19 pandemic.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg US Economy reporter Julia Fanzeres and host David Gura tackle the layoff wave of 2025: what it reveals about the state of the US economy — and what it means for the workers swept up in it.

Read more: Wave of US Layoffs Flash Early Warning Sign for Job Market

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Three weeks after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado finds herself supporting US intervention in her native country. Mishal speaks to Maria Corina on recent US boat strikes, Nicolas Maduro’s fate and the need for strength to secure peace.

03:24 - "I had to go into hiding"
03:51 - Impact of the Nobel Peace Prize
05:38 - US Military build up
10:21 - Prospect of US ground strikes
13:10 - Is Machado speaking to the Trump Administration?
16:00 - Prospect of regime change
18:50 - Venezuela after Maduro
23:04 - Machado's economic vision
26:04 - What is the Venezuelan opposition planning next?
28:23 - "We are ready to take our government"
34:22 - Why Machado thinks this time is different

Watch this podcast https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0Ns_wjGlmjlPz0cded0nTYS

You can find the written version of this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: https://www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

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The WNBA is bigger than ever. From soaring ticket sales and to record TV viewership, the W is one of the fastest-growing sports leagues in the world. But since last year, the WNBA and its players’ union have been in tense negotiations over the cut that players get from that success. A deadline to reach a deal has been extended another 30 days, but the sticking points remain.

On today’s Big Take Podcast, Bloomberg reporter Jennah Haque, Good Game host Sarah Spain and Seattle Storm Guard Lexie Brown break down the state of play, from proposals on the table for revenue sharing to questions about the league’s financial picture.

Read more:

• As Billions of Dollars Pour Into Women’s Sports, Players Seek a Bigger Cut

Further listening:

• Good Game with Sarah Spain
• Full Circle with Lexie Brown & Mariah Rose—Power to the Players

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On Thursday, President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China announced a one-year truce in their trade war, capping six contentious months of negotiations and retaliatory tariffs between the world’s two largest economies.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Global Trade Editor Brendan Murray and Executive China Editor John Liu join host David Gura to parse the details of the new US-China trade agreement — and why both countries are moving forward without a permanent deal.

Read more: Trump and Xi Put Limits on Their Trade War in a ‘12 Out of 10’ Summit

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On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points, following its 25-basis-point cut in September. But amid a government shutdown limiting key data and questions about who will succeed Chair Jerome Powell, what comes next is anyone’s guess.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg reporters Amara Omeokwe and Enda Curran join host David Gura to break down the path forward for the central bank: from the shutdown’s impact on its decision-making to the leading contenders for Powell’s position when his term ends in May.

Read more:

Powell Says December Rate Cut ‘Far From’ Forgone Conclusion

Here Are the Five Contenders to Replace Powell as Fed Chair

The Economic Data Lost in a Shutdown

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The US-China tariff war has upended global manufacturing, forcing companies like Chicago-based Learning Resources to fundamentally change how and where its products are made.

On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, K. Oanh Ha heads to Vietnam, where the toymaker has begun shifting the production of its popular children’s toys. We examine how the company is managing its complex shift from China – where its toys have been made for decades – what the factory boom means for communities on the ground in Vietnam and how all of this will impact consumers.

Further listening: The American Toymaker Suing Trump Over Destructive Tariffs
Xi’s Top Bargaining Chip Is a Trade War Game Changer

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Running North America’s largest transportation network is no easy task. Janno Lieber, the CEO and Chair of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is in charge of everything from upgrading ancient train infrastructure to advancing long-delayed expansion plans. He’s now also dealing with potential federal funding cuts for two of his agency’s signature projects – expanding the Second Avenue Subway into East Harlem and building a new commuter rail tunnel to connect New York and New Jersey.

Today on the show, Lieber sits down with host Sarah Holder to discuss his approach to running the agency in the face of these threats, his thoughts on NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s free bus proposal, and his advice for other cities who want to up their public transit ambitions.

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