US tariffs have sent financial markets into a frenzy in recent weeks, but how much should central bankers be taking trade into account when setting monetary policy? To find out, Soumaya Keynes sits down with Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Swati Dhingra – one of the committee’s more dovish members. They discuss why the UK’s open economy makes it more vulnerable to trade shocks, what Dhingra saw in the data that her MPC colleagues didn’t, and why she didn’t vote for an (even) sharper rate cut earlier this month.

Further reading:

Two BoE policymakers warn against rushing to further cut interest rates

Bank of England vote split hits hopes for faster interest rate cuts

Brexit lessons for Trump’s trade war

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

Donald Trump’s trade policies have put global markets through the mill in recent weeks. But his policies didn’t come from nowhere. Aspects of US protectionism preceded Trump’s second term – and countries across the world have been pushing for greater self-sufficiency for some time. Is this drive for greater self-sufficiency misguided? Is true self-sufficiency even possible? Or might the secret to economic security come from more co-operation, not less? The FT’s senior business writer Andrew Hill sits down with Ben Chu to discuss the findings from his new book: "Exile Economics: What Happens if Globalisation Fails." Chu is the policy and analysis correspondent at BBC Verify and was previously the economics editor of BBC Newsnight.

For further reading:

The old global economic order is dead

Britain’s trade deal with Trump may not be good news for the world

Tariffs are a bet on the free market rather than free trade

The business lessons to draw from Trump’s dealmaking

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Andrew Hill. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

Over the past 25 years, the Gates foundation has given away more than $100bn. Much of that money has gone to healthcare and education projects outside the US – and the organisation plans to give $200bn more to various programmes in the next twenty years. But as Elon Musk and Doge feed USAID, a key partner of the foundation, “into the wood chipper,” how can Bill Gates press ahead? The FT’s Africa editor, David Pilling, speaks to Gates about running an apolitical, philanthropic entity in a politically challenging time.

Read more:

Bill Gates is giving away $200bn. Can his plans survive in the Trump era?

Bill Gates accuses Elon Musk of ‘killing’ children with USAID cuts

Elon Musk’s painful departure

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by David Pilling. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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