High oil prices still have a huge impact on some of these energy-intensive industries like manufacturing. Last year the Biden administration was also contending with inflation across the economy that was running at four decade high. So it's a very complex thing. We're spending less in the US economy as a proportion of our households spending than we ever have on energy. But energy underlies all the other things that we're spending at the moment. It's most visible when you drive past the gas station.
There’s been a lot of big finance and economics news in 2023. Whether it's stories about rising interest rates, tech industry layoffs or bank runs, it can almost feel like you need an MBA just to make sense of it all. That’s why the Financial Times is launching a bonus series called Behind the Money: Night School.
Over the next five weeks, this show will help you understand the concepts behind the biggest economic stories of this year. U.S. managing editor Peter Spiegel chats with FT journalists as they unpack the basics around things like energy markets, inflation and the rise of artificial intelligence. This series is supported by Blinkist. If you want to find out more about conversations like this, check out the Blinkist app.
Behind the Money: Night School is out now. Find it by subscribing to the Behind the Money podcast wherever you listen.
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