Executives from drugmaker Insys were the first from the pharmaceutical sector to be handed prison time for their role in America’s opioid epidemic earlier this year. The FT and the PBS series Frontline have investigated why the warning signs around the company were ignored for so long. FT pharmaceutical correspondent Hannah Kuchler tells Marc Filippino what they uncovered.Read the story at ft.com/insys.The PBS Frontline documentary, Opioids, Inc. is available for streaming online at PBS.org beginning Friday June 19, and will premiere on American PBS stations on Tuesday, June 23. For more information visit: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/opioids-inc/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US has suspended talks with European countries on a new global tax framework for technology companies, private equity groups in the US have been on a spending spree despite worldwide lockdowns due to the pandemic, and the bankrupt car rental company Hertz halted its controversial $500m share sale. Plus, the FT’s Seoul bureau chief Edward White explains how Donald Trump’s transactional approach to foreign policy is affecting America’s relationships with Asian countries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wall Street rallied on expectations of new aid for the US economy from the federal government and central bank, while Royalty Pharma pulled off the biggest US listing of 2020. Plus, protesters are calling to defund police departments in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Alex Vitale, a sociology professor at Brooklyn College, explains what this might look like in practice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US Supreme Court ruled on Monday that LGBTQ workers are protected by federal civil rights laws in a landmark anti-discrimination decision, and Europe’s young workers are among the hardest hit by a frozen labour market. Plus, the FT’s senior energy correspondent, Anjli Raval, explains why coronavirus has big oil companies, such as BP, pivoting towards clean energy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SoftBank has quietly poured more than $500m into Credit Suisse investment funds that in turn made big bets on the debt of struggling start-ups backed by the Vision Fund, the White House is opposed to extending coronavirus-related federal unemployment payments because it believes the measure created a “disincentive” to work, and China is bracing for a second wave of coronavirus. Plus, the FT’s David Keohane reports on France’s efforts to save its aerospace industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Investors in US and European equities were rattled on Thursday after the Federal Reserve’s dire assessment of the US economy and fresh concerns of an uptick in coronavirus cases, and the British government has abandoned its plan to introduce full border checks with the EU on January 1. Plus, the FT’s banking editor, Stephen Morris, unpacks the pressure HSBC is under after backing China’s Hong Kong national security law.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First, the FT’s Colby Smith explains why the Federal Reserve is predicting that it would keep interest rates close to zero until at least the end of 2022. Then, the FT’s Brazil bureau chief Bryan Harris examines how the country is handling the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, the FT’s US business editor, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson explains how company leaders have been awarded generous stock options that could more than make up for their temporary pandemic-related pay cuts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EU member states are urging Brussels to account for the shock of a hard Brexit in its coronavirus recovery plans, a former Goldman Sachs banker has avoided prison time for his role in a global insider trading ring, and US online car sales company Vroom more than doubled its price on the first day of trading as investors showed strong demand for newly listed stocks.  Plus, the Federal Reserve is releasing its first economic forecast in six months. The FT’s James Politi explains what the US central bank could signal about the next stage of their recession response. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US stock market has erased all of its losses from 2020, the World Bank has forecast that emerging economies will shrink for the first time in 60 years, and US Congressional Democrats have responded to protests against police brutality by proposing a bill to reform police practices. Plus, the FT’s Anjli Raval will explain the cautiously optimistic moves from the oil market.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

US civil rights groups have received a surge of corporate donations since Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, the head of Fidelity International has warned that asset managers will struggle to provide enough cash to keep businesses afloat, and global trade is under threat with up to 400,000 crew stranded either at sea or at home due to Covid-19. Plus, the FT’s James Politi explains why the US Bureau of Labor Statistics is having a hard time pinning down the country’s actual unemployment rate.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.