The Big View

Police cracked down on mass demonstrations in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny after his alleged poisoning and arrest. Exiled economist Sergei Guriev explains how lower real incomes, corruption and YouTube drove people to the streets – and what could happen next. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From self-funding tax cuts to runaway executive pay, economists have provided intellectual support for seriously flawed policies. Reuters journalist Tom Bergin, author of “Free Lunch Thinking” tells Peter Thal Larsen how dodgy theories helped mislead politicians and the public. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

That’s the view of Oliver Baete, CEO of Allianz. Markets are pricing in vaccination perfection, as they’ve grown dependent on central bank and government largesse, he tells Rob Cox. But for the $97 billion German insurer, there’s still opportunity to be had in the year ahead. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Facebook COO sat down with Breakingviews’ Gina Chon as part of Reuters Next on Monday to explain why the social network has indefinitely blocked the U.S. president after he incited violence at the Capitol: and why it took so long for the company to come to this decision. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Muddy Waters shorted stocks like health provider NMC and forest plantation group Sino-Forest, aiding their collapse. But founder Carson Block tells Dasha Afanasieva he almost quit due to the stress of facing a criminal investigation. For him, politics may be an alternative path. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

U.S. financial institutions have increasingly been teaming up to take on the big four: JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Bruce Van Saun, chief executive of Citizens Financial, one of the top regional lenders, discusses post-pandemic banking with Rob Cox.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The British buyout baron, best known for his disastrous purchase of music group EMI in 2007, now focuses on more modest deals. He joins Liam Proud to discuss Covid-19, ESG, and why the private equity industry’s returns are likely to fall. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Covid-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca may soon be available for distribution. But how do you deliver billions of vials across the world? Rob Coyle, pharma head at freight giant Kuehne+Nagel joins Lisa Jucca to discuss how to meet the logistics challenge.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Growing global demand for food is putting a squeeze on available land and one French startup says it has the answer: indoor insect farming. Ynsect co-founder Antoine Hubert on how growing mealworms for fertilizer will benefit the environment – and eventually our diets too.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Supply chains may become more diverse or shorter, tech companies with few hard assets will continue to thrive, and the transition away from fossil fuels will present opportunities. Taimur Hyat, COO of $1.4 trln asset manager PGIM, looks to the future with Richard Beales. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.