The Big View

Longtime Volvo CEO Pehr Gyllenhammar was pushing radical environmental and social changes at the carmaker long before they became fashionable. One of Sweden’s most admired businessmen argues why CEOs should be paid less and how it felt to become a father again at 81.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The office is not dead, though hot-desking may be. The elevator needs a rethink. And don’t rule out the shopping mall. Brookfield Asset Management’s chief executive made these and other predictions for the post-pandemic global economy in a recent chat with Breakingviews editors. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Exchange-traded funds are wildly popular with retail and institutional investors alike. BlackRock’s global head of ETFs and index investments Salim Ramji demystifies these tools, revealing how they passed their crisis test and how they challenge the active vs. passive divide. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lloyd Minor, the dean of Stanford’s school of medicine, tells Rob Cox that research into the coronavirus shows promising signs for the discovery of a vaccine. Just the same, the world needs to better prepare for pandemics, and medicine is at the cusp of extraordinary change.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Covid-19 has halted anti-government protests, but tensions are simmering. Hong Kong-based lawyer and author Antony Dapiran explains to Robyn Mak how local officials and Beijing are using legal means to silence opponents, and why another summer of discontent is all but guaranteed. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Founder and editor Tyler Brûlé discusses post-pandemic life prep and Swiss lockdown handling. Topics include changing attitudes towards travel and business, Zurich's unique features, government response to shortages, and future travel plans.

Pandemic and recession are making the lower strata of the labour force crankier than they’ve ever been. Author Dexter Roberts explains to Pete Sweeney how Beijing is struggling to manage worker dissatisfaction, and points to rising economic costs and political risks. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kevin Warsh, Jason Furman and Laurence Boone join a wide-ranging panel discussion with Breakingviews to size up the global monetary and fiscal responses to the economic lockdowns enforced to halt the spread of Covid-19; and to map out a recovery back to something like normal. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In normal times, some of the world’s littler nations like Denmark and Singapore tend to outperform larger ones in a variety of economic and social areas, author James Breiding tells Rob Cox. Covid-19 will likely show that big isn’t necessarily better in handling a crisis either. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Christy Pambianchi oversees the well-being of more than 100,000 people. She explains how Verizon quickly rewrote the rule book to address the coronavirus outbreak from getting people set up at home to ensuring the safety of field employees providing critical infrastructure. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.