Explore the downsized plans for Neom, Saudi Arabia's futuristic city, from 9 million residents to under 300,000 due to financial constraints. Delve into the unique design and challenges of a linear city in development, showcasing innovative technologies and sustainability initiatives. Uncover the ambitious vision, controversies, and potential challenges of Neom and The Line project, highlighting the country's economic diversification efforts and environmental concerns.

Send us a textSales growth of electric vehicles has slowed dramatically this year. Tesla delivered 20% fewer cars in the first quarter of 2024 than in the prior quarter, and BYD who was previously the world’s biggest EV maker saw sales decline more than 40% over the same period.BYD’s EV sales were still up 13% when compared to the same quarter a year earlier, while Tesla’s sales were down 9%. Both companies have been slashing prices to stimulate demand.While EV sales overall are still r...

Send us a textJapan’s central bank raised interest rates last week for the first time in seventeen years, ending the world’s only remaining negative interest rate regime. The Bank of Japan also abandoned its yield curve control policy which has been in place since 2016, which saw it buying Japanese government bonds to keep longer term interest rates from rising. It has however maintained bond buying at the same pace for now.Patrick's Books:Statistics For The Trading Floor: https:/...

Send us a textAfter a decade of decline, bankruptcy filings around the world are on the rise. In the United States, business bankruptcy filings rose more than 40 percent last year and non-business bankruptcy filings rose 16 percent.Bankruptcies in England and Wales just hit a 30-year high according to the latest figures.In Japan, corporate bankruptcies involving a total liability of 10 million Yen or more increased year on year by more than 35 percent.Patrick's Books:Statistics For The ...

Send us a textElon Musk filed a lawsuit last week against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging the company’s deal with Microsoft compromised the start-up’s original mission. Musk is seeking disgorgement, additional unspecified damages and specific performance. Let’s go through these claims one by one, see what legal experts have been saying about the case. We will also discuss the Open AI memo saying that the claims in this lawsuit suit stem from Elon’s regrets about not being i...

Discusses rising office mortgage default rates globally and the impact on banks and investors. Talks about distressed sales of office buildings, New York Community Bancorp's stock drop, and how banks are managing loan portfolios. Explores challenges in the US office real estate sector and the decline of bank balance sheet lending. Examines the use of Significant Risk Transfer in the banking sector.

Send us a textA new Harvard Business School study analyzed the impact of giving AI tools, to white collar workers at Boston Consulting Group.In the study, management consultants who were told to use Chat GPT when carrying out a set of consulting tasks were far more productive than their colleagues who were not given access the tool. Not only did AI-assisted consultants carry out tasks 25 per cent faster and complete 12 per cent more tasks overall, but their work was also assessed to be 40 per...

Send us a textAs the global fight over manufacturing share and exports heats up, with surplus economies doubling down on exports, and deficit economies discussing protectionist strategies, the policies of the largest global economies are in clear conflict. Are trade wars likely, how do they work, and can the global economy regain balance?Michael Pettis Books:The Great Rebalancing: https://amzn.to/4bDIGKfTrade Wars Are Class Wars: https://amzn.to/3I2xHMHPatrick's Books:Statistics For The Tradi...

Adam Neumann, cofounder of WeWork, has been trying to buy back the company out of bankruptcy. His new real estate company 'Flow' has raised $350 million to finance the transaction. Third Point hedge fund has had preliminary conversations about participating. The podcast discusses the challenges of securing financing, WeWork's downfall, and the obstacles of buying out of bankruptcy.

The podcast discusses the voiding of Elon Musk's $55.8 billion pay deal with Tesla and the possibility of reincorporating in Texas. It explores the structure of Musk's compensation package, the issue of excessive CEO compensation, scandals faced by Lucent, and Musk's reasons for focusing on Tesla.