Big Take

After a period characterized as “low-hire, low-fire,” the American labor market is seeing a surge of layoffs from companies like Amazon, Starbucks, UPS and Target. And that’s pushing more job applicants towards traditionally less-desirable occupations, like substitute teaching, traffic flagging and waste management.  Today on the Big Take, Sarah Holder is joined by economic...

China is investing heavily in cutting-edge genetic experiments. It’s part of their quest to become a biotech superpower. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha, Bloomberg’s Karoline Kan and Oxford University geneticist Andy Greenfield discuss China’s pharmaceutical ambitions and the loose regulatory environment that allows the animal testing industry to thrive. R...

Apollo Global Management reinvented how pensions could be managed and paid out — by taking them over and moving the risks offshore. Other firms have followed suit and ushered hundreds of billions of dollars in American retirement savings into accounts that retirees and economists say are exposed to higher risk.  On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder sits down with Bloombe...

For years, Mackeys Ferry Sawmill in North Carolina relied on exporting its goods to China and Vietnam after a dip in domestic demand for high-quality hardwood. But President Donald Trump’s trade war with China dealt a blow that the mill’s owners say they couldn’t come back from. In July, just months after the president announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs, they deci...

In recent weeks, a number of economic warning signs have put investors on edge, from growing skepticism over the possibility of an AI bubble to bankruptcies that have rocked the private credit market. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg Opinion columnist and senior markets editor John Authers and host David Gura tackle the question: How worried should we be about the US economy? See omnys...

When President Trump took office in January, he made it clear that retribution against his perceived political enemies was a key part of his second-term agenda. He’s used a variety of tools at his disposal — and with his encouragement, the Department of Justice has indicted former FBI Director James Comey, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and former National Security Advis...

Wall Street banks are on a hiring spree across India, recruiting workers for everything from software engineering to risk management as part of a decades-long shift away from support roles toward high-skill positions. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host David Gura sits down with Bloomberg’s Siddhi Nayak to look at India’s changing job landscape. What to expect as Wall Street c...

The US economy appears remarkably resilient right now, but if you look closer, you’ll see a different picture emerge: a growing divide between America’s wealthiest consumers and everyone else. Economists call this kind of bifurcated economy “K-shaped.” And as the top and bottom of the K have diverged, the overall economy has also become more top-heavy and more fragile. On t...

The United States has struck more than a dozen boats off the coast of Venezuela over the last two months, killing more than 60 people. The Trump administration says it’s targeting narco-traffickers. But critics at home and abroad have decried the attacks and challenged their legal basis. Meanwhile, President Trump has overseen a buildup of force in the region. On today’s Big Take podca...

The ongoing US government shutdown has broken historic records — and its economic consequences could prove even longer-lasting. Today on the Big Take, host Sarah Holder is joined by Bloomberg’s Gregory Korte and Megan Scully, who cover the White House and Congress, to talk about the shutdown’s impacts across sectors — and what it could take to break the logjam. Read more: T...

Zohran Mamdani clinched New York City’s mayoral race by campaigning against wealth inequality and promoting affordability. Now, he faces the challenge of delivering on the promises that got him elected while coming to the table with the city’s wealthiest residents, who have an outsized influence on the city’s politics, economy and revenue. On today’s Big Take podcast, host...

Asian nations are walking a tightrope between Washington and Beijing – juggling trade, tech and security pressures as the heavyweights vie for influence. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks with Adam Farrar, Bloomberg’s senior geoeconomics analyst for Asia Pacific, to unpack what may have been overlooked at the APEC summit as the Xi-Trump show came to town. R...

The last time the United States saw layoff numbers this high was during the Covid-19 pandemic. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg US Economy reporter Julia Fanzeres and host David Gura tackle the layoff wave of 2025: what it reveals about the state of the US economy — and what it means for the workers swept up in it. Read more: Wave of US Layoffs Flash Early Warning Sign for Job Ma...

The WNBA is bigger than ever. From soaring ticket sales and to record TV viewership, the W is one of the fastest-growing sports leagues in the world. But since last year, the WNBA and its players’ union have been in tense negotiations over the cut that players get from that success. A deadline to reach a deal has been extended another 30 days, but the sticking points remain. On today’s...

On Thursday, President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China announced a one-year truce in their trade war, capping six contentious months of negotiations and retaliatory tariffs between the world’s two largest economies. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Global Trade Editor Brendan Murray and Executive China Editor John Liu join host David Gura to parse the detai...

On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points, following its 25-basis-point cut in September. But amid a government shutdown limiting key data and questions about who will succeed Chair Jerome Powell, what comes next is anyone’s guess. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg reporters Amara Omeokwe and Enda Curran join host David Gura to break down the path...

The US-China tariff war has upended global manufacturing, forcing companies like Chicago-based Learning Resources to fundamentally change how and where its products are made. On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, K. Oanh Ha heads to Vietnam, where the toymaker has begun shifting the production of its popular children’s toys. We examine how the company is managing its complex shift from Chi...

Running North America’s largest transportation network is no easy task. Janno Lieber, the CEO and Chair of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is in charge of everything from upgrading ancient train infrastructure to advancing long-delayed expansion plans. He’s now also dealing with potential federal funding cuts for two of his agency’s signature projects &ndas...

On day 23 of the second-longest government shutdown in American history, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sits down with Big Take Host David Gura to talk about the shutdown, the NYC mayoral race and cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the last decade, Nana Regional Corp. — an Alaska Native corporation based in a small community roughly 30 miles north of the Arctic Circle — has won contracts worth more than $1 billion to run and support ICE detention facilities around the US. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg investigative reporter Polly Mosendz and KOTZ news director Desiree Hagen look into how a com...

China’s dominance of rare earths has given Xi Jinping powerful leverage over Donald Trump ahead of their expected meeting next week.  On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha and Bloomberg’s Daniel Ten Kate dig into how China is weaponizing rare earths and what the economic standoff means for a trade deal and the future of US-China relations. Read more:  Xi Is...

Some of the biggest names in tech and Hollywood are training their sights on Warner Bros. Discovery, the media and entertainment conglomerate that owns HBO Max, CNN and TNT. The first party to make an offer was Paramount Skydance, the newly-merged company helmed by David Ellison. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw joins host David Gura to share his reporting on why Ell...

In just seven minutes, thieves in France made off with a cache of royal necklaces, tiaras and earrings in a robbery at Paris’s famous Louvre — shutting down the world’s busiest museum and setting off an international manhunt.  On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura and Bloomberg’s Paris Bureau Chief Alan Katz on the brazen theft that evokes a Hollywood cape...

The competition for America’s wealthiest shoppers is heating up, with credit card companies like American Express and Chase using every perk in the book to enroll new cardholders. On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Amanda Mull tracks how the leading credit card companies are using perks, promotions and points to win the business of the 10 percent of Americans responsible fo...

This week, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are holding their annual meetings in Washington, DC and so is the Institute of International Finance. It’s brought a who’s who of central bankers and finance ministers to the US capital — in the midst of a government shutdown — to discuss the most pressing issues facing the global economy. Bloomberg reporters and...