How the world is preparing for oil shortages
4/16/202612 min
Gulf monarchies raised almost $10bn in private sales of bonds this month, oil shortages are coming if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed, and US President Donald Trump has renewed his threat to fire Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell. Plus, a second China shock is hitting the global economy, and Allbirds is pivoting from wool sneakers to AI.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Gulf states turn to private deals in $10bn wartime borrowing spree
Oil shortages are coming, and with them some difficult questions
Trump threatens to fire Jay Powell and refuses to halt criminal probe
China shock 2.0: the flood of high-tech goods that will change the world
Allbirds is turning into an AI compute provider, because of course it is
Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts
Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted by Victoria Craig, and produced by Saffeya Ahmed, Fiona Simon and Sonja Hutson. Our show was mixed by Sam Giovinco. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s Global Head of Audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsVictoria Craig· Host0:00
[intro music] Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Thursday, April 16th, and this is your FT News Briefing. Gulf States go on a wartime borrowing spree, and we look into what oil rationing might soon look like. Plus, China had a record trade surplus last year, and that is fueling worries the world will be overwhelmed by its exports. I'm Victoria Craig, and here's the news you need to start your day. [news intro music] Gulf States are tapping international debt markets as they tally the cost of rebuilding after the US-Iran war. Many discreetly raised nearly ten billion dollars in private bond sales this month after the conflict hit their economies hard. It's forced them to halt oil and gas exports and caused widespread damage to their energy facilities. Typically, the Gulf fundraises on public markets, but Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Kuwait sidestepped that process this time. Borrowing costs can be more uncertain in those public markets. The governments did not respond to FT requests for comment, but the private debt sales highlight how the pause in fighting is giving those states an opportunity to quickly raise cash. [upbeat music] The last of the oil tankers that set sail before