Saks Global, the parent company of the historic luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The move occurred a little more than a year after the company purchased Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman in a debt-fuelled takeover. The FT’s Wall Street editor Sujeet Indap and the US investment editor Eric Platt walk through how that acquisition played a role in the bankruptcy and whether more highly leveraged companies will seek bankruptcy protection in 2026.

Clips from ABC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Warner Brothers

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

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For further reading:

Death of a dream: Saks’ crisis exposes luxury department store woes

Leveraged luxury: fall of Saks Global to scorch US business stars

Saks divisive debt reshuffle shows a retail sector under strain

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Follow Sujeet Indap on X (@sindap), or on Bluesky (@sindap.bsky.social). Eric Platt is on X (@EricGPlatt), or on Bluesky (@ericgplatt.ft.com). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Every January a collection of the world’s top business and political leaders head to the Swiss town of Davos for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. The event is a week of panels and networking meant to promote dialogue among elites. But a scandal last year threatened to overshadow the 2026 meeting, which begins in a few days. Critics have also questioned the event’s relevance in a changing world. The FT’s Switzerland and Austria correspondent, Mercedes Ruehl, explains the problems the WEF has faced and shares her reporting on how this year’s event is shaping up.

Clips from the World Economic Forum, Instagram: @christinelagarde

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

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For further reading:

Microsoft and McKinsey pay up to $1mn each to back Donald Trump’s Davos hub

Davos assured Trump ‘woke’ topics were off the agenda

The Davos set in decline: can the World Economic Forum save itself?

‘A family enterprise’: WEF founder Klaus Schwab on alleged wrongdoing at Davos

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Follow Mercedes Ruehl on X (@mjruehl), or on Bluesky (@mjruehl.bsky.social) Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the artificial intelligence bubble to trade policy, Michela asks Martin Wolf, the FT's chief economics commentator, how the biggest stories of last year will affect the economy in 2026.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

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For further reading:

Forecasting the world in 2026

Why the world should worry about stablecoins

Trump’s tariffs will damage the world

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Follow Martin Wolf on X (@martinwolf_). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.