For over three decades, the people most excited about Nvidia’s chips have been gamers. They used its graphics cards to render games in super-high definition. But over the last 15 years Nvidia has slowly established itself as the go-to provider of chips and software to the booming artificial intelligence space. Now it is investors that are paying attention—Nvidia’s market cap has almost tripled this year, briefly soaring above $1trn in late May. On this week’s podcast, hosts Alice Fulwood, Tom Lee-Devlin and Mike Bird explore the astonishing rise of Nvidia. The Economist’s Guy Scriven explains how the AI boom made the Californian chip maker into a $1trn company. Stacy Rasgon, an analyst at Bernstein Research, charts the company’s “30-year journey to overnight success” and Pierre Ferragu from New Street Research tells them that Google and Amazon have their sights on the chip market.Sign up for our new weekly newsletter dissecting the big themes in markets, business and the economy at www.economist.com/moneytalks For full access to print, digital and audio editions, subscribe to The Economist at www.economist.com/podcastoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Decades of cheap money has left businesses in America and Europe addicted to debt. Some companies have been borrowing cash just to dole it out to shareholders. But with interest rates now reaching levels not seen in 15 years, those debt-drunk firms are waking up to the threat of a mighty hangover.On this week’s podcast, hosts Tom Lee-Devlin and Alice Fulwood ask if those firms can kick their debt habit. Goldman Sachs’ chief credit strategist, Lotfi Karoui, explains how companies became hooked in the first place—and what will happen when they start cutting back. And Torsten Slok from Apollo, one of the world’s largest private capital managers, tells them why the cost of borrowing isn’t likely to fall any time soon.Sign up for our new weekly newsletter dissecting the big themes in markets, business and the economy at www.economist.com/moneytalks For full access to print, digital and audio editions, subscribe to The Economist at www.economist.com/podcastoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Alipay’s QR codes to PayPal, it’s never been easier to move money around. Central banks are even considering their own digital currencies. And all that cross-border cashlessness has some wondering about the dollar’s international dominance.On this week’s podcast, hosts Mike Bird and Tom Lee-Devlin examine the risks to the world’s reserve currency. The Economist’s Arjun Ramani explains how far digital payments have come; Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for financial services, discusses ambitions for a digital euro; and Michael Pettis from Peking University explains the costs inherent in hosting a reserve currency.We would love to hear from you. Please fill out our listener survey at economist.com/moneytalkssurveySign up for our new weekly newsletter dissecting the big themes in markets, business and the economy at www.economist.com/moneytalks For full access to print, digital and audio editions, subscribe to The Economist at www.economist.com/podcastoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Housing in America has never been this unaffordable. The pandemic set off skyrocketing prices; then the Fed began to rapidly increase interest rates, pushing up borrowing costs. Many predicted this might result in a crash. But after dropping 10% from all-time highs, home prices in America are picking up again. What is going on?On this week’s podcast, hosts Alice Fulwood, Tom Lee-Devlin and Mike Bird ask if anything can take the heat out of the American housing market. Skylar Olsen, chief economist at property app Zillow, tells them that interest rate rises have added $800 a month to the typical American household’s mortgage bill. And Domonic Purviance from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta explains how central bankers are thinking about the impact on the affordability of those loans.We would love to hear from you. Please fill out our listener survey at economist.com/moneytalkssurveySign up for our new weekly newsletter dissecting the big themes in markets, business and the economy at www.economist.com/moneytalks For full access to print, digital and audio editions, subscribe to The Economist at www.economist.com/podcastoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Buying a car used to be about two things: style and performance. But as motorists trade in their petrol or diesel cars for electric vehicles, manufacturers are increasingly focusing on experience by adding features like karaoke machines and mood lighting. Those drivers also have a lot more choices. The ditching of internal combustion engines in favour of battery-power has allowed new car makers to enter the market. But rather than thinking like BMW or Ford, they are looking to firms like Apple for their inspiration.On this week’s podcast, hosts Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Tom Lee-Devlin examine the remaking of the auto industry. The Economist’s Simon Wright explains that software, rather than hardware, will define car brands in the future. Henrik Fisker, the founder of one of those new brands, tells them that a history of making petrol-powered cars doesn’t necessarily qualify established car makers to make electric vehicles. And advisor Tu Le explains why Western car makers are worried about competition from China.Sign up for our new weekly newsletter dissecting the big themes in markets, business and the economy at www.economist.com/moneytalks For full access to print, digital and audio editions, subscribe to The Economist at www.economist.com/podcastoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.