Roaring trades: oil majors’ secret success story

About this episode

<p>Big oil firms keep one part of their business hush-hush: trading. Amid an almighty oil shock, the majors’ trading arms are <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2026/06/28/big-oils-secretive-trading-arms-are-having-an-extraordinary-year?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">raking it in</a>. But competition is mounting. We look at the Trump administration’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2026/06/30/donald-trumps-ai-regime-is-opaque-unpredictable-and-unsustainable?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">messy attempts</a> to regulate frontier AI models, and how that may cost America its AI edge. And why the biggest music tours are <a href="https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/06/15/harry-styles-and-other-megastars-now-expect-you-to-come-to-them?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">going to fewer places</a>. </p><br><p>Guests and host:</p><ul><li>Matthieu Favas, commodities editor</li><li>Shashank Joshi, incoming Washington bureau chief</li><li>Vicky Jessop, culture writer</li><li>Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Topics covered: </p><ul><li>oil majors, oil trading</li><li>AI,  frontier models, American regulation</li><li>music business, concert tours</li></ul><p><br></p><p><em>Get a world of insights by </em><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>subscribing to Economist Podcasts+</em></a><em>. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our </em><a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>FAQs page</em></a><em> or watch </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>our video</em></a><em> explaining how to link your account.</em></p><br><p><br></p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>