Is China’s economic slowdown here to stay?

Energy companies going public are raising money at their fastest pace this century and China’s growth rate is at its lowest in decades, according to the country’s latest GDP numbers. Plus, oil traders are worried that crude supplies are running low, and the US state department is struggling under President Donald Trump, with one-fifth of the diplomatic corps gone and few ambassador posts filled.Mentioned in this podcast:Energy IPOs surge as investors hunt for ways to play AI boomChina’s economy grows at one of lowest rates in decadesOil traders warn market is close to running on empty as Hormuz shuts againRIP the US state departmentCredit: C-SPAN Want to get in touch? Email us at [email protected]: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts The FT News Briefing is produced by Victoria Craig, Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, Katya Kumkova, and Fiona Symon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco and Alex Higgins. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our intern is Cole van Miltenburg. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 16, 2026

What this episode covers

Energy companies going public are raising money at their fastest pace this century and China’s growth rate is at its lowest in decades, according to the country’s latest GDP numbers. Plus, oil traders are worried that crude supplies are running low, and the US state department is struggling under President Donald Trump, with one-fifth of the diplomatic corps gone and few ambassador posts filled.Mentioned in this podcast:Energy IPOs surge as investors hunt for ways to play AI boomChina’s economy grows at one of lowest rates in decadesOil traders warn market is close to running on empty as Hormuz shuts againRIP the US state departmentCredit: C-SPAN Want to get in touch? Email us at [email protected]: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts The FT News Briefing is produced by Victoria Craig, Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, Katya Kumkova, and Fiona Symon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco and Alex Higgins. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our intern is Cole van Miltenburg. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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