US crude prices fell below $80 for much of the day Monday as oil traders factored in a potential deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But even as reports of imminent peace deals or attacks jolt oil markets, fuel prices at US gas stations have remained high. Late last week, US oil companies Exxon and Chevron reported their biggest profits in years.

On today’s Big Take podcast, oil reporter Mitchell Ferman joins host Sarah Holder to explain why oil companies are built for global conflict.

Read more: 
Big Oil Set to Reap Profit Bonanza From Soaring Fuel Prices
Exxon, Chevron Steer Windfall Profits Into Paying Down Debt

We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.

Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Laura Newcombe; Reported by Mitchell Ferman; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott. Fact-checking by Rachael Lewis-Krisky and Victor Swezey; Engineering by Emma Munger. Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

US crude prices fell below $80 for much of the day Monday as oil traders factored in a potential deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But even as reports of imminent peace deals or attacks jolt oil markets, fuel prices at US gas stations have remained high. Late last week, US oil companies Exxon and Chevron reported their biggest profits in years.
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, oil reporter Mitchell Ferman joins host Sarah Holder to explain why oil companies are built for global conflict.
Read more:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-22/big-oil-set-to-reap-profit-bonanza-from-soaring-fuel-prices">Big Oil Set to Reap Profit Bonanza From Soaring Fuel Prices</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-31/exxon-chevron-steer-windfall-profits-into-debt-reduction-ms917v1o">Exxon, Chevron Steer Windfall Profits Into Paying Down Debt</a></li>
</ul>
We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts">Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.</a>
Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Laura Newcombe; Reported by Mitchell Ferman; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott. Fact-checking by Rachael Lewis-Krisky and Victor Swezey; Engineering by Emma Munger. Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

Big Take

Big Oil’s Big Wartime Profits

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ebc26041-5790-4a3f-af5c-b49b0161c7ad/transcript

Insurers have quietly become a major driver of the private credit boom, with numerous private equity shops striking deals with insurance companies or buying them outright. But the entanglement with private credit is also changing the insurance industry itself, raising a number of questions about risk and regulation. 

In this week's Weekend Listen, Odd Lots speaks to Andrew Granato and Pranjal Drall, authors of a new paper, “Private Credit's State Backstop: How Private Equity Socializes Risk Through Insurers," examining the relationship between private credit and insurance. Granato (an assistant professor at the UT Austin Law School) and Drall (JD-PhD student in Financial Economics at Yale) talk to us about how PE got so interested in insurance in the first place, how both sides benefit from the relationship, and why taxpayers might ultimately be on the hook.

Read more:
Blue Owl Surges as Leaders Stress It’s More Than a Direct Lender
Ares $29 Billion Private Credit Fund Sees Uptick in Non-Accruals

Only Bloomberg - Business News, Stock Markets, Finance, Breaking & World News subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at  bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots

Subscribe to the Odd Lots Newsletter
Join the conversation:discord.gg/oddlots

Insurers have quietly become a major driver of the private credit boom, with numerous private equity shops striking deals with insurance companies or buying them outright. But the entanglement with private credit is also changing the insurance industry itself, raising a number of questions about risk and regulation. In this week's Weekend Listen, Odd Lots speaks to Andrew Granato and Pranjal Drall, authors of a new paper, &ldquo;Private Credit's State Backstop: How Private Equity Socializes Risk Through Insurers," examining the relationship between private credit and insurance. Granato (an assistant professor at the UT Austin Law School) and Drall (JD-PhD student in Financial Economics at Yale) talk to us about how PE got so interested in insurance in the first place, how both sides benefit from the relationship, and why taxpayers might ultimately be on the hook.
Read more: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-30/blue-owl-reports-fund-raising-slow-down-amid-credit-pullback?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=odd_lots&amp;utm_content=article" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety">Blue Owl Surges as Leaders Stress It&rsquo;s More Than a Direct Lender</a> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-29/ares-29-billion-private-credit-fund-sees-uptick-in-non-accruals?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=odd_lots&amp;utm_content=article" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety">Ares $29 Billion Private Credit Fund Sees Uptick in Non-Accruals</a>
Only <a href="http://bloomberg.com/" data-testid="inline-card-resolved-view">Bloomberg - Business News, Stock Markets, Finance, Breaking &amp; World News</a> subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at&nbsp; <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots?in_source=oddlotspodcast" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety">bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots</a>
<a href="http://bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety">Subscribe to the Odd Lots Newsletter</a> Join the conversation: <a href="https://discord.gg/oddlots" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety">discord.gg/oddlots</a>

Weekend Listen: Why Private Credit Got Entangled With Insurance

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/4fbb9f96-62a3-43a1-9a42-b49a00e5ae91/transcript

The path to the future of the Democratic Party — and to the White House in 2028 — may well run through Michigan. The state’s upcoming Democratic primary election is a highly anticipated showdown between a Democratic-Socialist-backed candidate and a centrist one, who are vying for both a crucial seat in the US Senate and a major say in the party’s priorities.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura sits down with senior political correspondent Nancy Cook and Bloomberg Opinions’ Ronald Brownstein to unpack the stakes of the Democratic primaries in this midterm cycle and what they could reveal about the party’s future.

Read more: 
How the Michigan Primary Could Shape the Midterms
Democrats’ 2028 Map Reshapes the Fight Between Left and Center  

We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.

Hosted by David Gura; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Nancy Cook and Ronald Brownstein; Edited by Naomi Shavin. Fact-checking by Laura Newcombe and Victor Swezey; Engineering by Sean Carter. Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

The path to the future of the Democratic Party &mdash; and to the White House in 2028 &mdash; may well run through Michigan. The state&rsquo;s upcoming Democratic primary election is a highly anticipated showdown between a Democratic-Socialist-backed candidate and a centrist one, who are vying for both a crucial seat in the US Senate and a major say in the party&rsquo;s priorities.
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, host David Gura sits down with senior political correspondent Nancy Cook and Bloomberg Opinions&rsquo; Ronald Brownstein to unpack the stakes of the Democratic primaries in this midterm cycle and what they could reveal about the party&rsquo;s future.
Read more:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-07-27/how-the-michigan-primary-could-shape-the-midterms">How the Michigan Primary Could Shape the Midterms</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-07-27/democrats-2028-primary-map-sharpens-their-center-left-split">Democrats&rsquo; 2028 Map Reshapes the Fight Between Left and Center</a> &nbsp;</li>
</ul>
We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts">Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.</a>
Hosted by David Gura; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Nancy Cook and Ronald Brownstein; Edited by Naomi Shavin. Fact-checking by Laura Newcombe and Victor Swezey; Engineering by Sean Carter. Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

The Future of the Democratic Party Runs Through Michigan

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/232d5d33-09b2-4412-831f-b4980126641a/transcript

From margarine to chocolate treats, some brands are swapping in cheaper ingredients to save money on their most beloved products. It’s a trend known as “skimpflation.” But what happens when consumers start to notice?

On today’s Big Take podcast, Stacey Vanek Smith hears from Brad Reese, grandson of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup creator, about his crusade against the practice, the multi-million-dollar cottage industry that’s formed around it and the economic conditions that got us here in the first place.

Read more: How Brands Sneak In Cheaper Ingredients to Protect Their Profit Margins

We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.

From margarine to chocolate treats, some brands are swapping in cheaper ingredients to save money on their most beloved products. It&rsquo;s a trend known as &ldquo;skimpflation.&rdquo; But what happens when consumers start to notice?
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, Stacey Vanek Smith hears from Brad Reese, grandson of the Reese&rsquo;s Peanut Butter Cup creator, about his crusade against the practice, the multi-million-dollar cottage industry that&rsquo;s formed around it and the economic conditions that got us here in the first place.
Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-14/from-chocolate-to-orange-juice-more-brands-sneak-in-cheaper-ingredients?srnd=phx-businessweek">How Brands Sneak In Cheaper Ingredients to Protect Their Profit Margins</a>
We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts">Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.</a>

‘Skimpflation’ Could Be the Sneakiest Consumer Grift

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b66d3747-a46d-4ff6-acb6-b4970162d7b6/transcript

Big Oil’s Big Wartime Profits

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