In Episode 2 of The Sixth Bureau, a limited-run series from The Big Take, we learn how China’s Ministry of State Security recruits experts in the West — and why intelligence officers shouldn’t keep their secrets backed up to the cloud.

In Episode 2 of The Sixth Bureau, a limited-run series from The Big Take, we learn how China&rsquo;s Ministry of State Security recruits experts in the West &mdash; and why intelligence officers shouldn&rsquo;t keep their secrets backed up to the cloud.

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

We’re taking The Big Take to Asia. Each week, Bloomberg’s Oanh Ha tells a story from the home of the world's most dynamic economies - and the markets, tycoons and businesses that drive the ever-shifting region.

We’re taking The Big Take to Asia. Each week, Bloomberg’s Oanh Ha tells a story from the home of the world's most dynamic economies - and the markets, tycoons and businesses that drive the ever-shifting region.

Big Take Asia

The Sixth Bureau, Episode 2: The Spy’s Diary

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/05b0e56a-e45c-47d5-bc34-b3f0004e16c4/transcript

When new neighbors move into Gainesboro, Tennessee, a small town at the foothills of Appalachia, locals are confused. Who are these self-proclaimed pioneers? And what do they want with their little town?

Locals soon discover the new arrivals are connected to something much larger: A network of far-right Christians who have ties to Washington and are backed by venture capital. 

This is a story about a battle over identity fought on small town soil with small town spunk. Where acreage, heritage, and what it means to be an American are all up for grabs.

When new neighbors move into Gainesboro, Tennessee, a small town at the foothills of Appalachia, locals are confused. Who are these self-proclaimed pioneers? And what do they want with their little town? Locals soon discover the new arrivals are connected to something much larger: A network of far-right Christians who have ties to Washington and are backed by venture capital. This is a story about a battle over identity fought on small town soil with small town spunk. Where acreage, heritage, and what it means to be an American are all up for grabs.

Our Town

As the Japanese yen hit a 40-year low against the US dollar, Japan's government stepped in to support its currency. And it has a powerful ally in US President Donald Trump, who is putting the US financial might behind the historic currency intervention in what he called a “signal of friendship.”

On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha sits down with chief Asia foreign exchange correspondent Ruth Carson to unpack how the yen fell so far, what it could take to get it back on track and what’s at stake for the global economy.

Read more: Bessent Says Yen Level Problem for Japan, Other Currencies 

Further listening:
Carry Trades, Explained
Could the Chinese Yuan Ever Replace the US Dollar?

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

Hosted by K. Oanh Ha; Produced by Naomi Ng, Yang Yang, Rachael Lewis-Krisky and Victor Swezey; Reported by Ruth Carson; Edited by Paddy Hirsch and Tracey Samuelson. Fact-checking by Victor Swezey; Engineering by Emma Munger and Taka Yasuzawa. Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

As the Japanese yen hit a 40-year low against the US dollar, Japan's government stepped in to support its currency. And it has a powerful ally in US President Donald Trump, who is putting the US financial might behind the historic currency intervention in what he called a &ldquo;signal of friendship.&rdquo;
On today&rsquo;s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha sits down with chief Asia foreign exchange correspondent Ruth Carson to unpack how the yen fell so far, what it could take to get it back on track and what&rsquo;s at stake for the global economy.
Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-04/bessent-says-yen-level-problematic-for-japan-other-currencies">Bessent Says Yen Level Problem for Japan, Other Currencies</a>&nbsp;
Further listening:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://link.podtrac.com/gtssw88c">Carry Trades, Explained</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/could-the-chinese-yuan-ever-replace-the-us-dollar/id1746141911?i=1000670575997">Could the Chinese Yuan Ever Replace the US Dollar?</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 K. Oanh Ha; Produced by Naomi Ng, Yang Yang, Rachael Lewis-Krisky and Victor Swezey; Reported by Ruth Carson; Edited by Paddy Hirsch and Tracey Samuelson. Fact-checking by Victor Swezey; Engineering by Emma Munger and Taka Yasuzawa. Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

Why a Weak Yen Is America’s Problem

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/96760781-35d6-4610-a989-b49c01387f87/transcript

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.

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 Sixth Bureau, Episode 2: The Spy’s Diary

Our Town

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