Predicting 2026: Will Trump and Musk officially reunite?
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 31 December 2025
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Europe’s banking industry could shed 10 per cent of its workforce by 2030. Plus, the FT’s US national editor and columnist Edward Luce predicted America’s president would not fall out with one-time “first buddy”, billionaire Elon Musk in 2025. He explains why they could form a new kind of alliance in 2026.
Mentioned in this podcast:
AI forecast to put 200,000 European banking jobs at risk by 2030
Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts
Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted by Victoria Craig, and produced by Sonja Hutson and Marc Filippinio. Our show was mixed by Kelly Garry. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello and David da Silva. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Credits: The White House, Fox News, CBS, AP
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning and a happy New Year's Eve from the Financial Times. |
| 0:05.4 | Today is Wednesday, December 31st, and this is your FT News briefing. |
| 0:10.9 | Artificial intelligence may be coming for Europe's banking industry. |
| 0:14.7 | Plus, our week of predictions rolls on today with a look at the spectacular fallout between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. So what |
| 0:22.8 | will 2026 hold? It is in Musk's interests as the richest guy in the world who wants to become |
| 0:29.9 | the first trillionaire to keep on side with Trump. I'm Victoria Craig, and here's the news you need |
| 0:35.8 | to start your day. |
| 0:56.6 | In keeping with our week-long theme of predictions, Morgan Stanley is out with new estimates that artificial intelligence could threaten more than 200,000 European banking jobs over the next five years. |
| 1:03.1 | Analysts say that will come as lenders embrace AI and look for new ways to cut costs and boost profitability. The forecast says job losses are most likely to come from non-consumer-facing |
| 1:08.7 | roles, risk management, and compliance positions. |
| 1:12.1 | The change is expected to hit especially hard for consumer-focused lenders, and in countries |
| 1:17.2 | like France and Germany, where investors worry expenses are high. Despite pressure to find savings, |
| 1:23.5 | some leading European bankers have warned against rushing to integrate AI, |
| 1:28.1 | they argue that could help protect people from losing an understanding of the basics and fundamentals of the banking industry. |
| 1:41.1 | It was a political bromance that took Washington by storm this year. |
| 1:46.0 | Well, I love the president. I just want to be clear about that. |
| 1:48.2 | I think President Trump is a good man, and he's, you know... |
| 1:52.8 | That's the way he said that, you know? |
| 1:54.5 | It's something nice about. |
| 1:55.6 | It really is. |
| 1:56.1 | That was tech billionaire Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump in a joint interview on Fox News back in February. |
| 2:04.0 | But just as quickly as they became allies, they swiftly turned foes. |
... |
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