PwC plans overhaul of consulting business
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 15 April 2026
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ships are altering course as the US Navy’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues into its third day, and PwC plans to overhaul its global consulting business. Plus, insurers are turning to catastrophe bonds to cover data centres, and AI chatbots aren’t a substitute for doctors when it comes to medical diagnoses.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Strait of Hormuz tankers stop or turn around amid US blockade
Iran war could slow global growth to weakest since pandemic, IMF warns
US pushing Iran to agree 20-year moratorium on nuclear activity
PwC plans overhaul of global consulting business
Insurers turn to catastrophe bonds to offload data centre risks
AI chatbots misdiagnose in over 80% of early medical cases, study finds
Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts
Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted by Sonja Hutson, and produced by Saffeya Ahmed and Victoria Craig. Our show was mixed by Sam Giovinco. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann and Michael Lello. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley 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
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Wednesday, April 15th, and this is your FT News briefing. |
| 0:10.1 | A big four firm wants to shake up its global structure and insurers are turning to catastrophe bonds to cover AI data centers. |
| 0:20.0 | But first, an update on the Strait of Hormuz. |
| 0:23.1 | I'm Sonia Hudson, and here's the news you need to start your day. |
| 0:45.5 | The U.S. Naval Blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is entering its third day, and many ships are altering course. |
| 0:57.0 | But tracking data shows that some vessels have made it through the critical waterway, including one sanctioned shadow fleetet tanker carrying cargo from an Iranian port. |
| 1:03.2 | But any ships that crossed through seem to have either turned around or stalled right outside the street, which is where the U.S. Navy is enforcing its blockade. The U.S. military said no ships had |
| 1:09.7 | passed through in the first day of the blockade. |
| 1:12.7 | Oil prices actually fell yesterday. |
| 1:16.0 | Brent dropped just under $95 a barrel. |
| 1:19.5 | That's because investors are hopeful that the U.S. and Iran will resume peace talks before their ceasefire expires next week. |
| 1:27.2 | President Donald Trump yesterday said negotiations |
| 1:29.6 | could pick back up in Pakistan in the next two days. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund is |
| 1:36.1 | warning that if oil prices stay high, global growth could slow to its weakest pace since the COVID |
| 1:42.9 | pandemic. |
| 1:54.2 | PWC is planning to overhaul its global consulting business. |
| 2:02.8 | The big four firm wants to eliminate the sometimes fragmented way its national firms work together. People familiar with the plan say this is more urgent now that artificial intelligence threatens to disrupt the industry. |
| 2:08.4 | I'm joined by the FTs U.S. accounting editor, Stephen Foley. He broke this story. Hey, Stephen. |
| 2:13.8 | Good morning. So how is PWC set up now now and why does its leadership want to change that? |
| 2:20.5 | Well, like the other big four accounting firms, it's set up as a kind of federation. |
| 2:25.8 | It's almost like the United Nations. |
| 2:27.8 | You have all of these locally owned partnerships that all just agree to work together under |
... |
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