RadCasts

We all want a little treat—even if we’re on a budget. That desire may be part of what’s shaping U.S. liquor sales; big spirits companies are seeing growth in the sales of their smaller bottles of liquor, while sales of the pricier larger sizes decline. What does that tell us about how consumers are feeling about their wallets? Host Alex Ossola discusses with Nadine Sarwat, director and equity research analyst at brokerage firm Bernstein. And finally, in this last episode of our alternative economic indicator series, WSJ investing columnist Spencer Jakab joins Alex to take stock of all four indicators in this series—Nevada employment, copper, heavy trucks and liquor—and the picture they paint about the broader U.S. economy. 

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Further Listening

Alternative Indicators: Can Nevada Employment Predict Where the Economy is Headed?

Alternative Indicators: What’s Dr. Copper’s Prognosis for the U.S. Economy?

Alternative Indicators: What Big-Rig Truck Sales Reveal About the U.S. Economy

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Russian missile and drone strikes in western Ukraine have killed at least twenty-five people and injured more than seventy in the city of Ternopil. Two apartment blocks were hit, leaving upper floors destroyed, buildings on fire and rescuers searching through rubble for survivors. Also: Britain reports that a Russian ship operating on the edge of the UK's territorial waters has directed lasers at air force pilots sent to monitor its activities; a major global study links ultra-processed foods to higher risks of cancer, diabetes and heart disease; we look ahead to the men’s FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as the Caribbean island of Curacao becomes the smallest nation ever to qualify; relations between China and Japan deteriorate further after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggests Tokyo could respond militarily if China attacks Taiwan; the global chief of Hyundai says the White House personally apologised after a major immigration raid at one of its factories in the US state of Georgia; and scientists trace the evolutionary origins of kissing.

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told US President Donald Trump that he wants Riyadh to join the Abraham Accords, the framework for the normalisation of ties between Israel and several Muslim states, but also wants to secure a “clear path” to Palestinian statehood. Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader was speaking during a visit the White House, his first since the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which occurred inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Also in the programme: Europe’s uneasy standoff with Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”; and we hear from one of the scientists behind a new study which traces the origins of kissing back more than 21 million years...

Photo: Donald Trump speaking at black-tie dinner. Credit: REUTERS/Tom Brenner