How the financial crisis affected Thal Larsen’s career

Russell Sherman of the “Press Profiles” podcast spoke with Reuters Breakingviews global editor Peter Thal Larsen about his career in financial journalism.

Thal Larsen said what happened earlier in the 21st century has impacted how he covers companies and stories.

“For many people, it was a defining period,” said Thal Larsen about covering the 2008 financial crisis. “The thing that really affected me was the realization that the people on the inside of these institutions didn’t have a full picture of what was going on.”

He noted that talking with a banker at a firm after it issued a profit warning because of losses in subprime debt who didn’t comprehend what it had purchased.

Thal Larsen left the Financial Times in 2009 and joined Reuters Breakingviews. “The experience of the crisis was definitely part of it,” he said, noting constant demands on his time for coverage and helping the paper think about its coverage. “What people really wanted was something that explained what was going on.”

He noted that he was talking to CEOs off the record and including that in his analysis with his FT coverage, but editors were asking him to back up the statements with quotes from analysts. “We’re not above borrowing a good idea from someone,” he said.

Now the global editor of Breakingviews, Thal Larsen notes its intention is to provide sophisticated commentary on a more immediate basis than other publications can.

To listen, go here.