AJ Bell Money & Markets

Find out the latest events in the banking sector and why some of the big US tech stocks have bounced back after a miserable showing in 2022. Dan Coatsworth also explores why the stock market gave the thumbs down to the latest results from retailer Next. Laura Suter talks pocket money and children’s savings with GoHenry’s Louise Hill and Tom Selby answers a listener’s question about tax-free cash from pensions. We’re near the end of the tax year which means investors should act quickly if they want to make the most of any allowances before big changes from 6 April. Laith Khalaf has all the details.

This week we’ve got a full update on the ongoing crisis in the banking with Russ Mould joining us to explain what is actually happening and how it might impact you. Danni Hewson is filling us in on all the stock market news this week, including more job cuts at Amazon and the next stage of the sale of Man United. We’ve drafted in our pensions expert Tom Selby to explain the detail of those Budget pension changes from last week and how they will work in practice. We’ve got all the info on that boardroom spat at Scottish Mortgage and Laura Suter has a little update on why savings rates at NS&I might be about to significantly improve.

On this week’s Money and Markets podcast Dan Coatsworth and Danni Hewson consider what’s been a tumultuous week for global markets after not one, but two US banks collapsed sending banking stocks tumbling.  There was more turmoil after Credit Suisse revealed material weakness in its financial reporting which only served to ratchet up the tension.  And into the mix dropped the latest US inflation figures which showed headline prices are falling slowly but the all-important core number edged up raising the question – what will the Fed think is more important to deal with next week - because investors are betting on a rate hike slowdown We’ve also got your Budget special right here with post-game analysis from Tom Selby AJ Bell’s head of retirement policy digging into the scrapping of the lifetime allowance and head of investment analysis Laith Khalaf looking at the big picture as the chancellor sails close to the wind with public finances whilst delivering some crowd pleasing moments including rolling out free 30 hours childcare to children from 9 months and a U-turn on plans to increase the amount households pay on their energy bills over the next three months.

This week’s podcast looks at the shifting narrative from the Federal Reserve on interest rates and what ‘higher for longer’ means for investors. Laura Suter discusses the latest on mortgage costs and why a tax-free childcare scheme has been a flop. Dan Coatsworth considers ways to save up for university tuition and accommodation fees via a five and 10-year investment plan. He explores the reasons why shares in Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce and Premier Foods are rallying. Dan also talks to Josh Jones from Boston Partners about long/short investment strategies.

This week we’ve got the latest on how that new year rally in markets has panned out (spoiler alert: not well), as well as the latest in supermarket price wars. Danni Hewson covers the latest retail figures, from Primark to H&M, as well as some surprising figures from buy now pay later provider Klarna. Laura Suter has an update on energy bills and why they are getting more expensive despite wholesale prices getting cheaper, and she’ll be looking at the latest food inflation figures, which don’t make for pretty reading. On top of that we’ll have the latest investor interview, with real life investors about how they got started. And Dan Coatsworth has our fund manager interview this week, with Ken from Strategic Equity Capital about the rebound in small cap stocks in recent months and where he is seeing the best opportunities.

On this week’s Money and Markets podcast Dan Coatsworth and Danni Hewson discuss why Wall Street’s having a torrid time amidst speculation that the Fed’s rate hike cycle isn’t as close to the top as investors had hoped, and the FTSE 100 gives up its tenuous grip on the psychological 8,000 marks as slow demand from China pulls down miners like Rio Tinto. With that in mind, Dan’s been talking to Stuart Gray from Alliance Trust about what might happen if inflation falls but interest rates stay high. There have been chunky profits from most of the UK’s big high street banks including NatWest but Lloyds sees profit growth stalling as a cold wind blows through the housing market, with Rightmove figures showing the smallest jump in February prices since the financial crash. Plus, the activist investor selling millions of Unilever shares, the short seller attack on Etsy, and Darktrace commissions a review of its finances after allegations of accounting fraud.

Laura Suter and Tom Sieber bring you the podcast this week. We’ve got not one, but two inflation updates for you, and we’ll look at how markets reacted to the news. We look at a dodgy start to UK banks reporting season from Barclays and shedding light on why Lyft stock crashed this week. We’ve also got the latest update from everyone’s favourite savings company, NS&I, with a boost to the prize fund for Premium Bonds, and our fund manager interview this week is with Tom Caddick, Head of investments at NedGroup investments, about where he sees opportunities in the current market. Finally, we’ve also got the first in our series of interviews with investors, talking about why they invest and how it makes them feel. Matt spoke about his journey into investing, with a few key life moments spurring him on, from having a daughter, to getting a windfall of money.

This week we have warnings about the taxman coming for your children’s savings, as well as some more uplifting news about UK markets. Danni Hewson has all the details on the FTSE reaching a new record high, as well as an update on public enemy number one: the oil firms making big profits, and the latest round of tech sector job layoffs. Laura Suter has all the details of a report that proposed big changes to how pensions are taxed, and she’ll be diving into the showdown between bank chiefs and Government ministers this week, for not paying you enough interest on your savings. On top of that, she will be talking through how your children’s savings could land you with an unexpected tax bill. And we’ve also got Dan Coatsworth on the show with an interview with Round Hill Music boss Josh Gruss talking all about music royalties.

On this episode of the Money and Markets podcast one of the most popular investors active today, Terry Smith, is here to talk about Fundsmith Equity Fund and he’s got some choice words to say about two of his holdings. Dan Coatsworth and Danni Hewson mull over the IMF’s gloomy forecast for the UK economy and canter through some of the companies reporting earnings including McDonalds, Exxon and Intel. Laith Khalaf updates us on UK government plans to regulate the "crypto-verse" and with the success of auto-enrolment resulting in many people having multiple pension pots, AJ Bell’s Head of Policy Development Rachel Vahey discusses the possibility that the DWP will bring back the pot follows member model.

On this episode of Money and Markets we have Shares deputy editor Tom Sieber with all the markets news, from Netflix to Primark, as well as an update on the US. And he’ll also be responding to a listener question about indices, for those passive investors among you. Laura Suter is delving into the latest Government debt figures, looking for whether they give an indicator as to whether we’re headed for a recession or not, and she’s also explaining the new scheme where you can save money by using less energy. Dan Coatsworth brings us an interview with fund manager Ron Temple, talking about UK interest rates and corporate earnings.