Merryn Talks Money

In this week's roundup, Money Distilled newsletter author John Stepek is joined by Bloomberg Opinion columnist Marcus Ashworth. They discuss the UK bond market, particularly the fact that UK 10-year yields are back above those of the US, what signal that sends and what's behind UK borrowing costs going up.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this personal finance edition of Merryn Talks Money, hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek discuss diversifying your UK pension.    They lay out scenarios in which your pension could be at risk, and the extent to which it would be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. And it’s not just important for pensions: these should be considerations for anyone with investments in passive funds and individual savings accounts (ISAs), Webb and Stepek say. Also on this episode, they tackle monitoring your broker’s solvency and how to gauge whether you would have “political protection” should they go bust. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author and former Bank of England regulatory economist Dan Davies joins this week to discuss his new book, The Unaccountability Machine, which describes how the cost of large organisations deferring decision-making is a widening “accountability sink.” As companies grow more complicated, the bigger the “sink” gets, he argues. “We’ve reached a crisis point.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's roundup, Merryn and Money Distilled newsletter author John Stepek discuss the stock market response to China's unprecedented stimulus package,  where we are now with the UK housing market, and who stands to benefit from the rally in prices and sales. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s personal finance edition of Merryn Talks Money, hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek discuss pension drawdown with Tom McPhail, formerly the lead pensions spokesman for the investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown. He also led an external review of the Money and Pensions Service on behalf of the UK government’s Department for Work and Pensions. They tackle what drawdown is and how to avoid getting ripped off. But first, we have a look ahead to the autumn budget and what changes to pension pots could be on the horizon.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Foresight Group’s Bernard Fairman discusses the movement toward cleaner energy, a lucrative investment theme he sees playing out over 30 to 50 years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's roundup, Merryn and Money Distilled newsletter author John Stepek discuss why the looming UK Budget has both consumers and businesses rattled, and whether Labour's performance at its party conference in Liverpool is doing enough to address the nervousness around investing in --and even living in-- the UK. They also discuss whether the relationship between the taxpayer and government is broken, and what danger is posed if it is.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are 20% annual returns a fantasy for amateur investors? Delve into the reality of investment returns and uncover the unpredictability of markets. The hosts emphasize the importance of setting realistic goals and explore strategies like concentrated versus diversified portfolios. Learn how rising market dynamics affect these choices and why diversifying is key. Plus, a deep dive into growth shares reveals insights on tech stocks, urging listeners to rethink their expectations and avoid panic in their investment journeys.

Looking for long-term outperformance? Sell the US and buy the UK. That’s the view of Fidelity’s Alex Wright, who joins this week’s Merryn Talks Money. As Wright points out, the UK market is very good for a contrarian looking for value plus a little momentum. Also in the episode, Wright discusses the opportunities in banks, life insurers and tobacco companies, and why he thinks Tesco is a good buy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's roundup, Merryn and Money Distilled newsletter author John Stepek discuss the Federal Reserve's bold interest-rate cut -- half a percentage point --and what that means for markets. And they talk the Bank of England's decision to hold rates steady at 5 percent. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.