AJ Bell Money & Markets

On this week’s Money and Markets, Dan Coatsworth and Danni Hewson brave the heat not only of the UK weather, but UK inflation too. With CPI coming in over expectation at 9.4%, they sum up how markets are reacting, and discuss where interest rates could sit by the end of the year. With rising costs causing issues for companies, they also dig into a new report showing a 66% increase in profit warnings from UK listed companies in the first half of 2022 – including Direct Line and Made.com.

Earnings season is in full swing, and inflation’s colouring everything from the big GSK spin-off Haleon to another dip in subscriber numbers for Netflix – though with its fall smaller than expected, investors were pleasantly surprised.

Also, employee pay is the only game in town – with warnings that a summer of discontent is on the cards, as more unions ballot on strike action. Plus, commercial property is meant to be one of the ultimate inflation-protected investments – meaning lots of investors might be thinking about diving into the market at the moment. Laura caught up with Roger Clarke, from property stock exchange IPSX, to see how the market has rebounded post pandemic and whether that inflation-protection is going to hold true in the coming year.

Potential returns on cash savings accounts are now much more interesting, so don’t miss this episode of the Money & Markets podcast to find out the best deals around.

Dan Coatsworth talks to Duncan MacInnes about how Ruffer Investment Company not only bucked the negative market trend in the first half of 2022 but also generated positive returns for investors.

MacInnes explains why he believes the bear market isn’t over yet and how gold is an ‘unreliable girlfriend’. 

Discover why falling commodity prices could mark the turning point in the inflation story, and how shares in the big mining companies have lost all the gains made earlier this year.

Rising energy costs are changing the way we spend money, and Laura Suter looks at the latest spending habits and what might come next.

This week Laura Suter and Danni Hewson bring you an update on the economic fallout from this week’s turmoil in Westminster, looking at various warnings from the Bank of England and the pound’s fall. We delve into what the new Chancellor might tackle in his economic update next week, after Nadhim Zahawi committed himself as a tax cutting chancellor.

In the markets news we’ve got the latest updates and rows from supermarkets, some positive news from food delivery companies JustEat and Grubhub and an update on US/China tariff war.

And Dan Coatsworth has been chatting to fund manager Laura Foll, who helps run Lowland, Henderson Opportunities Trust and Law Debenture investment trusts, all about the outlook for UK banks, which are much loved by many investors.

On this week’s Money & Markets podcast Dan Coatsworth and Danni Hewson take a look at what has been another bumpy week for markets with a commodities rally not able to deliver the big market comeback some investors had been rather hoping for.

They look at what’s behind the defence stock bounce, boosting the likes of BAE Systems and Rolls Royce and how utility companies like SSE have responded to Ofgem’s new distribution price control proposals. Plus, Dan is chatting to the Fund manager of Odyssean, one of the few investment trusts not to have lost a lot of money this year, and on the menu are Chemring, Videndum, Stabilus and Spire Healthcare. 

There is also a new boss for Whitbread, and we discuss why the battle for high street chemist Boots ended with it being taken off the market by US owner WBA, for now.  With a drop in scratch card sales, we also look at why the government’s green savings bond has flopped and Tom Selby brings us up to date on plans for the pension triple lock.

This week’s podcast has plenty of useful tips for managing your money, as well as important insight into what’s happening on stock markets and with cryptocurrencies.

Dan Coatsworth explains why Primark’s click and collect trial is important news for anyone owning shares in Associated British Foods.

He also explores the latest wave of takeovers on the UK stock market and why they aren’t necessarily reasons to be cheerful. Dan also reveals why one fund manager thinks now’s the time to sell shares in oil producer Shell.

Also, Laura Suter explains the latest developments in the buy now, pay later space, and discusses some of the most useful budgeting tools to help get your finances in shape.

Finally, Tom Selby is on the show to discuss the key points someone in their mid-60s should consider before dipping into their pension

On this week’s money and markets podcast Danni Hewson and Tom Sieber from Shares magazine discuss market jitters ahead of the Fed’s latest rate rise. Plus big questions for the bank of England to process as job vacancies continue to soar and inflation takes a chunk out of wage growth.

Tom Selby AJ Bell’s head of retirement policy looks at the impact the global meltdown’s having on pensions and how soaring inflation combined with market falls risk having dramatic impact on the retirement prospects of savers in drawdown.

Dan Coatsworth has been talking to Ayush Abhijeet who helps to manage the Ashoka India investment trust about what patient investors can get out of India and sticking with global markets Danni and Tom discuss why Netflix has pinned its hopes on a Squid Games reality show and how a Korean boyband made Asian markets tremble. All that and a mad money story with Jenny Owen about a late library fee that’s topped six thousand pounds.

On this week’s Money and Markets, Dan Coatsworth and Danni Hewson canter through the market movements over the last week – which, despite being shorter thanks to the Jubilee bank holiday, was no less eventual. They look at market reaction to all the political intrigue at Westminster, and assess how the travel sector is faring after disappointment and disarray at UK airports over the half-term break.

There’s been another flurry of merger and acquisition activity – from the bid for bin business Biffa, to disappointment for Ted Baker after its preferred bidder walked away. Dan digs into Apple’s moves to enter the buy now pay later space, and Danni has yet another Twitter update, with Elon Musk indicating he’s serious about walking away from the deal.

Also, Laura Suter’s finds out when you should get a will and how to go about it, chatting with partner at Taylor Bracewell solicitors, Lauren Smith, about why so many people put it off. And as the price of filling up the tank of a family car surges past £100 for the first time, we talk petrol prices and why so many landlords are leaving the private rental market.

This week Laith Khalaf brings us some big markets news including the markets rebounding (much to the relief of investors), warnings about the pound’s decline, and an update on how energy firms handled that windfall tax announcement last week.

Laura Suter is back, and delves into data on whether low-cost food has faced bigger price hikes during the cost of living crisis. She also chats to a financial adviser, Peter Chadborn of Plan Money, to help you understand when you might want to use one and the sort of questions you should be asking.

And in this week’s investment interview, Tom Sieber chats to Duncan Ball, co-chief executive of BBGI Global Infrastructure. Infrastructure is highly prized for its inflation-protected income at the moment, and they chat about how that affects the fund’s portfolio.

This week, Laura Suter brings us the latest energy price cap news, with an explanation of what’s going to happen in the coming months. She also has a guide to how to squeeze the most out of your credit cards, and some good news for Premium Bond holders.

Danni Hewson is here with all the markets news, including Snap’s profit warning, the impact of lifting tariffs in China as it emerges from lockdown, and the latest on those suggestions of a windfall tax. We’re dabbling in football this week, too, with news on the Chelsea takeover, and Danni will be looking at the latest retail figures.

We also have pensions guru Tom Selby back with Pensions Corner, looking at the rules around auto-enrolment and how much you should actually be paying in. And Tom Sieber has an interview with property investment company Industrials REIT, following Amazon’s comments that it’s no longer chasing physical space.

On this week’s Money and Markets podcast, Danni Hewson is joined by Tom Sieber from Shares Magazine to look at what’s behind April’s huge price increases and how markets have been reacting. With high costs taking centre stage in earnings reports, Tom picks through updates – including from Mr Kipling maker Premier Foods, and US retail giant Walmart.   

Markets are going through a very difficult patch, and Dan Coatsworth picks the brains of someone who’s been through bad times as well as the good – James de Uphaugh from Liontrust Asset Management. He gives his insights into what investors should be thinking about right now.

Though inflation is dominating sentiment, there’s plenty of other news moving markets this week. Danni and Tom look at the reaction to China’s announcement that Shanghai might soon end its lockdown, as well as a meeting between China’s Vice Premier and tech execs which seems to herald the end of the tech crackdown.

With an eye on future returns, we also ask David Jane from Premier Miton about the trends he thinks will be important longer term. Plus, we’ve got the latest Twitter twist, plans to change how often the price cap is fixed, a massive upheaval in the crypto-verse, and Jenny Owen shares a mad money story about a charity donation of £100 that turned into £140,000.