AJ Bell Money & Markets

Why Jeremy Hunt’s pension plan has flaws, how teenagers manage money and the attractions of investing in Vietnam

Tom Selby considers Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s strategy to boost the average pension pot by £1,000 a year and why the plan has flaws.

Laura Suter talks about some remarkable figures on the amount of money in savings accounts that pay no interest and how there has been yet another error made on state pension payments.

Dan Coatsworth chats with Dominic Scriven from investment trust Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited about investing in Vietnam. Dan also explains the importance of the latest Bank of England stress test on UK banks.

The podcast also features two 15-year-olds talking about how teenagers manage money and how schools can improve personal finance education.

Govt crackdown on greedflation, US-China tensions, bumper tax on savings and Tesla’s record deliveries

This week Laura Suter is shedding light on all the government moves aimed at easing the cost of living pressure on our finances, from petrol prices to supermarket bills and savings rates. Danni Hewson brings you the latest markets news, including Tesla’s record delivery, US-China tensions and JD Sports emerging in new markets.

Our interview this week is with Nick Greenwood from Migo Opportunities Trust about takeover potential in the renewable energy and infrastructure space, and we’ll also be looking at the latest figures on how much tax we’re all being charged on our savings, as the Government’s tax take rockets.

New boss leads a turnaround at Rolls-Royce and Ocado in focus after Amazon bid rumours

In the second in a series of bonus podcasts from the Shares magazine team to accompany AJ Bell’s Money & Markets podcast, Tom Sieber, Steve Frazer and Ian Conway take a close look at two stocks enjoying vastly contrasting fortunes of late.

The pod discuss the efforts of recently appointed Tufan Erginbilgic to turn around aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce and whether he can back up some big talk with action, after a strong run for the shares at the start of 2023 petered out.

Items up for discussion include the impact of the pandemic and subsequent recovery in air travel and how important cash flow will be to judging Erginbilgic’s success or failure.

Ian talks through some research he has done on online groceries firm Ocado’s volatility, something much in evidence amid recent speculation over a bid from Amazon. Doubt is cast on these links as the company’s troubles are dissected.

Frasers’ game of Monopoly, car insurance pains and problems with Boots’ owner

Dan Coatsworth chats about retailer Frasers which seems to be playing a long running game of high street Monopoly. He also explains why car insurance premiums are going up.

Danni Hewson discusses why tensions in Russia haven’t really moved markets and she explores Boohoo’s spat with Revolution Beauty.

Dan chats to fund manager Ben Ritchie about Dunedin Income Trust’s 150th anniversary and how the investment trust has evolved over the years.

Also on this week’s show: shares in cruise companies are in the spotlight after a bookings bonanza while Walgreens looks to offload hundreds of Boots stores.

Inflation is still enemy number one for many companies and despite an excellent performance from some household names, markets are looking distinctly lopsided with a chunk of FTSE 350 stocks disappointing investors since the start of the year.

Danni explains how supermarket bosses held their own during a grilling from MPs over rising prices. She also looks at the problems with Thames Water and whether regulation in the sector will be tightened.

Navigating the mortgage maze, higher interest rates hurting companies and why takeovers have fired up the biotech space

This week’s podcast explores the market reaction to UK interest rates going up once again.

Laura Suter talks to David Hollingworth from mortgage broker L&C about whether someone should fix their mortgage or stay on a variable rate.

Dan Coatsworth explores the companies which are starting to feel the pain from higher interest rates including housebuilder Berkeley, builders’ merchant Travis Perkins and car seller Motorpoint.

Tom Sieber considers the takeover rumours surrounding Ocado and why some companies in the retail and leisure sectors have shrugged off the negative backdrop to report decent trading.

Finally, Dan talks to Rod Wong from investment trust RTW Venture about investing in the biotech space.

Bond market turmoil (again), Vodafone/Three mega merger, child savings trick and Argonaut’s Barry Norris

This week Danni Hewson and Laura Suter have got a lot of big Government data that both the Bank of England and homeowners aren’t exactly thrilled by – and we’ll be looking stateside too, to see how the inflation battle is faring there.

We’ll be covering the impact that UK data has had on the mortgage market – and it’s not pretty. It’s not just the weather that’s heating up, but also M&A activity in UK companies; from a deal for the biggest mobile phone provider in the UK to Mike Ashley’s latest purchase.

In our fund manager interview this week, Dan Coatsworth talks to Argonaut Capital’s Barry Norris about where investors make mistakes with portfolio diversification. And Laura has a handy trick that lets you funnel £36,000 into tax-free savings for your child in less than a year.

Reaction to Apple’s headset launch, 5% cash interest versus equity dividends, and how Bloomsbury Publishing is in a sweet spot

This week’s podcast chats about the market reaction to Apple’s foray into headsets, why British American Tobacco is not firing on all cylinders, and the well-known name buying a stake in gambling group 888.

Dan Coatsworth talks about how you can get more than 5% interest on cash and how that compares with UK stocks. He also speaks with Nigel Newton, CEO of Bloomsbury Publishing, about how the pandemic book boom has not faded away.

Danni Hewson explores the big crackdown on crypto exchanges by US regulators and the cyber breach that’s impacting businesses from British Airways to the BBC.

She also talks with Dan about good and bad news from the construction and housebuilding sectors.

Bond market mania, Blackrock mining trust, energy price cap and Nvidia bumper profits

This week we’re going to cover that rollercoaster ride that bond markets have been on, once again, and what it means for your investments and your mortgage. Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis, will be giving an update on those tricky US debt ceiling negotiations, as well as explaining why your pension might be used to inject growth into the UK stock market. On top of that Laura Suter has got an update on the energy price cap and why people have been rushing to use their ISAs.

We’re delving into the mining sector with our fund manager interview this week, with Evy Hambro, manager of the Blackrock world mining trust. And we’ll have the latest markets news, including Nvidia posting bumper profits.

How to fix Vodafone’s problems and discover the US fast food giant impressing the market

In the first in a series of bonus podcasts from the Shares magazine team to accompany AJ Bell’s Money & Markets podcast, Tom Sieber, Steve Frazer and Martin Gamble hold an insightful discussion on two stocks.

The trio dig into the problems which have dogged Vodafone and the prospects for new boss Margherita Della Valle of turning things around.

Dividends, debt and the machinations of a big new shareholder are all up for discussion as part of an analysis of what’s gone wrong at the FTSE 100 firm.

Martin also talks about the company behind brands like KFC and Pizza Hut and how it has been so successful over the years.

Facebook fine, BT cuts jobs, US market update and Nationwide windfall

On the podcast this week, we’ve got a bevvy of company news, from Facebook being fined to BT cutting jobs for AI and everyone’s pandemic favourite Zoom holding up pretty well. We’ve got a fund manager interview with Julian Cook from T Rowe Price that looks stateside at what’s been happening in markets there so far this year.

Also up this week we’ll be chatting about the latest inflation figures and we’ve got some good news for Nationwide customers, who are getting some extra money in their bank accounts. Finally, we’ll be revealing some slightly worrying new findings from the regulator about younger investors.