On this week’s episode, Charlene Young and Laith Khalaf talk you through the impact on business of rising National Insurance and minimum wage bills. Plus labour market data for the period to September showed us the gloomy reality for businesses before the Budget as stalling investment and hiring plans fueled rising redundancies and unemployment.

The Bank of England voted 8-1 to cut interest rates last week but forecasts published alongside the announcement give us an insight into just how inflationary the bank thinks Rachel Reeves’ Budget will prove, and the likelihood of her achieving her pledge of ‘growth, growth, growth’.

Dan Coatsworth interviews Jack Caffrey from the JP Morgan American Investment Trust for his take on the US election and why the market reacted like it did to that Donald Trump victory.

To continue our US theme, Laith looks at how some of those early “Trump Trades” have fared in the last week as the Trump starts to appoint his trusted team with some familiar names.

Bitcoin gets a double mention – not only has it been breaking records but a UK pension scheme has announced it will be allocated 3% of its assets to diversify its investment base, in a break with tradition in the pension space.

It’s also looking like a record year for flows into Exchange Traded Funds. What are ETFs are what has made them so popular? On the other side of the coin, we look at outflows from Fundsmith Equity and why first-time buyers might find the frozen Lifetime ISA property limit locks them out of their dream family home.

On this week’s episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast, Danni Hewson and Charlene Young assess the market reaction to Donald Trump winning the US presidential election and heading back to the White House.

There have been some clear winners and losers as investors pile into so-called “Trump Trades” with bitcoin, banks and Tesla among the biggest gainers.

The potential for a tariff fuelled trade war has sent stocks like Diageo down whilst the renewable sector is also under pressure with one of Trumps slogans – “drill baby drill” sparking speculation the US oil and gas sector will boom.

It may feel like a long time, but the UK Budget was only a week ago and Danni and Charlene discuss changes to inheritance tax which will be exacerbated by frozen thresholds and whether people who pulled out tax-free cash from their pensions amidst pre-Budget speculation about changes, can put it back if they’ve changed their mind.

Plus, Danni’s been chatting to Simon Gergel from The Merchants Trust about how some of the UK’s biggest listed companies might be impacted by the Budget.

Finally, Tom Sieber and Ian Conway from Shares magazine discuss Lotus Bakeries, the brains behind Biscoff and a great stock performer in recent years.

This month’s bonus podcast from the AJ Bell Money & Markets team on investment trusts explores the underperformance at the UK’s biggest investment Trust, Scottish Mortgage, and looks at why investors are becoming less enthused with ESG.

Danni Hewson catches up with Dale Nicholls, manager of the Fidelity China Special Situations Trust to talk about Chinese stimulus measures and the potential impact of the US election on the Chinese economy.

Meanwhile Dan Coatsworth talks to Ian “Franco” Francis, manager of the CQS New City High Yield Fund to find out what falling interest rates mean for bond investors.

And we also unpack the pros and cons of investing in Venture Capital Trusts.

The AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast team react to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget, explaining how the new rules affect consumers and businesses.

There was a lot of speculation about big changes to the tax system so Danni Hewson, Charlene Young and Dan Coatsworth cover off the main points, explaining which rates are changing and which ones are staying the same. This includes big news around capital gains tax and inheritance tax.

There is some good news on ISAs and pensions, and Dan explains why there was a positive market reaction to the Budget. The FTSE 250 and AIM indices jumped on the announcement, so listen to the podcast to find out why.

The team also analyse the new economic forecasts for the UK and the challenges ahead for not just the government, but also businesses across the country.

On this episode of the AJ Bell money and markets podcast Danni Hewson is joined by Shares Magazine editor Tom Sieber to pick through the most interesting points of this earnings season so far.  From the re-jig of the menu at Starbucks from the new man in charge as sales keep falling to a Netflix subscription slowdown, Tesla’s return to better form and in the UK Hollywood Bowl’s mega strike.  Mike Asheley set’s his sites on running Boohoo and Boeing’s back on the back foot after employees rejected another improved pay deal.

Less than a week out from the UK’s budget the pair discuss the state of the UK’s public finances and calls from the hospitality sector for Rachel Reeves to act on business rates or risk a high street meltdown. And less than two weeks from the US election Dan Coatsworth has been chatting with Ron Temple chief market strategist at Lazar Asset Management about what might happen to certain assets and sectors depending on which candidate gets to the White House. Plus, Gold hits fresh record highs and the value of lost pension pots in the UK has now reached a staggering £31 billion.

Falling inflation lifts markets plus the Treasury needs to commit to a pensions tax lock. On this week’s AJ Bell Money and Markets podcast Danni Hewson and Charlene Young assess market reaction to the unexpectedly large fall in inflation which has raised expectation that the Bank of England might cut rates twice before the end of the year.

They’re joined by Tom Selby, AJ Bell’s Director of public policy to discuss ongoing budget speculation which has unsettled many pension savers and prompted AJ Bell to call on the Treasury to commit to a pension tax lock.

They also discuss the impact of budget speculation on markets with housebuilders like Barratt Homes up and gambling companies like Entain down. Plus, automakers like Stellantis and BMW warn policy makers they need to think again about the pace of the transition to EVs if they’re going to protect manufacturing jobs and Boeing looks to raise funds to help it keep its head above water. And Dan Coatsworth has not one but two interviews this week, the first with Ailsa Craig and Marek Poszepczynski from the International Biotechnology Trust about what we might see next for the weight-loss drug boom - plus Nick Purves from Temple Bar Investment Trust about finding opportunities when parts of the market look cheap.