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Santander is to cut the rate of interest customers can earn with its 123 current account. It will mean one of Britain's most popular accounts will have dropped from a top tier 3 per cent when it launched in 2012 to 1 per cent. Why has the high street banking giant done this and could it result in an exodus of people moving? Does it signal the end of current accounts with benefits? It is also capping the level of cashback customers can earn while putting a blanket 39.9 per cent overdraft rate in place – following a similar move from its banking rivals. Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost take a look at what it means for the current account market, whether there are other – better – accounts to switch to and how it managed to become so popular. Also on this week's podcast, we look at the rise of the buy now, pay later form of credit and whether it is another debt trap to watch out for. Why have nearly 40,000 people put in retrospective planning applications? And can you really hide a castle behind a haystack… Lastly, the love affair with car buyers and SUVs shows no signs of abating – sales continue to grow at a faster rate than any other group. We list the five reasons, allegedly, not to snap one up and whether you should consider an alternative.

Savers had a resoundingly duff deal over the decade that just ended, as they paid the price for the borrowing binge that proceeded it. Understandably, many feel somewhat aggrieved – like a moderate drinker who got the hangover that should have gone to the party animal. But it’s not just ‘emergency’ low interest rates that turned permanent that delivered the pain, banks and building societies paying little respect to loyal customers and undermining them with rock bottom rates on legacy accounts has also played a major part. Now, the financial watchdog has a plan to deal with the so-called loyalty penalty. A standard savings rate across all easy access accounts and Isas, with the ability to offer better rates over limited periods, for example, 12 months. When bonus time was up, that standard rate would act a floor to protect savers against the 0.01 per cent-paying accounts of this world. Is this a solution to the problem, or just some tinkering that all but mandates bonus accounts and does nothing to tackle saver inertia? Simon Lambert, Sarah Davidson and Georgie Frost tackle the plan to improve the savings market on this week’s podcast – and discuss whether this is a wise idea for a new decade or a recipe for more of the same. Also, on this week’s podcast, as a decade ends and one begins, we look at the property market: what happened to house prices in the 2010s and how did it compare to the 2000s, 1990s and 1980s, and also what will happen this year and in years to come?

The last four decades have been a roller-coaster ride for economic liberalism. Riding high from the early 1990s, falling trade barriers boosted international trade, integrated countries such as China into the global economy and significantly reduced the number of people in absolute poverty. Developments in technology ‘supercharged’ these impacts, radically altering our lives as workers and consumers. In this interview, Peter Urwin speaks to economist Vicky Pryce about where it all went wrong – is the rise of populism simply a reaction to the 2007-08 financial crisis, or is it a wider backlash against liberalism? Not everybody welcomes the changes brought about by globalisation, and change always implies disruption – is there a case for government compensation, targeted at those who bear the brunt of disruption and are less able to take advantage of the gains from liberalisation?

Our public services are in dire need of investment. And it is time to ask what we want our public services to actually do for us. That’s the view of group of economists and campaigners who are pushing for something called ​‘Universal Basic Services’ – a radical expansion of high-quality public services for all to areas like transport, childcare and social care. More than 70 years after the creation of the welfare state and the NHS, is it time to reimagine the public services we should all expect? Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by NEF Principle Fellow Anna Coote and openDemocracy Economics Editor Laurie Macfarlane.

Want to keep up with the latest earnings updates from the States? Well join Chris Hill and the Motley Fool Radio Show team here on Share Radio, direct from Washington DC, for news, views and analysis of the US stocks that matter. In this week's show: Nike scores with its Jordan brand; IAC buys Care.com for $500 million; FedEx delivers disappointing earnings; Bed Bath & Beyond surges after its new CEO cleans house; And General Mills gets a big boost from Blue Buffalo. Motley Fool analysts Ron Gross and Jason Moser discuss those stories, weigh in on surprising earnings from Blackberry and Winnebago, and debate the relative merits of eggnog and mistletoe. And we talk about why American Tower and Cerence are two stocks to watch. Plus, Motley Fool retirement expert Robert Brokamp serves up some year-end financial advice and talks retirement and saving for college.

This is Money with Georgie Frost, editor Simon Lambert and investing and pensions editor Tanya Jeffries. And as 2019 draws to a close, the team go over the big stories of the past year when a star fell, we all got richer, we all went a little greener, and Brexit didn’t happen – again… And don’t forget you can stay up to date with all the latest, breaking money news, just go to thisismoney.co.uk or download the app.

The stock market and the pound bounced as Boris Johnson claimed his 80 seat majority in a better-than-expected election win. But will the honeymoon period last into the New Year, beyond Brexit on 31 January, through a Budget in early February and past the negotiations about how exactly our future relationship with the EU will pan out? The Conservative manifesto was thin on detail, but on this podcast we discuss what was in there, what else we know Boris might do and what we think he could do with the big majority this general election delivered him. And we ask whether the man who wants to be a great Prime Minister, can deliver the goods on the NHS, reshape the economy and get stuff done?

Saving, spending, planning — you've got money questions and we've got answers. Every week host Alison Southwick and personal finance expert Robert Brokamp challenge the conventional wisdom on life's biggest financial issues to reveal what you really need to know to make smart money moves. In this week's show, the team is joined by the Katherine Cullen of the National Retail Federation to talk about holiday shopping trends, spending, and more.

‘Low-skilled’ or ​‘high-skilled’. An ​‘economic net contributor’, or ​‘a drain on public services’. For decades, immigrants have been treated as scapegoats for everything from failing public services to violent crime. And much too often, as less than human But how did we get here? How did the public conversation about immigration become so toxic? And is there another way forward – an alternative to the hostile environment? This week, New Economics Foundation is at SOAS with a live audience and Maya Goodfellow, author of ​‘Hostile Environment: How immigrants became scapegoats’.

The combined wealth of British households is up 13 per cent between 2016 and 2018 - with the average standing at £286,600. But it's not all about house prices. In fact, the bulk of the rise is thanks to private pensions rather than property inflation, according to the Office for National Statistics. And it says that despite plenty of election claims to the contrary the rich aren't getting richer - but does that claim stack up? On this week’s podcast, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost delve into the figures and ask: is financial inequality growing? We look at whether a reader can retire at 58 with a £6,000 pension – but £420,000 in a savings account. Meanwhile, as Vanguard reveals details of its new self-invested personal pension is this now the best home for cheap and easy retirement savings outside of the workplace? And finally, away from the serious stuff, we ask do you have to pay inheritance tax on a stamp collection - and just how much do you need to hold in Premium Bonds to have a strong chance of winning a £1million jackpot prize.