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Sam Altman, the tech entrepreneur who built OpenAI and its ground-breaking ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence functionality, correctly says that increasing equality may require new ideas. He's right: governments and political ideologies of many hues just can't deliver, besieged by conflicts of interest and debt. The Credit Suisse Wealth Distribution chart shows the huge contrast between those who are super-rich (in blue), the wealthiest of whom are the giant tech oligarchs, and those who live in real poverty, in red. It's time we accepted that 'The State', whether socialist or populist, can't deliver, and for philanthropists to step up to the plate, working in partnership with governments who still need to provide the necessary regulation and logistics. Background music: 'Resolution' by Wayne Jones Image source: Wikipedia

Whatever you may think of trade tariffs, there is no doubting the massive trade imbalance that has developed between China and the United States over the past three decades. Deliberate currency manipulation has enabled China to become the world's factory through resisting any meaningful appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar. Parts of Europe have also suffered much economic damage as a result of the failure to balance out regional economic differences. If strong, accommodating economic control cannot be delivered, freely-floating currencies are the answer — but not tariffs. Background music: 'Something Is Wrong' by Sir Cubworth

Adam Cox is joined by Thea Watson from Bright HR. They discuss a new report carried out by Bright HR, all about business confidence. What did it find? Well, it shows how 68% of UK businesses who have embraced a technology strategy see growth as their number one objective for 2025.Shockingly though, over half of all survey respondents — many without a tech plan — say they are not expecting to grow in 2025, and more than a quarter are simply looking to survive. https://www.brighthr.com/

Both the Office for Budget Responsibility and Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, have warned of serious consequences for public finances if significant action isn't taken. The assumption is that this must be achieved by lifting growth in productivity. But what if the main impediment to traditional economic growth, as evidenced by GDP, is endemic demonetization brought about by advancing technology and automation? Is it time to look for a radically new approach which will allow everyone to participate in that wealth creation? Background music: 'The New Order' by Aaron Kenny

The past year has seen a litany of climate change disasters of which the wildfires in Los Angeles are the latest. Yet Americans still supported Trump's call to 'drill, baby, drill' in the presidential election. This is just the latest disaster that financial markets have to contend with. How much pressure can the insurance and investment markets take? The one thing that we know for sure is that, while the American people may have locked in their choice for the next four years, there's no such insurance for the bond market — it can strike at any time. Background music: 'Trap Unboxing' by Jimmy Fontanez_Doug Maxwell

You have to feel for Rachel Reeves. After establishing a solid reputation in opposition, things haven’t gone to plan as Chancellor so far. Her Autumn Budget led to widespread criticism over tax rises on employment and extra costs for businesses, while questions abound over whether her plans will deliver the growth Labour promised voters. Now, a slow burn rise in the UK’s borrowing costs has led to gilt yields surpassing the levels seen after Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s ill-fated mini-Budget. Unfortunate, for a Labour party that has spend the past couple of years citing a gilt yield spike as evidence while banging on about Liz Truss ‘crashing the economy’ and Tory mortgage penalties. But is Britain’s current predicament Rachel Reeves' and Sir Keir Starmer’s fault, or do they just find themselves caught out by an unfortunate set of circumstances? Or is it a bit of both? Where did things start to go wrong? Was it the Budget, or was it the claimed ‘£22 billion black hole’ and months of miserabilism? And what are gilts and why do yields even matter? In this episode, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert dig into what’s gone wrong with Britain’s finances and what it means for people. Plus, in better news, Lee looks at the jobs that delivered the biggest pay rises last year and why. Simon explains what’s going on with the US hedge fund staging a raid on seven investment trusts — and why investors should make sure they vote. And finally, Lee catches up with Dave Fishwick as the new 'Bank of Dave' film is released.

Last week we focused on UK government debt: but it pales into insignificance when compared to U.S. national debt. Donald Trump has radical plans to apply tax cuts and huge import tariffs, but could this trigger a global financial crisis with no-one prepared to buy debt in a zombie economy? U.S. national debt has doubled to over $35 trillion during the ten years that Share Radio has been on air: both Democrats and Republicans have driven it remorselessly. A new approach to economics is needed which doesn't rely on either bigger government or lower taxes. Background music: 'Dark Alley Deals' by Aaron Kenny

President Trump is back. The US election finally came to a head this week and rather than the knife-edge result many expected, Donald Trump secured a decisive win over Kamala Harris. This episode is a special double-header: the team discuss that US election result and interest rate cuts in the first half, and then celebrate the tenth anniversary of the This is Money programme, born in Share Radio in 2014, in the second. First up it’s President Trump. In a sense, he is more of a known quantity this time round — having already racked up four years in the White House before. But that’s only in so much that Donald Trump can ever really be a known quantity, and the financial world is preparing to strap itself in for another roller-coaster ride. But why does Trump claiming a second run as US president matter to our finances in the UK? What could his policies and pronouncements mean for small investors in Britain? And will the President-elect really drive mortgage costs up on British homes? Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert discuss the potential impact of the new Trump presidency on the show this week. Plus, the Bank of England has cut base rate again to 4.75%, but has cautioned that it sees higher inflation and slower rate cuts in future. The team discuss what that means for our mortgages and savings. The menace of out-of-control bamboo in people’s gardens and what you can do if a neighbour has some is also up for debate. And finally, This Is Money fans should listen to the end for the tenth birthday chat – and an announcement of some celebrations.

The yellow-shaded column is the OBR's forecast for borrowing in 2028-29 as at March this year; the blue-shaded is their latest forecast. Is this really 'Invest, Invest, Invest' or 'Borrow, Borrow, Borrow'? The problem is that it all lands on the shoulders of today's young people, who will struggle more to find jobs after the employer NI changes and whose prospects of home ownership and family formation are already weighed down by student debt. Background music: 'Missing Persons' by Jeremy Blake

Rachel Reeves' maiden Budget last week saw the first-ever female chancellor make £40billion of sweeping tax rises in to plug funding gaps in the NHS and schools. While it left many of us with something to be miserable about when it comes to our money, there were also some important dodged bullets, as Simon Lambert, Georgie Frost and Helen Crane discuss. Among the losers were landlords, investors and those who have stashed wealth in their pension, as stamp duty, capital gains tax and inheritance tax all came under the spotlight. The attack on the middle classes was perhaps to be expected from a Government which has told us those with the broadest shoulders must bear a bigger burden. But aside from a rise in the minimum wage and 1p off a pint, did the Budget give enough of a boost to 'working people' — and will changes to employers' National Insurance Contributions indirectly hit them in the pocket anyway? Given growth was the buzzword of the Labour election campaign, did Reeves miss an opportunity to get people excited about British industry and entrepreneurship? We also dig into what wasn't announced in the speech, including a not-so-fond farewell to the short-lived British ISA, and a child benefit change that could have helped single parents found itself on the scrapheap.