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Russ Mould of A J Bell takes Simon Rose through the key themes affecting investors in 2022. Oil, gas and inflation is the first though some forget the oil price has been flat. Interest rates finally moved higher. With the fed so hawkish, the dollar was incredibly strong, at least until the end of the year. It was a year in which cryptocurrencies crumbled and in which the seemingly unstoppable tech sector went into reverse gear.

Let's hope that, as we approach 2023, we can start looking ahead in contrast to the wave of pessimism with which we greeted 2022, and which has proved to be so accurate in retrospect. Is it too much to hope that we are at the nadir of the economic cycle, and at the point when tyrants recognise the limits of force and suppression of individual freedom? Is it unrealistic to imagine a world in which we share our resources more willingly, and empower young people from all backgrounds to achieve their potential? The next two weeks will give us a chance to reset the dial — we must do better in 2023. Background music: 'O Holy Night' by DJ Williams

Another rate rise to 3.5%, the ninth in a row; Simon Lambert discusses whether we're nearly there now. Plus, more energy saving tips amid the prospect that bills may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2030. Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Helen Crane look at electric heaters vs. central heating, and they discuss an estimate that green home conversion may not pay off for 17 years. And finally - some people are still waiting for flight refunds going back to 2020.

Tesla shares have been cut in half since 14th April, the day Elon Musk announced his intention to buy Twitter. Bill Mann discusses Delta Airlines projecting financial optimism in 2023, Moderna shares up 20% this week after promising results from a skin cancer treatment trial in combination with Merck, and Tesla shareholders being more nervous than before due to (among other things) Twitter taking more of CEO Elon Musk's time and attention. Plus, nearly 13 minutes in, Ricky Mulvey talks with Jack Caporal from The Ascent about the most popular financial New Year's resolutions and tips for keeping them. For more data on The Ascent's survey on financial resolutioins, click here: https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/research/financial-new-years-resolutions/ Stocks mentioned: DAL, MRNA, MRK, TSLA. Holiday Music: White Christmas by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings Host - Chris Hill; Guests - Bill Mann, Jack Caporal

A new 10-year deal with the London Stock Exchange sends shares of Microsoft higher. Jason Moser discusses the "win-win" deal between the two sides, how cloud services like Azure and AWS are becoming utilities, the short, not-so-happy public life of Weber Grill, and Peter Lynch's advice being a starting point (not a finish line) for investors. Plus, 12 minutes in, Ricky Mulvey talks with Eddie Alterman, host of the "Car Show" podcast, about the used car market and how GM is competing with Ferrari. Stocks mentioned: MSFT, LDNXF, AMZN, GOOG, GOOGL, WEBR, COOK, GM. Holiday Music: Sugar & Booze by Ana Gasteyer. Host - Chris Hill; Guests - Jason Moser, Eddie Alterman

Adam Cox is joined by Kevin Brown, from Scottish Friendly, to discuss new research which reveals parents’ ability to put money away for their children. They look how sensible it is to give children a Junior ISA as part of their Christmas financial gift, and how Junior ISA's can teach children about investing. https://www.scottishfriendly.co.uk/

Adam Cox is joined by tech and consumer expert Evelina Galli, from PriceRunner, to discuss how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting Brit's buying habits this Christmas. They discuss what products the public are buying more and less of this year, and Evelina gives her top tips for finding the best deals when Christmas shopping. https://www.pricerunner.com/

The Christmas/New Year fortnight is infamous for over-eating, and for some people it just doesn't seem right to leave food behind. Adam Cox invites us to visit the control room of our mind, where conscious links can be drawn between our appetite and the amount of physical exertion we undertake. Using this logic, he argues that overeating and excess for no other purpose is ridiculous: so some exercise to balance it out over the next fortnight might be worth considering!

Victoria Scholar of Interactive Investor, despite being in a broken-down car in freezing weather, talked to Simon Rose about the latest interest-rate decisions from the Fed, the Bank of England and the ECB. With growth weakening, all three tilted away from a more hawkish position. In the UK, the pound and banks were lower ahead of the MPC's announcement while housebuilders were stronger because interest rate rises might not be as great as they might have been.

James Cameron-Wilson laments a 4th week of plunging box office, despite several old Christmas favourites reappearing. He recommends the true story of The Silent Twins (#23), finding it audacious, original and beautifully simple. Another pick is the DVD release of the exquisitely-made Emily with Emma Mackey about Emily Bronte, which he found intellectually daring and moving. And he also is keen on Netflix's The Swimmers, a true story about Syrian sisters, Olympic hopefuls, who refused to be deterred by the civil war.