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Inheritance tax punches above it s weight. It is paid by only a small minority of estates, yet manages to be Britain's most hated tax and its most controversial. Some believe it's immoral double taxation and should be axed altogether, others say crank it up - and somewhere in the middle there are many people who feel that taking 40% is just too much. But it's also a tax that even those with an expensive home and plenty of savings can generally avoid if they choose, by spending more and giving more away in their lifetime. The problem is that they need to survive seven years or they may get caught by some very outdated gifting allowances. Yet, there is a little-known loophole that allows people to give away considerably more without worrying about the seven-year rule. Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert look at inheritance tax and the surplus income rule. They discuss this trick to beat death duties and the catches it comes with and all the other rules surrounding IHT. Also — noisy heat pumps, the British ISA meets its maker and our failure to support the high streets that we moan about dying.

Adam is Cox is joined by Steven Truman from Cladding Consulting. After the Grenfell report this week, Steven talks to Adam all about cladding remediation and the outcomes that could be useful to for people who live on these properties. https://www.claddingconsulting.co.uk/

Neil Shah of Edison Group takes a look at two housing-related stocks. Rightmove has surged on talk of a bid. It's a jewel of a stock with something like 80% of the online estate agency market. This shows yet again how overseas investors consider the UK market undervalued. Neil believes Rightmove's model has amazing potential for AI. He also discusses Barratt Developments, which has just produced a tough set of full year results with profits down 75%. However, the mood music for the future is much more positive and there's a bit of a turnaround. While there's uncertainty over what the Budget will bring, Labour's desire to ramp up housebuilding could see them well placed.

James Cameron-Wilson laments box office declining 30% despite National Cinema Day. The only new film is AI horror AfrAId at #10 with a family at the mercy of a digital assistant. Although slammed by critics, James found it nuanced and horrifically believable. He also watched faith-based horror The Deliverance on Netflix which features Glenn Close. Although not a great film, it still delivers a frightfest. James thinks that spy thriller The Union, also on Netflix and starring Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg, might be one of those films so bad that it's good. He found it absurdly diverting.

Steve Caplin discusses the astronauts whose space stay of 8 days has turned into 8 months. Nuclear power could be safer if the power stations are buried one mile underground. Water cremation is coming to the UK soon. There's an e-ink computer which will work in sunlight – though not for very long. Italian scientists have a humanoid jetpack robot to rescue people on mountains – with a few drawbacks. Ultrasonic joining solves the problem of sticking wood and metal. And biohybrid computing, which already gives robots locusts' ears is now adapting fungi's mycelium root communication to electronics.

The Department of Justice has some questions about Nvidia’s business. Jason Moser and Ricky Mulvey discuss the subpoena that instigated the chip maker's selloff, a record amount of share repurchases by corporations, and earnings from Dick’s Sporting Goods and Dollar Tree. The, 18 minutes in, Motley Fool contributor Matt Frankel joins Ricky to take a look at real estate brokerages Redfin and Zillow, and discuss what lower interest rates mean for the industry. Companies discussed: NVDA, GS, DKS, WMT, DLTR, RDFN, Z. Host - Ricky Mulvey; Guests - Jason Moser, Matt Frankel.

Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the Grenfell Tower inquiry report which damns governments and the private sector and discusses what has to happen next. Labour's push on workers' rights is, he says, the biggest change in employment law for 40 years. Its ambition is radical but it is a ragbag of measures with no unity of thought behind it. He also considers the part suspension of arms sales of Israel and the complexity of such decisions.

Intel, Southwest, and Boeing, have all had brutal starts to 2024 – can any of them turn it around? Asit Sharma and Dylan Lewis discuss the latest sign of Intel’s struggles – possibly being removed from the Dow – and how it got here, Elliot Management’s increased stake in Southwest, and how the activist investor is planning on improving the airline, and Boeing’s recent analyst downgrade, and why manufacturing issues might lead to financial ones for the company’s aerospace and airline divisions. Also, 16 minutes in, Alison Southwick and Robert Brokamp dig into the mailbag and some questions on asset allocation, retiring early and becoming a financial advisor. Companies discussed: INTC, NVDA, LUV, BA. Host - Dylan Lewis; Guests - Asit Sharma, Alison Southwick, Robert Brokamp

Adam Cox is joined by Jason Howlett, the CEO of GivEnergy. They discuss rising energy bills and costs in the UK, as well as some new research that was carried out by GivEnergy which saw some interesting results. https://givenergy.co.uk/

Doubt and uncertainty can sometimes help fill the void on how to pursue an elusive aim of seeking success in life, however you choose to define that. It can create space for something new and provide space for thinking creatively about the future ...