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Why would you cut tax and raise the same tax at the same time? That’s been the slightly baffled response from many people to Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement. Effectively, the Chancellor both cut and raised National Insurance – lifting the threshold it is paid at but ignoring calls to 'spike the hike' and ploughing ahead with the 1.25% being added to rates. Bizarrely, the tax rate goes up in April, only for the threshold to rise and reduce bills shortly afterwards in July. And we wonder why people find tax taxing? Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert dive into the detail of the Spring Budget to explain what the NI hike/cut means for you. Depending on their earnings some will be in the group paying more than now and some will pay less? The team also look at the other measures in the Spring Statement and whether a 5p petrol duty cut and some money off solar panels really cuts the mustard in the face of a cost of living crisis. The Office of Budget Responsibility also had some bad news for us: inflation is tipped to hit almost 9%, energy bills are likely to rise another 40% or so, and there’s the not so trivial matter of the biggest fall in living standards since records began in the 1950s. How bad will this feel? Away from the Spring Statement, ths episode looks at what’s going on with building costs and how to try to get the best quote from a builder, stick to a budget and protect against price rises. And finally, you might not go fully down the secretive POA (price on application) route when selling your home, but should you name an asking price, guide price, or ask for offers over a certain amount? Georgie, Lee and Simon dabble with a bit of estate agentese.

Adam Cox is joined by Molly Robbins, award-winning cake artist and star of Extreme Cake Maker's, to discuss her top tips and tricks for making the perfect cake for Mother's Day. She speaks about new research from cake decoration brand, JF Renshaw, and how to get kids involved in baking this Mother's Day. She also talks about what made her discover her love of baking, and what her favourite cakes to bake are. www.renshawbaking.com/gb/

Adam Cox is joined by Sabeen Almas, Founder of the UK's first women app, FemX, to discuss why there is still such a stigma around female reproductive health. Sabeen explains why many women feel obligated to cancel plans last minute due to having started their period, and also how FEMX helps to ensure periods aren't a surprise. FEMX App

This episode may on the surface be about eating, but it's also about how we make choices generally, because habits can steer our actions in many ways. If you feel you don't have any choices, you're effectively on auto-pilot. If you make two choices in your mind, you're potentially on the horns of a dilemma. But with three choices, there appear to be lots of options, and you can discern the best way forward. So try disrupting your normal pattern - the hypnotists call it 'pattern interrupting'.

The S&P 500 rose for the 2nd week in a row, giving investors more reasons for optimism. Are we the only ones who believe the narrative for investors is shifting away from fear and towards increasing confidence? Jason Moser and Andy Cross discuss investor sentiment, as well as Google striking an app-store deal with Spotify, Uber teaming up with New York City taxis, reports that Apple is developing a hardware subscription service, Darden Restaurants seeing improvement in its fine dining segment, and the latest from Berkshire-Hathaway, Adobe, and Nike. Plus - Corporate governance expert Nell Minow analyzes how public companies are doing with their communications related to Russia, and why she's unimpressed with how Starbucks' board of directors handled the latest CEO change. Then she puts on her film critic hat to offer a preview of the Academy Awards and share who will win (and should win) Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Picture. Finally, Jason and Andy discuss Pepsi's latest limited-run flavor and share two stocks on their radar: McCormick and KB Home.

Tech maven Steve Caplin loves LEDs but even he is aghast at plans to build the world's biggest LED screen in East London. He's alarmed by a sleep app that dispenses CO2 to help you nod off. The largest scooter factory in the world is to be built in India, but will the batteries be as good as promised? There's also a "pedestrian shield" for electric scooters, Historic England's (hard to use) online map, a pocket touchpad that could help find things on TV, a folding kayak and a "breathing" cushion designed to reduce anxiety if hugged.

Hit by better weather and worries about the cost of living, cinema takings are down by 40%, says James Cameron-Wilson. New British box office entries are Catherine Tate's 'Nan' and real-life sporting drama Phantom of the Open, with Mark Rylance, which James found less than believable. Away from the sparsely-attended cinemas however, he was impressed by Fresh on Disney+, a beautifully-made genre piece about the dating scene and by Deep Water, Adrian (Fatal Attraction) Lyne's first movie in 20 years, out on Amazon Prime.

Tim Price, director of Price Value Partners, has been warning for years about the inflation danger of central banks conjuring up so much money, including in previous interviews on Share Radio. Talking to Simon Rose, he points out that in 2020, a quarter of all dollars printed since the Fed set up in 1913 were printed in that year. With red lights flashing in the bond market, spelling danger for growth stocks, he explains why value and "real" assets are so important and points out that, just as investors are looking for protection from inflation, commodities are the cheapest they've been in his entire lifetime.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, delves into the Spring Statement, assessing its significance and what the Chancellor is doing to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. While the markets seemed indifferent to the Statement, it is becoming clear that the days of a "floating all boats" market are over. With increased volatility, it is now very much a stockpicker's market.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivers his statement, unabridged and with no additional comment. Major initiatives include a 5p/litre cut in fuel duty for 12 months, simplification and relief for energy saving home improvements, a doubling of household support via local authorities, a £3,000 increase in the National Insurance threshold, and a promise to cut the basic rate of income tax from 20p/£ to 19p/£ by the next election; plus reform of training, R&D credits and capital-raising.