Share Sounds

Adam Cox is joined by two time gold medal winner, Colin Jackson CBE, to discuss new research released by Benecol for World Heart Day, looking at the UK's lack of understanding around cholesterol. They look at Colin's own journey with cholesterol, and how he changed his lifestyle to lower his cholesterol level. Colin also speaks about his partnership with Benecol.

Do you sometimes feel that money is inversely proportional to joy? Many people suffer such a negative association with money, but the metaphor of the harvest tells us a different story. At this time of year harvest festivals are often celebrated, showing how joy, abundance - and sharing - can all co-exist. In this episode Adam talks of growth needing time to take root, and how we can celebrate the result together.

On Wednesday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered another Budget alongside a Spending Review. Much of what it contained had previously been revealed, including the forthcoming National Insurance hike, frozen income tax bands, triple lock suspension and a flurry of information over the weekend. Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Lee Boyce run the rule on the latest Budget and updated figures on inflation and base rate predictions, alongside where the economy is at… and potentially heading. The Chancellor didn't reinstate the Universal Credit uplift, instead lowering the taper while also rising the minimum wage to £9.50 an hour – will that help working families? With a cost of living crisis that seems to be looming with petrol, food and energy prices rising, were there any measures to help combat this? Could base rate really reach 3.5 per cent by 2023, and should homeowners be worried about potentially rising mortgage costs? And what about the threat of rising inflation, now predicted to be plus-4 per cent next year? There was an update about cladding and changes to short haul flight taxes alongside a promise to fix a tax quirk that deprives low-paid workers of pension cash which is paid to better off colleagues – but not until 2025.

Microsoft becomes the world’s most valuable company. Amazon and Apple deal with supply chain issues. Alphabet rises on (what else?) strong ad sales. Visa gets a visit from the U.S. Department of Justice. Facebook changes its name to Meta. Atlassian hits a new all-time high. Ron Gross and Jason Moser analyze those stories, discuss the latest earnings from Starbucks, McDonald’s, Shopify, Twilio, and share two stocks on their radar: Asana and Teladoc Health.

Morningstar’s Director of Personal Finance, who has twice been named to Barron’s list of "100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance," explains how she builds her model portfolios, how people should approach the long-term care conundrum, how to close the gender gap in finance, and what she learned from her “faux-tirement.”

Adam Cox is joined by Karen O'Hara, Chair of patient advocacy group, Alpha-1 UK Support Group, to discuss what Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD) is and the causes of the condition. They look at why is can be so difficult for sufferers to get a diagnosis, and Karen explains her own experience living with AATD.

Whether you've seen the movie 'Matrix' or not, Adam Cox makes it come alive in this episode. Working on the interplay between simulation and reality, he uses the film to address the issues around making tough choices in life, and in a real-life hypnosis session.

Going green used to be presented as a way of saving money, but the stark reality that dealing with climate change will mean us spending more is dawning. The carrot of £5,000 grants to help people ditch gas boilers and install air source heat pumps or other more eco-friendly heating was dangled by the Prime Minister this week. There was a hefty caveat though, there is only enough cash for 90,000 being made available and it seems like the rest who want to get greener heating will need to foot hefty bills themselves. People can stall but eventually the stick will come, with banks encouraged to only give the best mortgage rates to those with efficient homes. Likewise, another carrot was dangled in the form of green savings bonds from NS&I, so savers could put their money to work helping the nation’s green projects. Once more, there is a big caveat: the rate on the three-year bonds is a measly 0.65 per cent. That compares to the best standard three-year savings fix of 1.81 per cent. Maybe Kermit was right, it’s not easy being green. But will our good intentions overcome the higher costs and lower returns and people be willing to pay the price for going green? On this week’s podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert, discuss green bonds and better alternatives and greener homes, their costs and whether there is also better options that we are being presented with right now. Plus, we had closure on the axing of the triple lock this week, with an inflation figure that set the next state pension increase, and bitcoin hit a record high. And finally, Lee explains the This is Money headline of the week: ‘I fished my daughter's third birthday present out of a skip’

We’ll argue the bear and bull case for investing in Facebook with the help of Jason Moser and his alter ego. Robert explores a more holistic approach to evaluating your expenses with the help of financial planner Matt Trogdon. We’ll answer your question about capital gains taxes and include one too many U2 references.

Google lowers service fees in its app store. Snap plummets on 3rd-quarter results and a warning. Tesla reports record profits. Netflix hits a new all-time high. Chipotle serves up strong sales. And Buffalo Wild Wings tests a robot cook. Emily Flippen and Maria Gallagher analyze those stories and weigh in on the latest from Boston Beer, Crocs, Facebook, JD.com, PayPal, Pinterest, Tencent, and Zillow Group. Plus, they offer up some reading recommendations for investors and share two stocks on their radar: Doximity and Rent the Runway.