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Want to keep up with the latest earnings updates from the States? Well join Chris Hill and the Motley Fool Radio Show team here on Share Radio, direct from Washington DC, for news, views and analysis of the US stocks that matter. In this week's show: Alphabet surges on strong earnings; Microsoft reports higher profits but disappoints with guidance; Amazon reports record quarterly sales; Facebook falls on concerns over a decline in U.S. and Canadian users; Starbucks serves up a surprise; Apple dips on weak iPhone sales; And Netflix raises prices. Motley Fool analysts Andy Cross, Ron Gross, and Jason Moser discuss those stories and dig into the latest results from Etsy, Pinterest, Shopify, Tupperware, Twitter, and Under Armour. Our analysts share three stocks on their radar: Wix.com, Inphi, and EPAM Systems. And we talk about what the upcoming election means for investors.

Murmurs from HSBC HQ this week warned that an overhaul of its business model could leave customers paying a monthly fee for their current accounts. This week, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost ask whether this is really a possibility, if banking actually is free anyway and what happens next. We also look at who is winning the battle of current account switchers and whether people are just too loyal to their bank. This weekend marks the end of the furlough scheme, replaced by something new – while other financial support is also changing, including free overdrafts and mortgage payment holidays. What impact did the second wave fear and upcoming US election have on the stock market this week? Bitcoin has seen a surge in price this week, what has behind its rise to the highest level since the crazy end of 2017? And boilers – one reader has been told that their 28 year model is too ancient to service. Is this a fair call?

Adam Cox is joined by CEO of Voneus, Steven Leighton, to discuss how those working in rural communities have been affected by lockdown; and how lack of internet access can affect the ability to work remotely or home-school successfully. They delve into the gigabit scheme, how it aims to support those living in rural areas, and the importance of internet access in the modern day.

Steve Caplin, Share Radio's technology editor, is impressed by Southern Australia powering the whole area by solar panels and by water being discovered on the moon. He discusses Lego Braille bricks, banned works being hidden in Minecraft, a jumbo jet becoming a cinema, 100 years of the Theremin, Amazon's eco-friendly platform, robot pothole repairers, the extraordinary Veelo skateboard motoring why shoppers spend more when using hand-held scanners.

James Cameron-Wilson examines the UK box office chart, where, with box office takings sharply up, Tenet has been pushed off the #1 slot after 9 weeks, by Two By Two: Overboard. He reviews the new #2, The Honest Thief, with Liam Neeson, Irish gangster comedy Pixie and American cult festival movie The Climb. 80 years after the seminal Alfred Hitchcock adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebeca, he discusses Netflix's new version starring Lily James and Armie Hammer.

Political commentator Mike Indian asks if the Government's regional strategy to cop with the revival of cases of Covid-19 is working. Looking at what's happening in France, he asks if there be a regional or national response. He discusses the EHRC report on Labour and antisemitism, with the former leader Jeremy Corbyn suspended from the party. And he looks at the imminent American Presidential election, wondering if there will be a clear-cut result, given the extraordinary number of advance ballots.

Joe Healey, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, looks at recent news from companies in three very different areas - Next, Lloyds & BP. He dissects the numbers and explains how they have been affected by the pandemic. Looking ahead, he points out what we might expected from Associated British Foods (owners of Primark), Sainsbury's and D S Smith.

Adam Cox is joined by “America’s start-up success expert”, Alec Stern, who discusses his track record in launching and growing businesses. He shares why right now – in the middle of a global pandemic – is a great time to start a new business, as well as how to grow and then sell a business.

In this episode, Adam creates a hypnosis session based on the movie Inception. He utilises the premise, locations and concepts to allow the listener to experience dreams within dreams for the purpose of planting suggestions in ever deeper levels of the subconscious mind, and goes 7 levels deep. A great episode for anyone that's a fan of the movie or interested in hypnosis and the unconscious mind.

In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Matt Dickson and Franz Buscha talk to Martha Bloom, a researcher at the Science Policy Research Institute at the University of Sussex. Martha recently wrote a report examining the economic returns to creative arts degrees, the types of employment these graduates go on to and the motivations of those who undertake higher level creative education. Franz, Matt and Martha begin by discussing the difficulties facing the creative industries in the post-pandemic world, yet how the crisis has also highlighted the importance of these industries for the wellbeing of the nation. Martha then explains the ways in which creative arts graduates contribute to the economy both within the creative industries and more broadly, what her report reveals about their motivations and the benefits that they enjoy across a range of measures. The discussion then goes on to consider a related report co-authored by Franz and Matt, which examines the earnings and employment returns to different postgraduate degrees. This conversation again highlights the importance of skills and vocations that might not be highly paid but provide vital inputs into the economy and public life, and the danger of judging the value of education purely in terms of earnings.