Podcast extra: How investors can back AI - Simon Lambert speaks to Sam North
Artificial intelligence has burst into the headlines over the past year and generated excitement among investors. But as with any exciting new technology that has generated a lot of hype, there will be pitfalls for investors along the way. If you want to invest in the AI revolution, what other companies could benefit and what do you need to consider. This is Money's Simon Lambert speaks to eT...
5m Jul 07, 2023
5m
Energy price cap falling and savings rates race past the 6% barrier
There has been plenty of doom and gloom in recent months – and today, we go searching for cheerier news. The energy price cap will fall from the weekend, plunging to £2,074 – below the £2,500 set Energy Price Guarantee from the Government. So, what should you be doing to prepare – and what does that mean for your usage? Will we soon see the return of fixed tariffs? This week Georgie Frost, H...
59m Jun 30, 2023
59m
Was hiking interest rates again the right move or is the Bank of England in panic mode?
The Bank of England’s bumper 0.5 per cent rate hike this week was the 13th rise in a row. After sitting on their hands for more than a decade, ratesetters have been shaken out of their slumbers by an inflation storm. By historic standards 5 per cent is not high for interest rates, but unfortunately for borrowers we also started from a historic low and have gone from 0.1 per cent to here in ju...
50m Jun 23, 2023
50m
Mortgage mayhem, savings frenzy: What on earth is going on?
The mortgage market is mayhem, with lenders pulling deals and rapidly hiking rates. Average fixed mortgage rates have soared over the past month and we are now at the stage where it looks a lot like the panic after the mini-Budget. At the same time savings rates are going gangbusters and there is barely a day that passes without a new best buy. Meanwhile, UK gilt yields have also leapt, send...
47m Jun 17, 2023
47m
Money for nothing: Is universal basic income a good idea?
Universal basic income is a controversial idea and not just because it's money for nothing. Paying everyone a set amount every month as a baseline level of income has intrigued economists and central bank geeks for years. Supporters say it has the power to improve physical and mental health and the economy and society, but critics say it's the start of a slippery slope to state dependency and...
53m Jun 09, 2023
53m
Inflation-busting savings rates of 9% and cash Isas back in the sun as billions pour into them
Forget 5 per cent savings rates. Forget 7 per cent. A new regular savings deal has landed paying a headline-grabbing 9 per cent (/money/saving/article-12149171/Saffron-BS-launches-regular-savings-account-9-rate.html) . But, is it actually a good deal? Saffron Building Society aren't the only savings provider pumping up rates, with fixed-rates now hitting 5.25 per cent. And cash Isas are back ...
59m Jun 02, 2023
59m
When will energy bills fall, and could the fixed tariff finally be making a return?
We had some good news this week about our energy bills - or did we? Ofgem's price cap is coming down - saving households around £400 a year on average. The last 18 months have been horrendous for households, so bad the Government had to step in in October and introduce a price freeze - but that was still double what the typical bill payer would have had to fork out a year previously. And alt...
45m May 26, 2023
45m
Should we stop dragging people into tax designed for the rich?
Almost five times as many people will soon be paying 40 per cent tax than in the early 1990s, when it was seen as a tax bracket reserved for the rich, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned this week. It said that fiscal drag triggered by freezing the higher rate tax threshold would pull 7.8million people into its net by 2027 (https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article-12087179/Nurses-teacher...
52m May 19, 2023
52m
How high will interest rates go... and why are they still going up?
And there it was, another interest rate hike. Another quarter point move up seems almost commonplace now but cast your mind back to the era after the financial crisis and we had to wait nearly ten years for the base rate to climb above its 0.5 per cent 'emergency level'. It cut got first and then base rate got all the way to the heady heights of 0.75 per cent, before it was cut again when Cov...
49m May 12, 2023
49m
How can we build more homes and make them better?
A row over housebuilding has erupted again. Labour leader Keir Starmer has said he would bring back a 300,000 annual housebuilding target, after Rishi Sunak scrapped it. Meanwhile, some backbench Tory MPs are reportedly unhappy about their party ditching that target in the first place – with the number having featured in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto. At the same time Michael Gove ha...
48m May 05, 2023
48m
Home improvement snakes and ladders: How to add value - and how to lose it
46m Apr 28, 2023
46m
It's got easier to win big on the Premium Bonds but should you invest?
Premium Bonds are a national institution and their prize-giving place in British savers' hearts was only cemented further through the low interest rate years. But now interest rates are on the rise and Premium Bonds offer not only the chance to win £1million but also a much better rate of return. The average prize fund rate on Premium Bonds has reached the heady heights of 3.3 per cent - goin...
51m Apr 21, 2023
51m
How long should you fix your mortgage for - and what next for rates?
As if buying a home wasn’t enough of a lottery, borrowers are now facing a major gamble on their mortgage. Whether buying or remortgaging, they need to work out how long to fix for and try to assess what might happen next to interest rates. On the basis that even the world’s top economists and investors didn’t spot the past year’s sudden interest rate spike coming and can’t agree on what cent...
52m Apr 14, 2023
52m
State pension goes above £10,000 - but has something got to give?
The state pension is getting a boost this week, meaning many pensioners will see their payments go above £200 per week or £10,000 per year for the first time. The Government has also recently announced that it is delaying a decision on hiking up the state pension age to 68 until after the next election (https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-11919369/Decision-state-pension-age-ri...
37m Apr 06, 2023
37m
Can you beat the April bill hikes - and is it time we ditched the tax traps?
Just when you thought the cost of living crisis was meant to be on its way out another round of bill hikes are hitting. From council tax to mobile bills, seemingly every organisation wants another piece of your bank account (https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-11922417/Brits-face-bills-increases-TOMORROW-including-broadband-council-tax-water-prescriptions.html) - and some of the ...
46m Mar 30, 2023
46m
Should we worry about the banks... and why raise interest rates now?
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water... A banking crisis has seemingly emerged out of nowhere, in a system that we've been told is stable, well capitalised and far from its parlous state when the credit crunch and financial crisis struck. So, what is going on and why did both the Federal Reserve in the US and the Bank of England see fit to raise interest rates (https://ww...
51m Mar 24, 2023
51m
The Budget verdict: Pensions, childcare, energy bills and dodging recession
Jeremy Hunt had a spring in his step this week as he delivered his Budget. It was a considerably different air to the gloomy warning of trouble ahead in his November Autumn Statement. The headline act was a major shake-up of pension saving rules, removing restrictions that limit the amount that can go in without tax penalties. The lifetime allowance was abolished rather than raised, the annu...
59m Mar 17, 2023
59m
Can you trust the state pension system as more blunders emerge?
You'd like to imagine that when it came to the state pension, you'd be dealing with a more robust system than the ones that deliver the average customer service nightmare. Savers could be forgive for questioning whether that was the case after a string of recent blunders. First we had the underpaid women's state pensions scandal, now we have the pension top-ups system creaking at the seams, a...
47m Mar 10, 2023
47m
Are we on the verge of a house price crash?
41m Mar 03, 2023
41m
How to make the most of saving and investing into an Isa
There's not long left until the end of the tax year - and that means it is time to sort your Isa if you haven't already. This year's Isa allowance runs out as the tax year ticks over on 6 April and it pays to get everything you can into the tax-free shelter for savings and investments. But what are the important things you need to know, the tips for making the most of your Isa - and why does ...
58m Feb 24, 2023
58m
Would you dispute an inheritance if you thought it was unfair?
Where there's a will, there's often a grumble... and potentially a full on dispute. The amount of money involved in inheritances derived from even modest homes these days can be life changing and when someone feels they have been unfairly cut out or not given their dues, arguments can ensue. There's been a sharp rise in inheritance disputes, but why are they occurring, what can you do to protec...
54m Feb 17, 2023
54m
Why is food inflation so high and when will it stop?
Inflation is theoretically running out of steam but there's one essential that's still going up in price rapidly: food. Even as energy prices and other recent highly inflationary items slow a bit, the cost of food seems to show no let up - with reports reporting inflation-busting rises. What is going on here? How much have food prices risen, why have they gone up so much, are supermarkets or ...
1hr 1m Feb 10, 2023
1hr 1m
Could this be the peak for interest rates - and what will it mean for you?
Are we nearly there yet? The Bank of England hiked interest rates again this week, adding 0.5 per cent to take base rate to 4 per cent. That’s a level that it was almost unthinkable we’d reach so quickly a year ago, but rates have gone up hard and fast. The questions now are will base rate stall and when will it come back down again? But while the Bank of England has sent rates up like a rock...
44m Feb 03, 2023
44m
Will the Government raise state pension age to 68 sooner than planned - and what should those about to retire do about it?
Those aged between 43 and 54 may have been concerned by rumours this week that the Government is planning to increase the state pension age to 68 much sooner than planned (https://ptp-uk-cc.anlremote.com/money/pensions/article-11671601/State-pension-age-hike-68-2035-condemn-impoverished-retirement-says-Age-UK.html) . Officially, the rise to 68 is set to happen between 2044 and 2046, but minist...
40m Jan 27, 2023
40m
Could an Isa tax raid really cap savings at £100,000? Plus Bank of Dave's Dave Fishwick on his Netflix hit
An astonishing idea for an Isa tax raid was outlined by the Resolution Foundation this week, with the proposal that tax-free savings and investments should be capped at £100,000. No more aspiring to be an Isa millionaire, it would be £100k and out under this plan. It said that the nominal money out toward not taxing Isa interest, gains and dividends should instead go in the direction of encou...
51m Jan 20, 2023
51m
Will you be able to afford the retirement you want?
What do you picture in retirement? Is it an early exit from the rat race to travel the world, a gradual step back and a bit of golf, or working until state pension age and then spending some time treating the grandchildren? We will all have a different image in our heads of what our retirement years might look like, but whatever that is it is important to think about another question: could yo...
59m Jan 13, 2023
59m
Will 2023 be a better year for our finances... or worse?
The New Year has arrived and with it promises of inflation falling and a ray of hope on energy bills. But even if Rishi Sunak halves inflation, as he claims he will, it would still be running at 5 per cent and his promise to get Britain back to growth may prove harder than the simple maths that sees inflation slow. Meanwhile, a slowdown in the rise of the cost of living doesn't mean things wi...
44m Jan 06, 2023
44m
The big financial events of 2022 and what happens next?
Tumultous is a word that doesn't really do 2022 justice. Most people were looking forward to a year of calm as the Covid pandemic faded, but instead got turmoil and the cost of living crisis. In the UK, we mixed the global unrest dealt by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the inflation spike, with our own dose of political instability. A year in which you get through three Prime Ministers and ...
39m Dec 30, 2022
39m
Would you be tempted to 'unretire' after quitting work early? The mystery of Britain's missing workers
First we had the great resignation and now we may be seeing a new trend emerge 'unretirement'. Amid the turmoil of the pandemic, Britain's economy threw up the puzzle of a dramatic rise in economic inactivity - as about 565,000 people dropped out of the workforce to a position where they were neither working or looking for work. These missing workers aren't claiming unemployment benefits but ...
45m Dec 23, 2022
45m
When will interest rates stop rising? Plus, energy-saving tips to help you afford the heating
The Bank of England has hiked base rate from 0.1 per cent to 3.5 per cent in the space of 12 months, a move that would have been considered unthinkable not so long ago. But with inflation looking as if it has peaked, the economy probably already in recession, households and businesses feeling the squeeze, have we nearly reached the end of the rate hikes? When the mini-Budget chaos struck ther...
56m Dec 16, 2022
56m
Could house prices really fall 20% and how bad would that be?
The mortgage crunch has stalled the pandemic property boom and sent house prices down, but could they fall 20 per cent? The risk of a severe house price downturn of that magnitude was flagged by Rightmove founder and property market veteran Harry Hill. Hill’s CV includes setting up property giant Rightmove and selling estate agency group Countrywide for £1billion a year before the 2008 bankin...
1hr 2m Dec 09, 2022
1hr 2m
Do you need to worry about tax on your savings and investments?
Many people have not had to worry about paying tax on their savings and investments for some time. The advent of the £1,000 personal savings allowance combined with savings rates near record lows meant basic rate taxpayers would need big cash pots to incur 20 per cent tax on their interest. Meanwhile, even higher rate taxpayers with their lower £500 personal savings allowance needed reasonabl...
51m Dec 02, 2022
51m
Have savings and mortgage rates already peaked?
Savings and mortgage rates rocketed after what must now always be known as the 'ill-fated mini-Budget', but even as the Bank of England continues to raise rates have they already peaked. The top fixed rate savings deals have edged down from their highest levels - a five-year fix can no longer be had above 5 per cent, for example, while the best two year fix is at 4.75 per cent. So, if you wan...
48m Nov 25, 2022
48m
What does Jeremy Hunt's tax raid budget mean for you?
‘Jeremy Hunt’s mini-Budget was like the tax part of the Corbyn manifesto with none of the benefits of the extra spending.’ That was This is Money editor Simon Lambert’s verdict on the Chancellor’s tax-hiking spree that painted a miserable picture of the years ahead, hit higher earners, and hammered small investors. In a blizzard of hikes – through threshold drops and stealth tax freezes – Hun...
37m Nov 19, 2022
37m
The everything tax raid: Will the threat of higher taxes backfire?
‘If they could tax the air you breathe they’d do it.’ That age-old moan about taxes going up has sprung to mind over the past week, as rumours about pretty much any tax you can think of being hiked were spread about. So many kites were flown about potential tax rises that even taxing selling your own home and bringing back the 50p rate were floated as potential Autumn Statement ideas troubling...
54m Nov 11, 2022
54m
What do rapid rate rises mean for you - and is this the right move?
44m Nov 05, 2022
44m
Have we come down too hard on buy-to-let? Plus, Rishi the PM vs Rishi the Chancellor
The tense situation between tenants and landlords is escalating: the former have seen rents spiral but the latter have faced a big jump in costs jump too. Meanwhile regulation has become a bugbear between the two sides, is there not enough of it or too much? What can be done to improve things in the rental market and have we come down too hard on buy-to-let? That’s the question asked on this...
53m Oct 28, 2022
53m
Is the UK economy heading for stability or just more trouble?
There's a new Chancellor in town and he means business. Serious business. After Kwasi Kwarteng tried to spread some joy to get growth going with tax cuts for all, Jeremy Hunt and the fun police have stepped in to stop the markets freaking out. The fallout from Kwarteng's ill-fated mini-budget has now claimed his Chancellorship and Liz Truss's Premiership - with Britain achieving the rare feat...
43m Oct 21, 2022
43m
The Wave founder Nick Hounsfield interview: How I built my £27m surfing lake dream from £500 in the bank
If you were asked to name a world-class place to surf, a field near Bristol isn’t the first location that would spring to mind. But this slice of the English countryside is home to The Wave, an artificial surfing lake that is one of just a handful in the world to use cutting edge technology and was the first of its kind. The Wave is the fruit of the ambitions of Nick Hounsfield, a pioneering ...
51m Oct 20, 2022
51m
What you need to know about gilts and why markets freaked out so much it toppled the Chancellor
When gilts hit the headlines it’s a clear sign that trouble has not only been brewing but has been unleashed. Government bond yields only tend to break through into the mainstream when things aren’t going well and they have been firmly in the spotlight since Kwasi Kwarteng’s ill-fated mini-budget. But what is a gilt, why does its yield matter, what’s that got to do with prices and why do we w...
54m Oct 14, 2022
54m
How bad will the mortgage chaos get and will it sink house prices??
Rocketing rates have sent the average two and five-year fixed rate mortgage through the 6 per cent barrier. This is a level that would have been considered unthinkable a year ago, when there were 50 mortgage deals on the market at below 1 per cent. The Bank of England belatedly playing catching up with inflation has sent base rate from 0.1 per cent last December to 2.25 per cent now - and wit...
52m Oct 07, 2022
52m
Did the UK stage its own mini-financial crisis... and who was responsible?
As markets went haywire and the Bank of England staged a bond market intervention earlier this week, it felt like a mini-financial crisis had been triggered. It has been an incredibly turbulent week for the UK economy as the Bank of England stepped in to protect pension funds, the pound hit a record low against the dollar before rebounding and lenders pulled mortgage deals to re-price them at ...
1hr 2m Sep 30, 2022
1hr 2m
In brief: Why is the pound falling and why are UK borrowing costs spiking?
In this excerpt from the This is Money podcast, Simon Lambert and Georgie Frost discuss why the mini-Budget has combined with last week's interest rates decision to send the pound tumbling and UK government borrowing costs spiking. Find the This is Money podcast's full look at the mini-Budget and what it means for you here (https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/podcast/article-11244075/What-does...
5m Sep 26, 2022
5m
What does the tax-cutting mini-Budget mean for you and the UK?
Britain's new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng delivered a blistering mini-Budget this week that was anything that small. A wave of tax cuts were unleashed. Some had been heavily trailed, such as spiking the National Insurance hike and a stamp duty reduction, but there were also two rabbits out of the hat: a cut in basic rate income tax to 19p from April and abolishing the 45p income tax rate too. T...
49m Sep 23, 2022
49m
The pound, inflation, interest rates and energy bills... what happens next?
The Bank of England is tipped to raise interest rates by at least 0.5 per cent this week, but the pound fell to a 37-year low last week - reaching $1.351, a level not seen since 1985. That comes against a backdrop of inflation edging down slightly to 9.9 per cent - taking Britain out of the double-digit inflation club - with a colossal rescue plan to save households and businesses from spirall...
44m Sep 16, 2022
44m
How to get a better pension: Steve Webb answers your questions
This is Money's pensions guru Steve Webb racked up his 300th column answering readers' questions this week. Over the past six years, Steve, with the help of pension and investing editor Tanya Jefferies, has been guiding readers through the retirement maze - with his column regularly among the most popular stories of the week. To celebrate his 300th column, Steve joins Tanya, Georgie Frost and...
47m Sep 10, 2022
47m
The cost of living crisis cutbacks that could harm your long-term wealth
Belts are already being tightened but as bills head even higher more people will look to save where they can. But are there some things that you should avoid doing or cutting back on at all costs? Campaigns to get people not to pay their bills have obvious flaws, but what about only paying for the energy you use, diverting your pension saving elsewhere or cutting back on ditching saving or in...
58m Sep 02, 2022
58m
Will the Government keep its state pension triple lock promise this time?
Inflation is soaring and if predictions are correct, it would result in the Consumer Prices Index measure hitting 13 per cent this autumn. That could result in a state pension rise of around £1,000 a year to £10,900 while even at the current level of 10.1 per cent it would be upped to £10,600. However, last year, the triple lock was scrapped. Would a new Prime Minister dare do the same this t...
49m Aug 26, 2022
49m
Inflation hits double digits for the first time since 1982: How does today compare to 40 years ago?
 Inflation is up again with CPI now measured at 10.1 per cent, the highest since February 1982, when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. How does this bout of inflation compare to then? Lee Boyce, Helen Crane and Georgie Frost discuss the higher than forecast inflation rate and what is driving it. With that rate of inflation soaring, a majority of economists believe another 0.5 percentage ...
52m Aug 19, 2022
52m
Will rates keep rising and are cash Isas a good option again? Savings special podcast
Rising bills and the cost-of-living crisis are forcing many to dip into savings pots, if they have one to begin with. At the same time, with base rate rising to try and curb inflation, savings deals have become far better than they have been in the last decade. This week, Georgie Frost and Lee Boyce are joined by a special guest: James Blower, AKA The Savings Guru, who gives his take on where...
59m Aug 12, 2022
59m