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UK Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson describes our current system for financing higher education as 'the worst of all worlds', and she's right. The combination of loan funding and universality has generated chronic problems for both students and universities. We need to apply inter-generational logic to address both this problem and the challenges faced by other disadvantaged young people from low-income backgrounds. The Times placed this story on its front page last Saturday, and re-introduction of maintenance grants for these young people will be part of the solution: this issue will clearly get some focus in the UK Budget on 30th October. Hopefully it will also include those other areas where focused help is needed for disadvantaged young people, including starter capital accounts and incentivised learning, with funding to be drawn from IHT receipts. Background music: 'Generations Away' by Unicorn Heads

In a House of Lords debate on the continuing conflict in Sudan, Archbishop Justin Welby called for a long-term plan towards peace building. The need for that is just as acute in Ukraine and, using all his considerable skills in reconciliation, he could open the door to a pathway to peace by going to meet Patriarch Kirill in Moscow. Thus far Kirill has given steadfast spiritual support to Putin, but is this in keeping with the Christian faith? How can the clear instruction to 'love your enemies' be reconciled with the continuing devastation and anguish in Ukraine and the abduction of more than 20,000 children? Background music: 'Confliction & Catharsis' by Asher Fulero

The oldest recipient of a Child Trust Fund turned 22 on Sunday 1st September, but the great majority of those allocated by HMRC (due to no action by the young person's parents by their 1st birthday) are unclaimed. This is the story of Joe, who really needs his money to get started in adult life — but he doesn't know anything about his good fortune. The Share Foundation has already enabled over 60,000 young people to claim their accounts, but that's a drop in the ocean compared to the huge number of accounts lying dormant with account providers. So The Share Foundation is now asking Government to implement its 'Default Withdrawal at 21' proposal for HMRC-allocated accounts. Background music: 'Missing Persons' by Jeremy Blake

With just one month to go before the Budget, Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Lee Boyce discuss what you might consider doing to prepare for it: give money away, use allowances (CGT, ISA, pension contributions) to the full, or leave the country? The team reminds us that 'don't panic' is often the best way forward. There are also a couple of interesting readers' questions, about ignoring a father's will and re-marriage to save tax.

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University says that we are living through the days of immense change and that AI is an evolving technology without end. While imperfect and with moral challenges that need to be faced, everyone should get to grips with it. From non-doms to university fees and housing, he returns to the subject of Labour moving to the market right of politics with little challenge from the directionless Conservatives. And with Labour's honeymoon well and truly over and talk about links between Lord Alli and Syria's Assad, how damaging will Cronygate be?

Russ Mould of A J Bell discusses the Fed cutting rates by half a percentage point – rather high for the start of a cycle – and China's latest attempt at stimulus. In the UK, cyclical sectors are leading the way and the market benefits from being lower-rated and having more political stability, at least more than the US. The FTSE-350 also has an effective yield of 7.5%. Financial markets were not keen on Brexit but the pound is now almost back to pre-Brexit levels against the dollar, which will help suppress inflation, even if it crimps earnings and dividends.

Tech talk with Steve Caplin. He demonstrates the iPhone's way of filtering out unwanted background noise. OpenAI are to produce an AI hardware device to be designed by Sir Jony Ive. AI can now fool CAPTHA into thinking it's human. Tetris can apparently help treat PTSD. Magic mushrooms can help with chronic depression. Spanish scientists have developed a superfood yellow lettuce. For some reason Wordle is coming to Meta Quest. And red wine, dark chocolate and cheese help to lower the risk of dementia.

As a physical energy source, bodyfat can be compared to one of those electrical powerbanks you use as a reserve for your mobile phone or tablet: a store of energy for when you need it. When you reduce food consumption your bodyfat store will start delivering, but it's important to get the balance right. A calorie deficit and a low insulin environment is a reasonable approach, but vegetables providing fibre and water won't hold back the process of weight reduction, and will do you good. Bear in mind also that the brain uses a lot of energy, and doesn't draw down from bodyfat — so check carefully when embarking on a weight loss strategy.

Meta’s Reality Labs division burns about a billion dollars per month. One result is Orion, augmented-reality glasses that let users see the outside world. No battery pack needed. Jason Moser and Ricky Mulvey discuss updates from Meta Connect 2024, cases for AR glasses, and new details about Southwest Airlines' overhaul. Then, 17 minutes in, Brookfield Corporation CFO, Nick Goodman, joins Motley Fool Senior Analyst Buck Hartzell to discuss how he thinks about capital allocation. Host - Ricky Mulvey; Guests - Jason Moser, Buck Hartzell

Usually, you don’t want to run toward a company that cuts its dividend. Jim Gillies and Ricky Mulvey discuss Nike’s strategic pivot, and what it means for its retail partners, why turnaround stories are difficult to implement, and Foot Locker’s impressive leadership. Then, 15 minutes in, Alison Southwick and Robert Brokamp discuss The Great Wealth Transfer, and how to factor a potential inheritance in a financial plan. Companies discussed: NKE, FLHost - Ricky Mulvey; Guests - Jim Gillies, Alison Southwick, Robert Brokamp

Box office is down 27%, says James Cameron-Wilson with new entry ‘The Substance’, a feminist body horror starring Demi Moore, entering only at #3. Although #12, Jodie Comer's ‘Prima Facie’ has now taken £7.6m, the highest ever for an event movie and it is still screening. James waxed lyrical about the extras-laden Blu-Ray ‘Michael Powell: Early Works’, giving umpteen insights into the development of one of the UK's greatest directors. He was also positive about Netflix's ‘Rebel Ridge’, a thriller about corruption and racism in America's South with Aaron Pierre and Don Johnson, even if the drama ebbs away when it begins to resemble ‘First Blood’.

It's Migraine Awareness Week! Adam Cox is joined by Dr. Peter Chadha, Chief Scientific Officer at MigraSoothe. With 1 in 5 UK adults suffering from migraines, Dr. Chadha explains how vitamin B2 can help both prevent migraines and reduce their severity.

Adam Cox is joined by Doug Glenwright from Fred. Olsen. They discuss new research that's been carried out, as well as some the findings: one of which is that more and more travellers are looking at the off-peak months for their trips. https://www.fredolsencruises.com/

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/

The State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday 17th July was somewhat of a watershed after fourteen years of Conservative governments. Here is the unabridged King's Speech, encapsulating in just over twelve minutes the priorities of the new Labour Government. Image Source: Daily Express. Background music following the speech: 'Pastorale' by Joel Cummins

The core of the problem with unclaimed, adult-owned Child Trust Funds (of which there are over £2 billion waiting to be claimed) is with accounts opened by HMRC. That's why The Share Foundation has proposed a 'default withdrawal at 21' process, based on the young person's National Insurance number. Danny Kruger MP took part in the CTF conference in Westminster on Tuesday 5th March, and two weeks later in a Westminster Hall CTF debate, and supported this initiative which could release £1/4 billion each year to help these young and predominantly low-income young adults. Background music: 'Waiting' by Andrew Langdon

The debate on 19th March 2024 was hosted by Sir Jeremy Quin MP to call for the need to simplify family access to Child Trust Funds for disabled young people, and a number of MPs contributed to the debate, including Danny Kruger and Ed Davy. The audio record is provided by Parliament Live, and is an unabridged recording of proceedings, without additional comment. Listeners may notice an adjournment for voting in the House of Commons.

Adam Cox is joined by Gemma Bourne from Big Society Capital to discuss why the government should reallocate a larger proportion of its existing spend to further scale initiatives that tackle the UK's homelessness and temporary accommodation crisis. With new research showing that these house funds are already having a major impact, it could help us combat homelessness. https://bigsocietycapital.com/

The full unabridged UK Budget speech as delivered by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the House of Commons on Wednesday 6th March 2024, without additional comment.

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University explains why he so enjoyed new Argentine President Javier Milei lecturing the great and good of the World Economic Forum about libertarian and Austrian economics, attacking corporatism and socialism. He feels Milei could be the most consequential politician economically-speaking for many years. He also looks at falling EV car sales, lamenting the way in which politicians set goals for achieving their hobbyhorses irrespective of scientific progress and consumer demand. And he is fascinated by a meeting between journalist John Humphreys and members of Gen Z, which showed them to be different to the popular perception.

Unabridged and without comment from Share Radio, here's the King's Christmas message as broadcast on 25th December '23.

Neil Shah of Edison Group feels that the bond market has now normalised whch could help the equity market, where many companies have stabilised after a tough year, although he points out that the US market looks peaky. He admires the outstanding quarter year results from Gregg's. The business appears to be in the sweet spot where value is important to customers with a healthy balance sheet and a great management team. It pays a yield but there is still plenty of growth left, although the rating clearly anticipates this.

Steve Caplin takes Simon Rose through a cornucopia of techie Christmas gift ideas. Among his favourites are the crowdfunded Linka Lasso bike lock and the Hover X1 self-flying camera. There's an app to help with the office Secret Santa and a distillery to brew your own booze. You can get a magnetic wrapping tripod, a great phone case with a built-in stand, teflon mats for flaky BBQ food, an underseat suitcase for flights, magnetic bookmarks, a folding charger plug and even an electrified Land Rover Defender to use as a shore tender with your superyacht.

On Wednesday 22nd November '23 Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt delivered his Autumn Statement to the House of Commons, focused on restoring UK economic growth. This is his full, unabridged speech as delivered, without commentary.

Welcome to a special episode of The Financial Outlook: the investment section of the Managing My Money course. What's the difference between saving and investment? It's all in the risk. We talk about shares, bonds and funds, and which perform best over the long term. The Managing My Money course has 16 sections in total, and is presented by Glen Goodman and Annie Weston. You can enjoy the whole course, produced in association with the Open University via Share Radio's home page. Here's the link to the slides for this episode: https://www.shareradio.co.uk/help-guides/managing-my-money/supporting-slides/mmm-week-5-episode-10-supporting-slides/

“The [Child Trust Fund] scheme has been closed to new entrants for over 12 years. In this time HMRC has been focusing resources on evaluating and improving existing schemes. We will continue to keep the need to evaluate old schemes under review.” So said Andrew Griffith MP, Economic Secretary to HM Treasury in reply to a parliamentary question from John Ashworth MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. But this is not an 'old scheme' — there is currently over £1.7 billion sitting in mature accounts belonging to over 900,000 mainly low-income young adults throughout the UK who don't know anything about their good fortune! Their Child Trust Fund harvest is seeing too little action at present: but it's not too late to get it sorted, and the current focus from the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee will certainly help.
Background music: 'Hopeful Freedom' by Asher Fulero

UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt sets out his Budget for growth. This is the unabridged recording, direct from the House of Commons on 15th March 2023.

The huge take-up of ChatGPT over recent weeks has brought the challenge of Artificial Intelligence into sharp relief. As the Chief Executive of its creator, OpenAI, said in one of his blogs, 'Artificial Intelligence will bring unimaginable wealth but, unless something changes, most of us will get none of it. We need a radical solution'. Conventional wisdom sees Universal Basic Income as the way through this dilemma, but this will only bring us more state intermediation and human subservience. We can put forward a better solution, by enabling all to share in the wealth that technology brings and to play their part in its future governance.
Background music: 'Digital Solitude' by Silent Partner

Jonathan Davis, editor of the Investment Trusts Handbook, tells Simon Rose what makes investment trusts special and why investors should consider their merits. He explains the differences to other types of funds, including the premium and discount. He discusses the yields on alternative assets (including renewable energy and even music royalties) and how trusts can continue paying dividends even in bad years. The handbook, from Harriman House, is available in hardbook or free as an ebook (https://tinyurl.com/mt69fc24).

It’s the last episode of Answers (but don’t worry, we’re just moving to Motley Fool Money every Tuesday). We’ll reminisce on our biggest lessons learned over the last seven years and answer your questions, some financial, some festive.

The Talk by the WealthiHer Network, every month on Share Radio: this month we are here to talk about the secrets of some of UK leading female businesses leaders and their journeys within launching their businesses. Tamara Gillan is joined by Charlotte Bobroff, the executive director at J.P. Morgan who has been incremental with working with female founders from female high-powered businesses. She recently curated an event surrounding female high-powered businesses and she will be discussing her findings. Also, we have the pleasure of Daina Speddings, who is an investor at BGF and will share her perspective on the investment journey.

Scrooge has made the deal of his life with Chinese investors and must now quickly return to London on Christmas Eve to close the deal. On the flight back, during a fitful sleep, Scrooge confronts his past and present and learns the future consequences of his miserly life to find the true meaning of Christmas. Proscenium Online Theatre is super excited to be bringing you a whole new season of audio dramas in 2022. Starting off with 'The Girl in the Yellow Dress', a dark romance by South African playwright Craig Higginson, and 'Plunder', an original Hong Kong based thriller by American playwright Alan Olejniczak. In the meantime - sit back, close your eyes and enjoy the Proscenium Online Theatre’s production of 'A Christmas Carol'.

https://www.prosceniumonlinetheatre.com

Join the Sustain:Social panel session on December '21, considering the outlook for investors in the wake of the COP26 in Glasgow. The panel comprises of - Chair: Rodney Hobson Panel: Gervais Williams (Premier Miton Group); Jamie Broderick (Impact Investing Institute); Mohan Gundu (Sustainable Funds Group); Mike Appleby (Liontrust Sustainable Investment team); Gavin Oldham (The Share Foundation / Share Radio).

Food banks are providing a vital role to help people this winter, and the Trussell Trust supports more than 1,200 throughout the United Kingdom. In this special episode of The Bigger Picture, their Chief Executive Emma Revie briefs supporters about their progress, and their plans for the future. If you would like to support the extraordinary work undertaken by this charity, please visit https://trusselltrust.org

If you missed Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivering his speech on 27 October, here's your chance to hear it. Plus, read our commentary on Monday 1 November for Share Radio's perspective, including our assessment of the contrast with the mid-70s, when public borrowing last hit stratospheric levels.

Imagine a world in which everyone has a stake in the great tech firms that serve them each day, and where dividends are gradually replacing wages to provide regular income for everyone, as work becomes scarcer as a result of automation? Imagine a world where every young person not only has a small inheritance with which to start their adult life, but also the opportunity to build its value by learning life skills? Simon Rose is taking a well-earned break this week, so we’re taking the opportunity to bring you a talk given Gavin Oldham in August to the leading City of London think-tank Z/Yen.

Click link for slides for presentation

On 31 August '21 The Share Foundation hosted a virtual event for young people in Wales, to help them find money that the government put away in a Child Trust Fund for when they reached 18. All young people born in the UK from 1st September 2002 should have one of these accounts, but huge numbers don't know anything about them! With Welsh-speaking help from Jac, this audio podcast of the virtual event tells you all about your good fortune, and invites you to register at https://findCTF.sharefound.org so that Sharefound can help link you with your money. Please share! And if you want to join a virtual event yourself, please visit https://www.sharefound.org/ctf-virtual-events and register for your choice of date: they're taking place each fortnight.

Every child in the UK born between 1 Sept 2002 and 2 Jan 2011 has a Child Trust Fund (CTF). But one child in six has lost contact with the money. Gavin Oldham, Chairman of The Share Foundation – which runs the Junior ISA & Child Trust Fund schemes for children in care for the Department for Education - is trying to re-connect them. He talks through the CTF, how to track an account down, and what a child can and can’t do with the money.

In a new partnership with publishers Harriman House, Share Radio has produced its first audiobook 'Superinvestors', written by Matthew Partridge and read by some of Share Radio's best known presenters. 'Superinvestors' lays bare the investing secrets of legendary investors - from early 20th-century figures such as Benjamin Graham and John Maynard Keynes, through to more modern names such as Anthony Bolton and Warren Buffett.

How you can help young people in care prepare for adult life by supporting The Share Foundation’s ‘Stepladder of Achievement’ programme.

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Share Radio has put together a list of our ‘Top 5 Money Saving Apps’ to help our listeners make the most of their money.  All the apps featured here are free to download on either Apple or Android devices. Read more...