Share Sounds related to Economics

With the Bank of England citing Donal Trump's trade war as the key driver for lower interest rates, will the UK-US trade deal stall the fall? Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Helen Crane discuss this and — will the new IHT levy on pensions lead to retirees spending more on holidays? Also, as companies require more of their staff to return to the office, is 'Working From Home' over?

When it comes to investing, it's stock markets that regularly hog the headlines but it's government bond markets that really matter. Share prices taking a prolonged tumble is one thing but if bonds take a hammering, the financial world starts to really the notice. A textbook example occurred a few weeks ago when in the aftermath of Donald Trump's introduction of US tariffs, stock markets took a dive and the President refused to budge. But when bond market ructions started to get investors and even central bankers worried, Trump appeared to take heed and introduced his 90-day pause. Georgie Frost, Tanya Jefferies and Simon Lambert discuss government bonds, the basics of how they work, why they matter and what impact they have on ordinary investors and our finances. Plus, the state pension top-up mess that refuses to go away, how to find the best SIPP to invest for retirement, and is a care annuity the answer to our care costs problems or just a treatment for the symptoms? And finally, there's been a mass stampede to Cash ISAs: what's going on — and is the tax-free saving allowance still likely to get chopped?

Fed independence brings stability, and markets love stability. Asit Sharma and Dylan Lewis discuss the Trump Administration’s focus on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the role of an independent Federal Reserve Bank for the market and investors, and Netflix’s earnings and status as a “recession-proof” stock. Then, 16 minutes in, Anand Chokkavelu hosts Fool Contributors Dan Caplinger and Rick Munarriz for a Scoreboard episode on Shopify. Companies discussed: NFLX, SHOP, AMZN. Host - Dylan Lewis; Guests - Anand Chokkavelu, Dan Caplinger, Rick Munarriz

Donald Trump may think he's a deal-maker, but he's more likely to turn out to be an economy-breaker, putting the U.S. dollar's role as the world's reserve currency at risk. Recession may be the least of our worries — this degree of instant aggression could well bring on a second Great Depression. So while few would disagree that U.S. needs to find a way out of its chronic trade imbalances, a transitional approach to tariffs with cross-party agreement designed to run over at least 2-3 presidential terms — thereby giving time to make the necessary changes — would have made far more sense. Background music: 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' Cooper Cannell

Markets around the world have slumped, the dollar weakened and fears mount of a global recession, after Donald Trump announced huge 'reciprocal' tariffs on over one hundred countries. The UK appears to have got off lightly, attracting just the baseline 10% tariff - but even that will wipe out the Chancellor's beloved headroom and leaves the door wide open for tax rises in the Autumn. How else could it hit us here? From pensions, investments, mortgages and energy bills, Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Lee Boyce try to unpick a crazy few days in the geo-political arena. As ISA providers continue to battle it out to win new customers ahead of the end of the tax year, we've seen some chunky deals. A quartet of savings apps have all boosted rates repeatedly in the last week, with the top Cash ISA rate of 5.9%, up from 5.28% just a week ago. The catch? These bonus boosts only last three months, so how good is the rate you're really getting over the whole year? And are these deals worth it? And, on the topic of ISAs, Simon has his very, very last minute tips on filling your allowance before it's too late.

Today we talk about the economic and market impacts of tariffs, some business partnerships, and a couple of weak earnings reports. Also, Andy Cross talks to Schwab Chief Investment Strategist Liz Ann Sonders. And Asit and Jason share two stocks on their radar. Host - Ron Gross; Guests - Asit Sharma, Jason Moser, Andy Cross, Liz Ann Sonders

The markets are taking a beating on Liberation Day tariff announcements. What do the announcements mean long term? It’s anyone’s guess. Nick Sciple and Ricky Mulvey discuss why markets are reacting so strongly to the reciprocal tariff announcements, how investors can look for opportunities, but “not be a hero” right now, and Match Group’s new artificial intelligence flirting game. Then, 17 minutes in, Rick Munarriz joins Ricky for a conversation about Nintendo’s new Switch 2, and how the device could boost earnings for the video game maker. Companies discussed: WINA, MTCH, OTC: NTDOY. Host - Ricky Mulvey; Guests - Nick Sciple, Rick Munnariz

Outcome assessment is vital for all new initiatives, particularly political, but traditional academic research, which is sequential in character, is not good at responding to the speed of change in our modern world. This is particularly the case in tackling Child Poverty, for which a UK-Government Task Force is due to report later this Spring. If we are to break the cycle of deprivation with inter-generational rebalancing, we need a new sense of dynamism and responsiveness. Background music: 'Peony Morning' by TrackTribe

Rachel Reeves is back to where she started after the Spring Statement, with her £9.9billion of budget headroom restored but at what cost? The Chancellor was true to her word and didn't turn last week's economic update into a second Budget, with no tax changes coming in. But a wave of spending cuts was announced, along with growth forecasts going both down and up. We also got the Office for Budget Responsibility's update on what Reeves' Autumn Budget tax rises will cost us, a threat to Cash ISAs and no reprieve for home buyers on stamp duty. In this episode, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert dive into the Spring Statement to explain why it happened, what it means, and tackle the question of whether taxes are going to have to rise again in autumn. They look at the very important assumption being made by the OBR, which if it turns out to be wrong could mean there is a £48billion black hole in the sums. And is the entire thing a charade anyway and damaging to our future prospects? Simon explains why he thinks so. Finally, campaigners like Gary Stevenson claim that this could all be solved with a wealth tax — is that where we will eventually end up?

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivers her March '25 Spring Statement — this is an unabridged audio record of her speech to the House of Commons