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Simon Rose

The Business of Film: Abigail, Sometimes I Think About Dying & The Lavender Hill Mob

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Business Of Film

The Business of Film: Abigail, Sometimes I Think About Dying & The Lavender Hill Mob
With no big new releases, James Cameron-Wilson explains that the UK box office is down 36%, with Back to Black still #1. At #5 is horror film Abigail about a kidnapped ballerina. Extremely gory, it is also increasingly clichéd. James was impressed by Sometimes I Think About Dying at #19, a minimalist drama in which Daisy Ridley is a shy loner. Nuanced, it makes the audience work but is moving and sticks in the memory. Out for home viewing is 1951's A Lavender Hill Mob, with Alec Guinness a meek bank clerk with nefarious ambitions. The beautifully-restored disc is packed with fascinating extras. It is a must, says James.
Guest:

James Cameron-Wilson


Published:
Simon Rose

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: Why the FTSE 100 hit a record high

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: Why the FTSE 100 hit a record high
After starting the year no higher than it was in 2018, Russ Mould tells Simon Rose why the FTSE 100-Share Index hit a record high. The best cure for low prices, he explains, is low prices. The currency is cheap for overseas investors thanks to Brexit, hence so much takeover activity, dividends are reasonably healthy and, with buybacks taken into account, the index is effectively yielding more than 7%. He suggests we might be moving into a period where the UK market, so long out of favour, might possess big advantages, though there are many "ifs" and "buts" about it.
Guest:

Russ Mould


Published:
Simon Rose

Gadgets & Gizmos: A one-in-a-billion-year event, the Thermonator & an omnidirecitonal bicycle

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

Gadgets and Gizmos

Gadgets & Gizmos: A one-in-a-billion-year event, the Thermonator & an omnidirecitonal bicycle
In a once-in-a-billion-year happening two lifeforms have merged into one organism, says Steve Caplin. Post Office staff are using Google to tell if stamps are counterfeit. Whatsapp is being switched off in China and TikTok in the US. There's a flamethrower dog, an omnidirectional bike, a cat self-groomer and a way of putting your ex's love letters behind you. We also learn why NASA can't find out if there's life on Mars and hear why Microsoft won't release its way of producing realistic talking AI videos from a single photo.
Guest:

Steve Caplin


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Top earners fleeing Scotland, the Mondragon Experiment & the UK defence budget

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Top earners fleeing Scotland, the Mondragon Experiment & the UK defence budget
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University discusses the report that higher-rate Scottish taxpayers have been heading south, explaining that it shows the truth of the Laffer Curve in action. He highlights the Basque Region's Mondragon Experiment which, in showing that there is a different way of running businesses, is effectively socialism without the state. Could it offer a future direction for the NHS? And he wonders how an increase in the UK's defence spending, announced by the Prime Minister, could work with so many other urgent calls on the public purse.
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans


Published:
Simon Rose

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: Foxtons & the Seraphim Space Investment Trust

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: Foxtons & the Seraphim Space Investment Trust
Neil Shah of Edison Group looks at the 1st quarter trading update from Foxton's which, with a new management team, is undergoing a turnaround. It's a great brand, underpinned by good IT and data. It is a stable business (particularly lettings) with low risk on the downside which might have a great upside if press comments about it being sold are borne out. More esoteric is the Seraphim Space Investment Trust, which invests in companies exposed to the space industry, where the private sector is bringing down the cost of launching items into space. The price has risen, boosted to some extent by the prospect of increased defence spending. But the portfolio is maturing and profitability is coming through from many of its investments. It's a way to get exposure to space through a team of experts.
Guest:

Neil Shah


Published:
Simon Rose

The Business of Film: Back to Black, Civil War & Scoop

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Business Of Film

The Business of Film: Back to Black, Civil War & Scoop
James Cameron-Wilson welcomes a 7% kick in the box office. #1 is Sam Taylor-Johnson's Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black with Marisa Abela giving a stunning performance, celebrating her talent while not shying from depicting the reality of addiction. Although James rarely cries in movies, he was exceptionally moved by the film and loved it. He was also impressed by #2 Civil War, a dystopian USA-set thriller that is realistic and timely. An amazing and riveting film which is a great piece of cinema, he feels writer/director Alex Garland is one of our greatest filmmakers. On Netflix, he found Scoop, about Prince Andrew's ill-fated TV interview, to be a cross between The Crown and Spitting Image. He thought it engrossing but had trouble suspending disbelief.
Guest:

James Cameron-Wilson


Published:
Simon Rose

Gadgets & Gizmos: Avoiding kangaroos, various-legged robots & a crow imitating a siren

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

Gadgets and Gizmos

Gadgets & Gizmos: Avoiding kangaroos, various-legged robots & a crow imitating a siren
Steve Caplin on the latest tech. VW have developed a kangaroo scarer for cars. A home security device can fire paintballs or tear gas. There's a three-legged robot for asteroid mineral extraction, a two-legged humanoid that can be trained remotely and a drone that can hop on one leg. Skateboards can now be propelled by an expensive broomstick-like device. The Post Office can't tell if its own stamps are counterfeit or not. A crow near a police station can imitate two types of siren. And Elon Music wants to send 1,000 rockets to colonise Mars.
Guest:

Steve Caplin


Published:

Editors Pick

Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Will Rwanda flights happen, the UK's influence over Israel, the smoking bill & Liz Truss's book

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Will Rwanda flights happen, the UK's influence over Israel, the smoking bill & Liz Truss's book
Political commentator Mike Indian discusses the latest delay in the Rwanda Bill, asking if the flights will ever get off the ground. In the light of Iran's drone and missile attack, he wonders how much influence the UK has, or should seek to exert, over Israel. Is the rebellion over the smoking bill about freedom or manoeuvering for post-election power? And he assesses Liz Truss's book.
Guest:

Mike Indian


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Demographics & public services, the truth about money & the libertarian origins of cryptocurrency

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Demographics & public services, the truth about money & the libertarian origins of cryptocurrency
Professor Tim Evans discusses the way in which an ageing population and fewer young people is creating huge problems for our economy. Money is not necessarily the answer. We are running up the down escalator and public services must be reformed. He considers an article which points out how even our top institutions and economists don't understand money and how it is lent into existence from thin air. Lastly, he recaps an article from an American think tank which points out how 1990s libertarians almost inadvertently started developing early forms of digital cash before the arrival of the internet.
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans


Published:
Simon Rose

The Business of Film: Monkey Man, The First Omen & Road House

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Business Of Film

The Business of Film: Monkey Man, The First Omen & Road House
James Cameron-Wilson reports on a box office down 36%, with blockbusters maintaining the four top spots. Dev Patel's directorial debut Monkey Man comes in at #5, a violent film about a hustler with a score to settle. Although it has kinetic energy, it lacks humanity and is derivative and wearisome. Worse is The First Omen at #6. Incredibly similar to the plot of Immaculate, it's a horror film with no sense of credibility. James much preferred the Amazon Prime superior remake of Road House with Jake Gyllenhaal as a charming bouncer. Directed by Doug Liman, it's more complex and interesting than the original and, while violent, it also has a great deal of humour.
Guest:

James Cameron-Wilson


Published: