Share Sounds

ETFs are a cheap and simple way to invest in markets. Trouble is, there are more than two thousand listed on the London market alone. So how do you pick the right ones for you and your circumstances? Ed Bowsher gets tips on how to do it from two experts in ETF selection: Oliver Smith from IG Smart Portfolios and Hoshang Daronga from Copia Capital.

Ian Forrest, Investment Research Analyst at The Share Centre, looks at the latest Fed announcement, which was more doveish on future interest rate movements than expected. He assesses numbers from Shell, Royal Mail, Diageo and Shell and looks ahead to results from Ocado, currently in talks with Marks & Spencer.

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University considers why so many in the developed world are advocating hard-left economic policies, wondering if there is a growing disconnect between the young and those ruling us. He also looks at attacks on advertising, explaining how vital advertising is in a free society and that it is essentially commercial free speech. Lastly, he ponders the worsening economic and political situation in Venezuela, asking if President Trump has got it right in supporting opposition leader Juan Guaido.

James Cameron-Wilson on the latest UK box office numbers, with Glass and Mary, Queen of Scots seeing off newcomer Vice, starring Christian Bale as former US Vice-President Dick Cheney. In at #8 is the Clint Eastwood film The Mule, another true story. The Nicole Kidman movie Destoyer, once touted as a possible award-nominee, only managed an entry at #19. James also reviews the new home release, Crazy Rich Asians, which he recommends highly.

Steve Caplin on the latest from the cutting edge of technology, taking in parking robots at Gatwick, Amazon's wheeled delivery vehicle, cameras that see round corners, Facebook's space lasers, Amazon's "blended reality mirror", a hand-pumped aqualung, why zebras have stripes and how scientists can transfer memories from one snail to another. Oh - and what submarines use X-box controllers for!

In part one of two This is Money podcast specials, we tackle savings. When savings are mentioned, the first thought that springs to mind for many is: rates are low, what's the point? In the latest This is Money podcast, assistant editor Lee Boyce and host Georgie Frost are joined by James Blower, the Savings Guru to explain why savings are important. James has inside knowledge of the industry, having helped a number of challenger banks set up their savings business. We talk about what the point of saving is and what you need to consider at different stages - and ages - of your life. How do you save for your children, what about Isas, does higher risk equal higher reward and how do you save for a house? We also talk about why the Financial Services Compensation Scheme is important and whether saving in cash over investing is ever a worthwhile exercise. James takes us behind the scenes at how rates are set and reveals why he believes better deals are on the horizon for savers.

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: Is the recent stock market volatility par for the course or an aberration? Is it better for investors to be paranoid or complacent? On this week’s show, award-winning financial columnist Morgan Housel tackles those questions and talks stock market history and psychology. Plus, analysts Aaron Bush, Ron Gross, and Jason Moser dig into earnings from Comcast, Intuitive Surgical, McCormick, and Starbucks. And we discuss the latest news on eBay, Mastercard, and Papa John’s.

Alistair McQueen is head of Savings and Retirement for Aviva plc. He's been with the organisation in its various incarnations since joining the then Commercial Union as a graduate trainee. He's a self-confessed savings geek, and urges us all to start on a pension plan if we haven't already. He's happy to confess his big business bloopers in this edition (sending confidential information in 'all-staff' email by accident!). Away from the business, he's a keen singer and runner.

In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Franz Buscha and Matt Dickson talk to Alex Bryson, Professor of Quantitative Social Science at University College London. Alex is one of the UK’s leading figures in sports economics and he firstly explains what sports economics is and how it can be used to draw policy inferences in other more familiar areas of economics. Franz, Matt and Alex then discuss the findings of Alex’s paper looking at whether people discriminate against black players when picking their ‘fantasty football’ team and what this might tell us about labour market discrimination. How football referees’ performances are impacted by their employment contract and how having 50,000 vocal fans scrutinising their decisions affects their decision-making are other topics under discussion. Finally, Alex explains how data from baseball can help us understand individual effort choices when working as part of a team.

Adam is joined by coach and speaker Palma Palmer about how definitions of masculinity and boundaries are changing directly as a result of the MeToo movement. Palma talks candidly about her early years and her need to deal with predatory men and what lessons can be learned by those who need help to make their boundaries clear. They also discuss whether men and being confused or diluting masculinity as a result of public opinion changing.