Podcasts

Graham Spooner, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, looks at first quarter results from Ferguson, the world's biggest plumbing supplies distributor. He also looks at the way in which sentiment in the UK market is now trumping fundamentals. Graham highlights some changes in the FTSE100 share index, with Royal Mail and Just Eat departing. And he looks ahead to forthcoming results from Ashtead and BAT.

In the wake of the Marriott Starwood data breach, with up to 500 million customers' data compromised, how can we protect ourselves when using the web. Simon Rose spoke to Mike Ianiri of independent telecoms brokerage Equinox. In a chilling interview, Mike explains the options for guarding your data and warns that free wifi, which so many of us use widely, is a cyber criminal's dream.

James Cameron-Wilson delves into the UK box office where the new Fantastic Beasts movie has been pushed into third place by Ralph Breaks the Internet, the sequel to Wreck-It Ralph and by Creed 2 (not surprisingly, the sequel to Creed). He also looks at the home dual-format release of the 1966 Charlton Heston film Khartoum, a movie James reckons would be impossible to make now. Lastly, he looks at some of the Golden Globe nominations, which might given an early indication of the Oscar front-runners.

Steve Caplin looks (carefully) into the high tech loo that can check for signs of disease, the Amazon Alexa microwave, why wombat poo is cuboid, bike mirrors for the hands, the Chinese scientists who've created a heat source six times hotter than the sun and why our genes may decide if we prefer tea or coffee.

Adam talks to Dr Kate Beaven Marks, an expert in hypnotherapy about why more than 95% of qualified therapists fail to turn their skills into a career. They discuss why therapists and practitioners need to understand business, marketing and accounting skills and that simply being better therapist doesn’t help.

Have we reached peak nanny state – or as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss recently put it – peak banny state? Politicians seem to be sneaking in nanny state legislation through the back door, often in the face of hostile public opinion. Labour brought in a draconian smoking ban in 2007 despite its 2005 manifesto explicitly exempting drinking establishments that did not serve food. David Cameron made no mention of plain packaging in his 2010 manifesto and the sugar tax did not feature in his 2015 manifesto. These politicians violate John Stuart Mill’s famous principle that people should be free to do whatever they like, provided they harm no one but themselves. How did we get here? Joining me to discuss the banny state are the IEA’s Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the IEA and the author of Killjoys, a critique of the health paternalism that has been adopted by governments around the world, and Rebecca Lowe, Director of the IEA’s initiative, FREER, which works to promote a freer economy and a freer society.

Inheritance tax is a conundrum. Just 5 per cent of estates currently incur it but it’s been voted Britain’s most unfair major tax. Even with the number of people hit by it expected to double, it seems we just don’t like the concept. It’s no wonder then that the Chancellor commissioned a report into it from the Office of Tax Simplification, but no one forecast that to be as damning about the system as it was. It’s complicated, more than ten times as many bereaved families have to fill in forms as pay it, and it turns out the very rich pay proportionally less than those directly below them. Does that make inheritance tax ripe for a change and how could it be adjusted? Simon Lambert and Georgie Frost discuss that on this week’s podcast. Also, on the show they discuss why tenants are still waiting for a fees ban, whether the latest move to curb private parking tickets goes far enough and the least reliable cars you can buy second hand. And finally, we’ve all heard the one about how airlines might use your browsing history to hike flight costs, but have you heard about error fares that can get you somewhere for a fraction of the normal price? And more to the point are both these true. We bust five flight booking myths.

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: Marriott gets hacked and as many as 500 million guests could be affected; General Motors announces it's cutting 15% of its workforce; And Tiffany loses some of its sparkle. Analysts Andy Cross, Ron Gross, and Jason Moser weigh in on these stories and discuss the latest from United Technologies, Abercrombie & Fitch, Salesforce, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Burlington Stores. Plus, toy expert Chris Byrne takes stock in some hot toys for the holidays.

Political commentator and author of the Groucho Tendency blog Mike Indian discusses Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement from the EU and what the Prime Minister achieved? He looks at the reaction to the deal and considers what could happen in the Meaningful Vote. If it does not pass in Parliament, what would the outcome be?

Steve Caplin looks at the first work of art in space, the first solid state plane, how facial recognition technology in China named and shamed a bus poster, singing postboxes, a remote control car with a VR headset and the world's first chewable reusable straw.