Podcasts

In an unpredicted turn of events, the coronavirus lockdown has been good for some when it comes to their bank balances. People collectively tucked away £30billion in savings accounts in March and April, around three times as much as the two months previous - with this credited to surplus cash and moving money to safety. A large slab of that went into easy-access accounts despite plunging rates. Meanwhile, we cleared a record amount of personal debt, according to Bank of England figures. The ONS says households are spending £183 less a week, but while some might be lucky to salt that away, many wouldn't come anywhere near it. Lockdown saving is not a universal picture. Many are facing up to lost income or losing their jobs entirely. In this podcast, editor Simon Lambert, assistant editor Lee Boyce and host Georgie Frost take a look at the figures. Much of the money stashed away at big banks pays 0.1 per cent or less, meaning collectively, billions of lost interest – where are rates heading? National Savings and Investments currently has a few best buy accounts, how long can it prop up the market and are we turning our backs on stocks and shares Isas? Meanwhile, the IMF says the crisis will wipe £10trillion off the global economy: what's happened to the V-shaped recovery? With pubs and shops slowly reopening, will Britons head back and spend their cash to help the economy? Simon talks about investing like Warren Buffett and what opportunities are out the post-lockdown world. With the heatwave that has smothered Britain this week, we take a look at how much it costs to run items that are designed to cool us down, and those trendy garden gadgets.

Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the latest relaxation of the lockdown rule and changes to social distancing. He discusses how toxic the allegations about Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick could be, how UK councils could face bankruptcy over Covid-19 and looks ahead to what we might expect from Rishi Sunak's next stimulus statement.

James Cameron-Wilson brings us the latest news about the reopening of Britain's cinemas. He gives us the latest international box office figures, showing which films are doing best in those territories where cinemas are operating. And he reviews the Austrian film The Ground Beneath My Feet and True History of the Kelly Gang, starring 1917's George MacKay.

Share Radio's technology editor bemoans the demise of Segway and its chequered history. He discusses Apple's new operating system, its switch away from Intel chips and the Apple Watch's way of telling you if you haven't washed your hands for long enough. There's also a tethered balloon ride to space, NASAs $23m space toilet, the Amazon Echo Auto for the car, real-time translation earbuds and a reusable electronic firework.

Graham Spooner of the investment research team at The Share Centre looks at recent news from Royal Mail, Auto Trader and Easyjet. He also looks ahead, wondering what we might expect to hear when we get statements from Sainsbury's, Associated British Foods (owners of Primark) and Rolls-Royce.

Vicky Sayers is joined by film critic and broadcaster, James Cameron-Wilson, to delve into the sports films that come “top of the podium”. They discuss what makes a winner in the genre of sports films, and James shares the story of what happened when he met Arnold Schwarzenegger. In this episode: The Pride of the Yankees (1942), The Hustler (1961), This Sporting Life (1963) Rocky (1976), Pumping Iron (1977), Raging Bull (1980), Chariots of Fire (1981), The Wrestler (2008), Battle of the Sexes (2017), I, Tonya (2017).

Adam Cox is joined by coach and entrepreneur Mike McDonnell. Despite living with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) as well as diabetes, Mike has been able to grow in confidence and competency to help coach side hustlers to become full-time entrepreneurs. Mike shares some of the setbacks and issues he has faced due to CF, and how he learned to respect the condition and the obligations that come with it to be able to take control of his life. He shares tips on how to stay positive and how to make progress, no matter what the obstacle.

Saving, spending, planning — you've got money questions and we've got answers. Every week host Alison Southwick and personal finance expert Robert Brokamp challenge the conventional wisdom on life's biggest financial issues to reveal what you really need to know to make smart money moves. In this week's show: Millions of people are opening their first brokerage account and giving day trading a try on sites like Robinhood. Motley Fool Contributing Analyst Matt Frankel joins us to talk about why now, how this will likely end, and whether it’s actually a good thing.

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: Retail sales rebound in May; Walmart teams up with Shopify; Spotify teams up with DC Comics; Wirecard plummets on accounting concerns at the German payment firm; And Groupon investors react to quarterly results and a 1-for-20 reverse stock split. Motley Fool analysts Andy Cross and Jason Moser discuss those stories, debate the finer points of Disney wine, and share two stocks on their radar: Skyworks Solutions and AeroVironment. Plus, DocuSign CEO Dan Springer talks about the big business of electronic signatures.

Banks and building societies have been slashing their mortgage ranges for those with smaller deposits. The number of mortgages available for those with a 10 per cent deposit has plummeted by 90 per cent compared since the start of March. This week, Nationwide announced it won’t lend on deposits smaller than 15 per cent, while TSB says even that’s not quite enough. What’s going on and is this triggering a mortgage credit crunch? On this week’s podcast we look at how the mortgage squeeze compares to what happened after the financial crisis, how this will affect those who want to buy and those who need to remortgage. Will the crunch last and send house prices down? Or has Britain’s property market got the kind of Terminator characteristics that will see it claw its way back up from coronavirus? Also, this week, as inflation nosedives we look at how savers can now beat the cost of living – are they really better off? And finally, while the nation is supposedly feeling the punch from the economic effects of coronavirus, there are some strange spending patterns going on... ...This is Money has uncovered a hot tub sales boom in lockdown, but why?