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Not my platitudes — but we do indeed need bold reforms, vision, groundbreaking solutions and to lead the edge of change. Our key concerns and calls for action are in this commentary, but they're not in the party manifestos: for example, the call to break the cycle of deprivation first made 50 years ago — we're still waiting. Euphemisms abound as the parties converge towards the central ground in the quest for your votes, but they draw together many different perspectives. Test them on issues such as a more egalitarian form of capitalism, smaller government, inter-generational rebalancing and a longer-term perspective — see where they stand as individuals. Background music: 'Hidden Agenda' by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1200102.

The Prime Minister put an end to all the speculation this week by giving us the date for the general election: July 4. That comes as the latest inflation reading was 2.3%, a little above forecasts making a base rate cut next month now unlikely. Simon Lambert, Georgie Frost and Lee Boyce delve into the economic state of affairs and what the upcoming election could mean for your money, when it comes to tax, pensions, property and everything in-between. Nationwide Building Society posted pre-tax profits of £1.77bn this week and as a result, it is dishing out another year of 'Fairer Share' loyalty payouts of £100 — will you qualify? And not only that, it is now offering £200 to switchers and an exclusive 5.5% loyalty savings rate. How does early retirement sound to you? It seems it appeals to a lot of us because searches on Google for 'retire early' have increased threefold in the last decade. But how much would you be willing to sacrifice to achieve it? At the extreme end, we have the FIRE movement, advocating saving 70% of your income. Special guest, former This is Money editor Andrew Oxlade, had had enough — he explains why. Lastly, This is Money has a new regular series called Modern Treasures with valuation expert Dan Hatfield — Lee reveals all about the first one, all about first edition books, and gives details on how to get YOUR items valued for free.

The tech giant continues to crush analysts’ lofty expectations. Asit Sharma joins Ricky Mulvey to discuss the boom of Nvidia’s data center business, future growth stories for the company, and some questions about its valuation. Then, 13 minutes in, Matt Frankel and Mary Long continue their conversation about David and Goliath business match-ups. Companies discussed: NVDA, META, CAVA, SG, CMG, MKL, KNSL. Host - Ricky Mulvey; Guests - Asit Sharma, Mary Long, Matt Frankel

A lot, actually. Bill Mann and Ricky Mulvey discuss JPMorgan’s investor day and CEO Jamie Dimon’s thoughts on stock buybacks and inflation. They also talk about the shift toward fast-casual dining and Red Lobster’s bankruptcy. Then, 17 minutes in, Alison Southwick and Robert Brokamp answer listener questions about 403(b) accounts and saving for college. Companies discussed: JPM, CAVA, SG, TXRH. Host - Ricky Mulvey; Guests - Bill Mann, Alison Southwick, Robert Brokamp

It's very natural to avoid situations and actions that raise anxiety levels, but retreat into the bunker can just lead to becoming a recluse. There is another way — to challenge those anxieties by tackling them head on. Adam Cox takes a Roman quote from Marcus Aurelius to show that this is a time-honoured way of facing up to our challenges — by moving towards the very thing that the flight instinct is telling us to move away from. Could this have been a motivation for Rishi Sunak when he stepped out in the Downing Street rain on Wednesday 22nd May? Image source: BBC News

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University offers some thoughts on the General Election, explaining that Rishi Sunak is not a lucky PM. This is, he points out, a year in which half of humanity is going to the polls, with 1.4 billion Indians entitled to vote. But with press freedoms being curtailed, is the country sleepwalking into becominging a managed democracy and can it maintain growth while reducing its serious unemployment problems, particularly among young graduates? He also looks at the problems global companies have with mounting geo-political tensions and why economists need to think precisely about populism, as political scientists have for some time.

James Cameron-Wilson recommends IF, the new #1 in a UK box office +16% on the previous week. Starring Ryan Reynolds, this family film is sentimental but smart, is beautifully executed by some famous names behind the camera and is both touching and funny. James found the first part of a trilogy prequel, The Strangers: Part One, to be clichéd and far-fetched beyond belief and yet the camerawork of director Renny Harlin made him want to know what happens next. But he found Unfrosted on Netflix to be almost as awful as Garfield 2. A supposedly true story about Kellogg's invention of the pop tart, directed by Jerry Seinfeld, it has a witless script and is only minusculely redeemed by a lot of famous cameos.

Steve Caplin delves into the world of tech, with ChatGPT withdrawing a voice Scarlett Johansson claims is too much like hers and tech companies agreeing not to develop AI that poses an "intolerable risk to humanity". German scientists are developing on-demand cabs to travel on disused railway lines. Apple's new accessibiity features are impressive. Chinese scientists are improving transparent wood to be flame retardant and "superhydrophobic". L'Oréal is crowdfunding a hair colouring device. The NHS is using drones to carry blood samples. And the Police might not have thought through their new solution to eBike mugging properly.

Russ Mould of A J Bell discusses the General Election call, pointing out that while CPI inflation has almost returned to target, other measures are considerably higher and CPI itself is 26% higher than when Boris Johnson was elected PM. He explains why the markets no longer believe rates will be cut soon and what this means for those shares that are effectively bond proxies, such as utilities. Ever the contrarian, he highlights REITs – a yield and asset play – where some people think there is value and where, perhaps, most of the bad news is already in the price.

Professor Hinton, the 'godfather of AI' warns that the challenges of Artificial Intelligence are not just economic but also strategic. His quotation of Putin shows clearly the need for a convergent approach towards these risks. And remember the Bletchley conference just six months ago? The scientists have lost no time in preparing their interim report, but there's much to be done in planning the best way forward. Background music: 'Metamorphosis' by Quincas Moreira