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170 million TikTok users in the U.S. might be up for sale. What are they worth? Matt Argersinger and Bill Mann discuss the looming TikTok ban, why Apple and Google are the real gatekeepers, and what a standalone TikTok U.S. might look like, Apple’s other problem in China — smartphone sales and rising competition from Huawei and Vivo, and bank earnings showing 2024 was a stellar year for banks, and how the macro environment and policy outlook are settling them up for good times to continue in 2025. Then, 19 minutes in, where will the stock market be at the end of 2025? Motley Fool co-Founder David Gardner and Ricky Mulvey have a guess and some guidance on how to keep the short-term noise out of the way of your long-term returns. Catch Ricky and David’s full conversation here: https://www.fool.com/podcasts/motley-fool-money/2025-01-11-david-gardner-the-case-for-rational/. Finally, 33 minutes in, Matt and Bill break down two stocks on their radar: Invitation Homes and Duolingo. Stocks discussed: AAPL, GOOG, GOOGL, META, GS, MS, JPM, WFC, PM, INVH, DUOL. Host - Dylan Lewis; Guests - Bill Mann, Matt Argersinger, David Gardner, Ricky Mulvey

2024 was a good — very good — year to be a bank. Wall Street thinks 2025 may be even better. Matt Frankel and Mary Long break down big bank earnings. They also discuss why comparisons to 2023 give banks more credit than they may deserve, the split between JP Morgan’s investment banking and consumer businesses, and growing interest in private credit markets. Then, 18 minutes in, Kirsten Guerra joins to spotlight a data storage company that, while boring, is worth investors’ attention. Companies mentioned: JPM, MS, GS, WFC, PSTG, NVDA. Host - Mary Long; Guests - Matt Frankel, Kirsten Guerra

We carry out most bodily functions — for example, breathing — sub-consciously. Here's a situation where focusing attention on something — in this case, swallowing food and choking — can give rise to anxiety. Adam Cox draws attention to the challenge that can be created by trying to do something, but failing in the attempt, in order to recreate an intuitive unconsciousness.

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University wonders, now the wheels are coming off the Government's bus, if Labour is pivoting to the right, with rumoured welfare cuts, implementing the university free speech law and scrapping the banning of gas boilers by 2035. If so, how will the Conservatives react? He strongly recommends Peter Turchin's book, "End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites an Indicators of Revolution" and what it means for our times. And he discusses the probable change in government in Canada in the autumn and whether a new Conservative government will reconsider the role of the state.

James Cameron-Wilson says that yet again 6 films took £1m at the box office, with Mufasa replacing Nosferatu as #1. Racy drama Babygirl is #5, with Nicole Kidman amazing as a businesswoman whose perfect life is threatened by an affair. James found it almost too much, so real and voyeuristic did it feel. Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain at #6 has him and Kieran Culkin mismatched cousins tracing their European heritage. It's original, deftly realised, witty and well acted. Although perhaps aimed at younger viewers, Amazon's White Bird has Helen Mirren explaining her experiences under the Nazis to her grandson. Made by the great Marc Forster, it is poignant and touching and had James on the edge of tears at times.

Steve Caplin tells the salutory tale of a woman conned out of a fortune by a fake Brad Pitt online before turning to a second batch of wacky gadgets on display at the Consumer Electronics Show. There's a solar beach umbrella and a (giant) solar hat with charging ports. A new AI robot is essentially just a lamp on a walking coffee table. A flying motorcycle might not work but a helicopter carried in a van appears to. The head of an AI app confesses he has no idea how his product works. The Power Mole will transmit wireless power through windows. And the Chinese Yangwang U9 hypercar will jump potholes or metal spikes - providing it is going fast enough.

Russ Mould of A J Bell explains that private investor interest in gilts has soared of late, now that they provide a good interest rate and are relatively risk-free, providing that they are held to maturity. They are reckoning, presumably, that inflation will not rise although some of the Budget measures have yet to have their effect, while oil and international food prices are currently rising. Russ points out that the weaker pound is a potential pressure valve for the UK, with UK assets more attractive to overseas buyers. He is concerned, though, that the primary purpose of the UK stock market, to raise capital for businesses, is of far less importance than the secondary, trading, function.

Unabridged and without comment from Share Radio, here's the King's Christmas message as broadcast on 25th December '24.

The past year has seen a litany of climate change disasters of which the wildfires in Los Angeles are the latest. Yet Americans still supported Trump's call to 'drill, baby, drill' in the presidential election. This is just the latest disaster that financial markets have to contend with. How much pressure can the insurance and investment markets take? The one thing that we know for sure is that, while the American people may have locked in their choice for the next four years, there's no such insurance for the bond market — it can strike at any time. Background music: 'Trap Unboxing' by Jimmy Fontanez_Doug Maxwell

You have to feel for Rachel Reeves. After establishing a solid reputation in opposition, things haven’t gone to plan as Chancellor so far. Her Autumn Budget led to widespread criticism over tax rises on employment and extra costs for businesses, while questions abound over whether her plans will deliver the growth Labour promised voters. Now, a slow burn rise in the UK’s borrowing costs has led to gilt yields surpassing the levels seen after Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s ill-fated mini-Budget. Unfortunate, for a Labour party that has spend the past couple of years citing a gilt yield spike as evidence while banging on about Liz Truss ‘crashing the economy’ and Tory mortgage penalties. But is Britain’s current predicament Rachel Reeves' and Sir Keir Starmer’s fault, or do they just find themselves caught out by an unfortunate set of circumstances? Or is it a bit of both? Where did things start to go wrong? Was it the Budget, or was it the claimed ‘£22 billion black hole’ and months of miserabilism? And what are gilts and why do yields even matter? In this episode, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert dig into what’s gone wrong with Britain’s finances and what it means for people. Plus, in better news, Lee looks at the jobs that delivered the biggest pay rises last year and why. Simon explains what’s going on with the US hedge fund staging a raid on seven investment trusts — and why investors should make sure they vote. And finally, Lee catches up with Dave Fishwick as the new 'Bank of Dave' film is released.