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Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, talks to Simon Rose about the likely effects of US inflation hitting 7%, a forty-year high. With the labour market there tight, as in the UK, she considers what the Federal Reserve's response is likely to be, given that the problems are caused more by the supply side of the economy, rather than the demand side. And what will this mean for markets and the sort of tech stocks that have been riding so high?

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University asks if Boris ("lucky general") Johnson's luck has finally run out and wonders where the truly big beasts of British politics are these days. He ponders the military dangers of Putin's ineffective and declining economic model. And he cocks a snook at many supposed "experts" whose predications about the effect of Brexit now seem very wide of the mark.

James Cameron-Wilson on the UK box office, where the new Spiderman film has become the 9th biggest UK grosser. James discusses Liquorice Pizza at #3 ("left me cold"), spy thriller The 355 at #7 ("complete mess") and Palme D'Or winner Titane ("extraordinary") at #14. He also recommends Amazon's The Tender Bar, directed by George Clooney and looks at the results of The Golden Globes.

Steve Caplin and Simon Rose savour the latest great - and not so great - ideas on display at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, including colour-changing cars, a lightbulb that monitors health, a self-driving tractor, invisible headphones, an autonomous trolley, a camera for identification that attaches to glasses for those with poor eyesight and a self-cleaning cat litter tray that also assesses your moggie's health.

Adam Cox is joined by Dr Shelly Gilbert MBE, founder of Grief Encounter and leading child and young person bereavement counsellor, for Children’s Grief Awareness Week to discuss what the week aims to achieve and the reason behind this year's theme: #saythewords. They look at how the pandemic has affected children’s ability to grieve and why Shelly created her child's grief activity book. https://www.griefencounter.org.uk

Adam creates an original hypnosis session based on the concept of 'Unlocking Your Inner Gold', using gold as a metaphor for the real resource within us all: that aspirational motivation which helps to guide us to a better future. The session is part of an initiative called Quest 79 - see https://www.quest79.com/ for more details.

The Nasdaq falls 5% to start the year. How should investors react? Ron Gross and Jason Moser analyze what's happening with stocks, the potential for Federal Reserve responses, and the mindset investors need right now. They also share seven stocks they believe are looking more attractive right now due to their underlying business strength and future potential. Other headlines include: - GameStop focusing on NFTs - Hasbro's new CEO - Bed Bath & Beyond's continued turnaround - Gen Z's affinity for Apple - Constellation Brand's new beverage venture with Coca-Cola Plus, we discuss portfolio strategies, what to look for in an S-1 filing, and some of the weirdest new tech introduced at this week's CES in Las Vegas. Stocks: ADBE, PYPL, MSFT, AAPL, TWLO, ZEN, HUBS, GME, HAS, BBBY, STZ, KO, SONY, STLA, AMZN, GOOG, GOOGL, F, SSNLF, CRNC, RBLX Host: Chris Hill Guests: Jason Moser, Ron Gross Engineer: Dan Boyd

There's no substitute for being invested with skin in the game in the world at large. In this weekend conversation, Co-founders of The Motley Fool Tom and David Gardner explain why. In this discussion the Gardners cover: - How investing fits into the pursuit of becoming smarter, happier, richer - The importance of being a lifelong learner and investor - Using index funds and how to approach buying individual stocks - Two core Motley Fool approaches -- Rule Breaker and Everlasting investing philosophies - Setting the right expectations for returns - Mastering the mindset of investing and managing volatility

Interest rates went up last month and banks and building societies have been busy upping mortgage rates, with Nationwide revealing a raft of rises this week. But while Britain’s biggest society has got off the mark with mortgage rate rises – reflecting December’s Bank of England hike and money market expectations of another move up potentially as early as February – its savings rates remain on the floor. The best easy access savings deal open to all from Nationwide pays just 0.01 per cent and the top no-strings easy access deal offered as a reward to the building society’s own members pays 0.35 per cent. Nationwide isn’t alone, almost all its big building society and banking rivals have also been failing savers for years – and although they blame the low interest rate environment that doesn’t stop them making bumper profits and paying out blockbuster wages to top executives. So, are they diddling savers or do they have any defence? On this week’s podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert look at how and why banks and building societies have failed to meaningfully help savers ever since the financial crisis – and whether there is any hope that things will change? They also discuss what savers can do about it and why an investment expert recommends savers think in three pots to help them cautiously invest for better returns. Also on this week’s podcast, why buy-to-let investors don’t want to be called landlords any more, how to maximise Avios as we enter a potential sweet spot for picking them up, and how to get a pay rise this year. And finally, what does the Fiesta being knocked out of the list of the best-selling cars tell us about the topsy-turvy pandemic inflation economy? A lot more than you might think, Simon explains.

Laith Khalaf of A J Bell explains to Simon Rose why US markets have reacted so badly to the minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting that they shrugged off last month. He marks the rise of Apple to become the world's first $3 trillion company. Back in the UK, he sees early signs of optimism for the retail sector over the holidays.