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You can wait a long time for a FTSE 100 record high but for peak-starved British investors this week delivered a bonanza. Four record highs were racked up by the FTSE 100, with only Wednesday's slight dip spoiling what would have been a perfect run over a week. The return to new highs on Thursday came as a mega-mining merger bid arrive from BHP for Anglo American - and that was followed swiftly by one of the UK's few tech stars Darktrace announcing it had accepted a bid on Friday. Are these the catalysts that fund manager Nick Train was talking about when he said it could take a big takeover to shake UK stocks out of their slumber and get the world investing in Footsie companies again? Georgie Frost, Tanya Jefferies and Simon Lambert look and what's moving the UK market, why it is judged to be cheap and whether you should invest. Plus, the top investment trusts for retirement investing and the latest twist in the state pension top-ups saga. Should we cut inheritance tax - or at least sort out the mess - as the take soars? And finally, are you a backseat driver? See if you can pass the test.

We’re seeing consistently strong results this earnings season, but the market keeps looking forward. It loves Alphabet’s dividend and Tesla’s mass market ambitions, but is less sold on Meta commingling AI and the Metaverse. Andy Cross and Emily Flippen discuss Chipotle’s stellar comps and future store growth opportunity, why Tesla’s low-priced EV offering has investors overlooking down results, Alphabet getting in on the dividend game, and the market telling Meta – don’t spend on AI like that. Then, 19 minutes in, what Spotify, Snap, and Roku have to say about the strength of the ad market for 2024. Also, Emily and Andy break down two stocks on their radar: Tyler Technologies and Visa. Stocks discussed: CMG, TSLA, GOOG, GOOGL, META, MSFT, SPOT, SNAP, ROKU, V, TYL. Host - Dylan Lewis; Guests - Emily Flippen, Andy Cross

David Meier and Deidre Woollard discuss IBM’s potential acquisition of HashiCorp and how it helps grow the business. And — what was it about Meta’s earnings that gave the market pause? Companies discussed: IBM, HCP, META, NOW, CMG, ALGN. Host - Deidre Woollard; Guest - David Meier

Adam Cox is joined by Simon Morris from Service Now. Simon tells all about his new research that has been carried out about customer loyalty, as well as its findings. Also, the two discuss the use AI and AI Chatbots when it comes to providing customer support. https://www.servicenow.com/uk/

Anubis was the Egyptian God of birth and re-birth — the cycle of life — and it takes the image of a jackal. Adam uses this metaphor, which emerged through a dream of one of his clients, in order to help with moving from a negative to positive mindset. The episode develops a vivid imagination and is designed to transform the listener's outlook on life.

With no big new releases, James Cameron-Wilson explains that the UK box office is down 36%, with Back to Black still #1. At #5 is horror film Abigail about a kidnapped ballerina. Extremely gory, it is also increasingly clichéd. James was impressed by Sometimes I Think About Dying at #19, a minimalist drama in which Daisy Ridley is a shy loner. Nuanced, it makes the audience work but is moving and sticks in the memory. Out for home viewing is 1951's A Lavender Hill Mob, with Alec Guinness a meek bank clerk with nefarious ambitions. The beautifully-restored disc is packed with fascinating extras. It is a must, says James.

After starting the year no higher than it was in 2018, Russ Mould tells Simon Rose why the FTSE 100-Share Index hit a record high. The best cure for low prices, he explains, is low prices. The currency is cheap for overseas investors thanks to Brexit, hence so much takeover activity, dividends are reasonably healthy and, with buybacks taken into account, the index is effectively yielding more than 7%. He suggests we might be moving into a period where the UK market, so long out of favour, might possess big advantages, though there are many "ifs" and "buts" about it.

In a once-in-a-billion-year happening two lifeforms have merged into one organism, says Steve Caplin. Post Office staff are using Google to tell if stamps are counterfeit. Whatsapp is being switched off in China and TikTok in the US. There's a flamethrower dog, an omnidirectional bike, a cat self-groomer and a way of putting your ex's love letters behind you. We also learn why NASA can't find out if there's life on Mars and hear why Microsoft won't release its way of producing realistic talking AI videos from a single photo.