Share Sounds

The triple lock has always been a hot potato but things have stepped up another gear as it could deliver a bumper 8% state pension increase due to a statistical quirk. The state pension pledge means that payouts rise by the greatest of inflation, wage growth or 2.5%. Yet, wage growth numbers are being skewed this year because the Covid crash a year ago saw millions put on furlough on a maximum of 80% of earnings, workers suffer temporary pay cuts, and many lose their jobs. Job cuts disproportionately hit the low paid and continue to do so, taking them out of the figures and bumping up the average wage, workers coming back from furlough are seeing pay go back up to their full amount, and short-term pay cuts have been reversed. All this makes average wage growth look artificially high, despite many public and private sector workers suffering pay freezes or negligible rises. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that distortion could lead to an 8% wage growth figure in the month the triple lock reading is taken from, delivering a £14 weekly increase to the state pension and £3billion bill. Is it fair for pensioners to get a bumper increase based on a distortion caused by the pay pain suffered by workers in lockdown? Some say ‘no’, others say ‘stick to the deal’. Tanya Jefferies, Georgie Frost and Simon Lambert look at what is causing the triple lock anomaly and what the Government might do. Will they pay up or fudge it? Also this week, the painful cases of those who cannot afford funerals for loved ones, the return of gazumping to the property market, and finally, the crazy NatWest banking rule that has forced a reader to have their employer’s bank accounts mixed with theirs in online banking

Google is sued over its app store, Wells Fargo cuts its personal lines of credit, the Chinese government slows down ride-hailing app Didi, Stamps.com gets taken private, Levi Strauss expands its bottom line, Philip Morris buys a pharmaceutical company, and college students have food delivery robots to look forward to this fall. Jason Moser and Emily Flippen analyse those stories and share two stocks on their radar: Itron and Chewy. Plus, Motley Fool analyst Tim Beyers discusses the current state of the streaming wars with Netflix, Disney+, Peacock, etc., and what to expect from Apple’s event this fall

It's said that more people die of obesity than smoking today: so in this episode Adam Cox sets about changing the mindset towards food. Many people become addicted to high sugar, high salt processed foods, and it takes quite a shift in attitude to become accustomed to those high in fibre and nutrients, such as vegetables, salads and fruit. Listen in a quiet place to see if you can make the change ..

Adam Cox is joined by the Global Brand Ambassador for BACARDÍ, Dickie Cullimore, to talk rum for World Rum Month. They look at why rum needs its own month and why it's coming back into popularity. Dickie recommends some great rum based drinks, both for when going out on the town or staying at home. https://www.bacardi.com

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. Okay, we’re kidding about the fun part. But Joe Perna with Motley Fool Wealth Management joins us to talk about everything you’d want to know about life insurance including who needs it, how much, what kind, possible tax benefits, and more

James Cameron-Wilson on the collapse in weekend box office thanks to Wimbledon and the Euros. The Vince Vaughn comedy-horror Freaky comes in at #6, with James saying he hasn't heard so much laughter in the cinema for some time. Danish film Another Round, starring Mads Mikkelsen, only made #9. Winner of the best Foreign Language Film Oscar it did, however, have the second-best screen average. French Exit, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, only made the #22 slot. On Amazon Prime, James recommends the well-paced sci-fi thriller The Tomorrow War starring Chris Pratt.

Share Radio's tech whizz Steve Caplin on 82-year-old woman astronaut Wally Funk finally getting the chance to travel into space. There's a Cambridge supercomputer using AI to solve healthcare problems, vertically-farmed strawberries, a fishmonger who beat Amazon in court, the prospect of burgers made from chaff, smart MOD missiles that talk to each other, a colour-changing bike helmet, temporary pacemakers that dissolve and microneedle patches made of ice.

Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the challenges being faced by Sajid Javid as the new Secretary of State for Health and what changes it is likely to bring in the Cabinet's response to the Covid pandemic. In the wake of Matt Hancock's resignation, he raises renewed concerns about those people who advise our senior politicians. And he explains why the result of the Batley & Spen by-election is more important to Labour than people think and why it should serve as a wake-up call to Keir Starmer.

For Tim Price, director of Price Value Partners, the only story in town at the moment is inflation. He places little trust in the view of central bankers that the inflation now being seen will be temporary. With the massive rise of government, corporate and consumer debt in so many countries, he considers the situation extremely dangerous and likely to worsen quickly. Although painting a pessimistic picture, he promises next week to suggest some positive moves worried investors can make to protect themselves.

Adam Cox is joined by Barry Devoy from flexible office experts, Mindspace, to discuss how hybrid working may be the future of the office in the wake of COVID. They look at some of the concerns employees may have towards hybrid work and how employers can combat these, and some of the pros and cons of hybrid work. https://www.mindspace.me