It’s happened again: GameStop, AMC and other titans of the pandemic meme stock craze have soared on the stock market. Dan Coatsworth explains why we’re seeing the phenomenon play out once more, and how it was triggered by a single picture of a person sitting in a chair.

The ban on UK energy firms offering cheaper deals to new customers could be scrapped from October as the regulator is eager to revive competition between suppliers. That means people will be soon be able to shop around for better gas and electricity deals – something that is also good news for a certain stock on the London market, as Dan reveals on the podcast.

Danni Hewson explores the rise of ultra-long mortgages and why many people might still be paying off their home loan as they enter retirement.

AJ Bell’s Rachel Vahey is on the show to explain why some people have to pay emergency tax on an ad-hoc lump sum pension withdrawals.

You can also hear a great interview with Situl Jobanputra from London’s West End property giant Shaftesbury Capital, and sparkling chat between Danni and Dan about diamonds, scandals in the mining industry and why Burberry is firmly out of fashion.

On this week’s podcast we’ll be bringing you all the latest market news, from Disney to Wetherspoons through to Apple, as well as an update on the housing market – and the outlook for house prices for the rest of the year.

We’ve also had figures this week that showed that 300,000 people filed their tax return early – and we’ll look at why you might want to join those eager beavers.

There are three fund manager interviews this week. First up is AJ Bell’s head of investments solutions James Flintoft, who talks about what’s going on in certain geographies and how AJ Bell’s funds performed in the first quarter of the year. Next is Paul Angell, AJ Bell’s head of investment research, talking about the outlook for bonds. The final interview is with Rob Crayfourd and Keith Watson, who co-manage three funds: CQS Natural Resources Growth and Income, Geiger Counter, and Golden Prospect, to explain three of the key commodities produced by miners on the stock market.

It’s bonus podcast time: welcome to episode four of the AJ Bell investment trust show.

We discuss a range of topics with investment experts and fund managers. Each episode debates some of the most popular trusts with retail investors, the big topics that matter, and a little bit of educational material to get listeners up to speed. This episode focuses on governance, finding bargains and private equity.

One of the differences between traditional funds and investment trusts is the latter have a board of directors. They’re meant to keep a check on what the manager is doing and uphold high levels of corporate governance but that doesn’t always happen. Laith Khalaf talks to James Carthew from research group QuotedData about what the board should really be doing.

We’ve had some requests to look at Ruffer Investment Company so Tom Sieber and Martin Gamble from Shares magazine join us on the podcast to talk about this investment trust and the broader capital preservation space.

Migo Opportunities Trust knows a thing or two about how to find bargains among investment trusts so we invited co-manager Charlotte Cuthbertson to explain what trends and opportunities she’s seeing at the moment.

To round things off, we take a look at the world of private equity because the UK financial regulator has got a bee in its bonnet about a few things in the industry. Joining Dan Coatsworth to talk about what the FCA is reviewing is Alan Gauld from Patria Private Equity Trust.

On this week’s episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast, Danni Hewson and Charlene Young deliver a jam-packed episode for you peppered with that optimism after the FTSE 100 smashed new records and ended the month up once again while Wall Street struggled against rate cut blues.

They discuss reaction to the latest Fed decision, the big consumer names like Starbucks and Yum! Brands feeling the inflation blowback, and AI-charged stocks Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft.

Dan Coatsworth has done a very timely interview with JP Morgan Claverhouse fund manager Callum Abbot on the good and the bad of the UK stock market.

With mortgage approvals hitting an 18-month high last month, Danni quizzes David Hollingworth from L&C Mortgages about what he’s seeing in the market.

We’ve got some good news from the UK stock market. Danni Hewson chats about how the FTSE 100 has hit a new record high and the drivers behind it. She also talks with Dan Coatsworth about the latest developments from key companies both sides of the Atlantic.

The pair discuss Tesla’s surprise announcement, Pepsi’s trading-down problem, JD Sports aiming to generate 40% of sales from the US, and an activist investor snapping up bonds in troubled utility company Thames Water.

You can hear about an alarming number of adults still living with their parents in their 30s and what the property industry wants the government to do to help first-time buyers get on the property ladder.

Dan discusses the disappearance of generous cash incentives to switch bank account and the surge in people switching credit card deals.

Finally, Tom Sieber and Ian Conway from Shares magazine get under the bonnet of Associated British Foods and how there is a lot more to the business than its retail arm, Primark.

On this week’s AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast, Charlene Young and Dan Coatsworth look at cooling inflation and how markets reacted to the latest numbers on UK jobs.

The rise in scams is the hot topic of the week, with over £1 million reportedly lost this year already by ‘Swifties’ – Taylor Swift fans desperate to get their hands on tour tickets.

Our guest is Ayush Abhijeet from Ashoka India Equity Trust, who chats to Danni Hewson about where he sees the potential value in what’s likely to be the G20’s fastest growing economy once again this year.

Charlene has an update on the enquiry into the collapse of the Woodford Equity Fund and how the regulator was going to give one of parties involved a £50 million fine but then chose not to.

Dan covers upbeat news on IPOs, a takeover approach for Royal Mail and a deal involving 90s food favourite TGI Friday’s.

We wrap things up with figures on charity gifting and Charlene explains how gift aid rules give UK charities a 25% boost on donations received but also possible tax relief for those making the donations.

On this episode of the Money and Markets podcast Danni Hewson and Laura Suter assess market reaction to the latest US inflation data that came in hotter than expected and reset expectation of when the Fed might cut interest rates. The pair mull over what that might mean for UK rates and Laura digs in to the latest FCA Financial Lives survey which shows things are improving for UK households, though 7 million households are still struggling to pay bills.

Earnings season has started all over again and kicking things off in the UK the country’s biggest supermarket Tesco reports a jump in profits as price cuts keep shoppers in store. Danni looks into what that might signal for the weeks ahead, plus what the former Tesco boss Jason Tarry might bring to John Lewis and Shell’s shock announcement that it could consider moving its listing to New York. AJ Bell’s head of policy Rachel Vahey is on hand to deliver our pensions corner and she’ll be answering one of your questions about the potential tax implications as the state pension increases and our guest this week is Catherine Yueng Investment Director at Fidelity Asian Values – she explains why she still sees China as a good investment.

Dan Coatsworth and Danni Hewson debate the big news from Disney. Activist investor Nelson Peltz has been defeated in his attempts to get a seat on the board of directors, so what does this mean going forward?

Gold has hit another record high so Dan dives into the reasons why the precious metal is doing so well.

Danni digests some disappointing news from Tesla and what it means for the electric vehicle space.

Tom Sieber from Shares magazine talks about the state of the UK stock market and a warning from one of the big brokers that we could see hundreds more companies disappear from the London Stock Exchange over the coming years.

Jeremy Hunt promised us a new British Savings Bond when he gave his Budget last month and we’ve now got all the important details. Dan weighs up the pros and cons of the new savings vehicle.

Meanwhile, Danni explores the rise of the billionaire and why it might be worth looking down the back of the sofa for some chocolate coins.

Welcome to the third instalment in a new series of bonus podcasts from the AJ Bell Money & Markets team all about investment trusts.

Published at the start of each month, the bonus podcast features a range of topics with investment experts and fund managers, with each episode debating some of the most popular trusts with retail investors, the big topics that matter, and a little bit of educational material to get listeners up to speed. This episode focuses on income, growth, the UK and renewable energy.

Laith Khalaf talks to Annabel Brodie-Smith from the Association of Investment Companies about dividend heroes. These are investment trusts that have raised their dividend every year for at least 20 years in a row.

Martin Gamble and Tom Sieber from Shares magazine explore the rise of JPMorgan Global Growth & Income and how it has become one of the most popular trusts with UK investors.

Ryan Lightfoot-Aminoff from Kepler Partners is on the show to explain the different ways you can invest in the UK following plans by the Government to launch a British ISA.

Meanwhile, Dan Coatsworth talks to James Smith from Premier Miton Global Renewables Trust about why the renewable energy space has been a disappointing place to invest recently, and what is needed for the sector to deliver better returns.

On this week’s podcast we’ve got disappointing updates from both Lululemon and Nike, signalling that perhaps the athleisure trend is coming to an end. We’ve also got news on the Government’s sale of Natwest and a deep-dive on Apple from our friends at Shares magazine.

Trump has been dominating the headlines ahead of the US election, but he’s hit them for a different reason now: his media business has floated on the stock market – we cover how the float went. And our interview this week is with Ewan Markson-Brown from the Crux Asia ex-Japan Fund, who explains why he’s excited about prospects for the electric vehicle sector.

Looking away from markets, we have an update on the Waspi campaign, and whether they are really likely to be in line for £10bn in compensation, and we have details of a new mortgage for first-time buyers that only requires a £5,000 deposit.

Finally, we look at some news on how all our supermarket shopping habits have changed – and why we are opting for pricier brands. And cover another drop in food inflation – which might spell good news for overall inflation figures.

On this week’s AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast, Danni Hewson and Charlene Young dig through the latest UK inflation figures and bring you up to date on market reaction to central bank rate decisions.

They also chat about Unilever’s decision to spin off its ice cream empire, Nvidia’s continued moves to dominate the AI sector and the Chancellor’s comments that the pension triple lock will need to be looked at again after the next election.

Dan Coatsworth gives us a sneaky peak into what’s in the baskets of ISA millionaires as well as where investors have been investing their ISA money over the past few months.

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust is always a firm favourite in ISAs but it’s had a tricky run of late. Danni chats to deputy manager Laurence Burns about why he feels it has turned a corner. 

Laura Suter gets out her spreadsheet to show how a Lifetime ISA can help first-time buyers shave years off the slog to get a house deposit together.

With some parents about to get a child benefit windfall thanks to the raising of high-income thresholds, Charlene explains how a Junior ISA can help you turn that into a chunky nest egg for your kids.