Original Broadcast: The Talk by the WealthiHer Network
This month, the WealthiHer Network is proud to partner with the UN Girl Up Foundation, to talk about how women and girls have been most impacted by Covid-19 and what can be done to redress the balance. Joining Tamara Gillan is Hallie Hudson, Director of Development, Girl Up and Bethel Kyeza, Co-president Girl Up London to discuss how girls around the world are overcoming inequality and how Girl Up are helping them to become the leaders of tomorrow.
Guests: Hallie Hudson
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Original Broadcast: This is Money
The headlines are telling you the property market is running hot, that the stamp duty holiday extension is stoking the fires, and buyers are ignoring the economic slump to pile in. There’s just one problem: your home is on the market and you aren’t even getting any offers. Perhaps you are in a property coldspot. As property watchers will tell you, the house price index-driven view of a national housing market is something of an illusion. In reality, there are lots of different local property markets and they don’t all blow hot and cold at the same time. At the moment, while some areas are running hot, others are cold – and it’s not as simple as city vs village, or urban vs rural. Even within London, there are some areas with high demand and others just a few miles away where it is tough to sell. On this week’s podcast, Georgie Frost, Adrian Lowery and Simon Lambert look at how to take the temperature of your local property market and how that can help you buy or sell. They discuss what next for house prices – and whether they can possible keep rising at such a robust pace from here, or if we could see more stability and an end to Britain’s casino property market. Also on this week’s show: how to invest in companies that will help improve the environment, the FCA’s warning on thrill-seeking young investors and the best Isa investments of all time. And finally, the electric car grant has been cut and will be axed for all cars costing more than £35,000. Is this foolish as we try to wean the nation off petrol and diesel, or a wise move to stop subsidising those already wealthy enough to buy an expensive brand new motor?
Guests: Simon Lambert
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Adam Cox is joined by Simon Marsh from 108 Harley Street to discuss the effect the pandemic has had on the NHS and their ability to carry out breast screening. They look at the way private clinics relieve some of the pressure the NHS faces, and how the NHS and private clinics may continue to work together in a post-COVID Britain.
Guests: Simon Marsh
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Original Broadcast: This is Money
What’s the point in an Isa? This is a regular grumble as savings rates are now so low that earning 1 per cent would be a big deal. But wouldn’t you rather have all of a small amount instead of a small amount minus tax? And if you are investing, an Isa makes a lot of sense – embracing your gains and dividends in a nice tax-free wrapper. On this week’s podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert talk Isas: from the classics, cash and stocks and shares, to the upstarts the lifetime and junior strands. The team discuss why an Isa is worth having, even a cash one when the personal savings allowance exists and rates are rubbish. And Simon gives his quick guide to investing easily in an Isa, with a whistle-stop tour through the ‘why, how and what’ that could help you grow your wealth long-term. The team also discuss whether a lifetime Isa is worth having and whether a junior Isa or a slice of your own is the best place to save for children. And finally, if you’d like to both turn a profit and make your money do some good, what about ethical investing? Is the ESG label (environmental, social and governance) just a marketing ruse and how ethical are these funds? We run through the spectrum of investments that try to be ethical and give some ideas on what might fit the bill.
Guests: Simon Lambert,Lee Boyce
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Original Broadcast: Economist Questions
The UK has come a long way since the early Equal Opportunities legislation of the 1970s, high-profile cases in the 1980s and 1990s identifying institutionalised discrimination, and the subsequent focus on celebration of diversity and promotion of inclusion. However, the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements are reminders of how far we still need to travel. In this episode, Peter Urwin is joined by Emma Parry, Professor of Human Resource Management at Cranfield School of Management, to discuss how to further move the dial on diversity in the workplace. Asking whether research provides clear lessons for managers, they identify a number of similar messages across the economics and HRM literatures. However, whilst recent debates over the value of unconscious bias training caution against untested approaches, evaluation of “solutions” such as Inclusion present a real challenge. Peter and Emma debate these tensions, and consider possible ways forward. For an accompanying blog post on this issue, go to https://www.propelhub.org.
Guests: Emma Parry
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Original Broadcast: This is Money
Is the economy primed to bounce back? That might sound like a strange question when you’ve just had the news that UK GDP fell by 2.9 per cent in one month, but January’s lockdown slump was nowhere near as deep as expected. It seems that despite a tough lockdown being imposed, shops and big chunks of the economy being shut and schools being closed, the UK has adapted to restrictions better than thought when it comes to doing business. On this week’s podcast, Georgie Frost, Jayna Rana and Simon Lambert discuss the prospects for recovery and also the businesses that have pivoted and started-up over the lockdown year. While economies have suffered, stock markets have rebounded strongly – and in the case of the US and its growth star stocks, repeatedly surpassed previous record highs. That’s been good news for UK investors backing the growth story, particularly the legions of savers with money in the giant Scottish Mortgage investment trust. But a growth stock wobble in the US has sent Scottish Mortgage sliding – with the trust down 27 per cent at one point on its January peak – followed by a rapid bounce back to erase some of those losses. Should investors be worried or is it a buying opportunity – and what is the one key investing lesson that Simon says this highlights? Also on this week’s show, the mortgage that lets you fix for life – bringing potentially a 40-year fixed rate until 2061. And finally, would you buy your local pub to rescue it from the threat of closure? If the answer’s ‘yes’ then there’s some good news: Rishi Sunak wants to help you.
Guests: Simon Lambert,Jayna Rana
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Original Broadcast: Policy Matters
In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Franz Buscha and Matt Dickson are joined by Colin Green, Professor of Economics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Colin’s research interests cover a range of areas in applied economics and public policy, including education, the labour market, health, personnel economics, and political science. We first hear from Colin about how the pandemic has been in Norway over the last year and how this compares to the experience in the UK and in his home country of Australia. This leads into discussion of Colin’s research on the impact of the London congestion charge on traffic accidents in the city and some of the intended and unintended consequences for pollution. Next, we hear about the relationship between the election of anti-immigration politicians in Italy and the location decisions of migrants, before Colin tells us about the positive long-term impacts immigration can have on an area’s social capital, exploiting a specific migration event into Italy during the 16th Century. Colin then sheds light on why the performance-related pay element in Franz’s employment contract might not be the best thing for his health, before the programme closes with a discussion of Colin’s research on the concerning relationships between MPs’ jobs outside parliament, their involvement in law-making, and the economic value of the firms for whom they work.
Guests: Colin Green
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Original Broadcast: This is Money
The Budget this week was notable for two things: Firstly, The Chancellor decided to delay settling the coronavirus bill to another day and, secondly, the true scale of the women's underpaid state pension scandal was laid bare at £3billion. The collossal short-changing of married women on their state pensions was uncovered by This is Money columnist Steve Webb and journalist Tanya Jefferies just over a year ago. Their investigations, campaigning and tenacity has paid off and now women affected should get what they are owed - to the tune of an astonishing £3billion, according to Budget documents. Tanya joins Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert to explain the issue on this week's podcast, as the team also trawl through the Budget to explain what it means for people. One day Britain might have to try to balance the books and pay the bill for the coronavirus rescue, but that day didn't arrive with the Budget. The Chancellor Rishi Sunak openly indulged in some stealth taxation by freezing personal allowances and income tax thresholds in the future and said corporation tax would rise, but kept the cash flowing to aid economic recovery. Furlough was extended, there will be an encore at the stamp duty holiday party, the business investment of Eat Out to Help Out was launched, and a new 5% deposit mortgage scheme has been launched (without being called Help-to-anything, so that's something at least). The self-employed also got some more help, with new entrepreneurs getting assistance, but bizarrely those who previously earned more than £50,000 as sole traders and paid lots of tax are still left out in the cold. The tax burden is set to rise but this was no austerity Budget and Britain's debt and deficit are scarily big. So will Rishi's third Budget in a year be what Britain's economy needs to achieve escape velocity as lockdown eases (and hopefully never comes back)?
Guests: Simon Lambert,Lee Boyce,Tanya Jefferies
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Original Broadcast: This is Money
Rumours are swirling ahead of the Budget that Rishi Sunak will extend the stamp duty holiday by three months? The idea is that this would help stop the collapse of chain after chain as buyers pull out, renegogiate or have to find more money if they miss the deadline. The excuse being given is that conveyancing delays are holding up sales. But wouldn't a three-month delay just kick the can down the road by another 12 weeks and lead to another cohort of buyers potentially affected? Would it be better to just make the stamp duty holiday a permanent vacation? Cut the tax properly, with no time limit, accepting that high stamp duty tax is a barrier to people moving? On this week's podcast, Georgue Frost, Grace Gausden and Simon Lambert discuss the stamp duty break, whether it was a good idea and whether it should be extended or the tax cut altogether. Also this week, Grace fills us in on the latest Grace on the Case and Simon puts forward his idea for improving Isas. And finally, you might be bold enough to book an overseas holiday but would you be brave enough to start a travel company now?
Guests: Simon Lambert,Grace Gausden
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Original Broadcast: This is Money
Since the stamp duty holiday came in last summer, there has been a property market mini-boom despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Is it losing puff yet and if not, when is it going to run out of steam and will we see the tax holiday extended? The typical home added £20,000 of value in 2020 according to the Office for National Statistics, while prices of detached homes are growing far quicker than other housing stock. On this week’s podcast, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost take a look at the latest property market data to dissect what it means. On 3 March, we will have a Budget. Will it give an indication as to how we could foot the huge bill linked to the pandemic? Will there be tax rises? And are there simple ways to protect your wealth? How many shares should you hold to diversify and is fund manager Neil Woodford really about to stage a comeback. Meanwhile, Lee gives a free wine course from Aldi a go as part of his consumer trends column – does he have what it takes to become a Master of Wine?
Guests: Simon Lambert
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