In seasonal spirit after what has felt like an exhausting political year, Mike Indian looks at the Three Unwise Men: Starmer; Trump; and Farage. Not since Attlee has a Labour PM had such internal difficulties and such a short honeymoon. His achievements have been drowned out by U-turns, defeats and gaffes. Labour are expected to do poorly in the May elections. Starmer is resilient and ruthless, but can he recover his authority? The unwisest man is surely Donald Trump. Eccentric and sometimes delusional, there has rarely been a more chaotic period in recent American history. His actions have a massive effect around the world. His health is now in question and it’s unlikely that he will go gracefully when is term is up. Of the three, Farage has had the best year. With just 5 MPs, Reform is polling above 30%. But the Russian links are insidious and it is still too early to predict the next election. We need to see real policies, not empty slogans. The next election will be the most pluralistic since 1923.
Guests: Mike Indian
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Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
Russ Mould of A J Bell comments that, given the headwinds buffetting markets in 2025, you would hardly expect it to have been such a fantastic year for assets. He suggests 5 topics for investors to consider in 2026: interest rates; AI; commodities; small caps; and cash returns. Monetary and fiscal policy (except taxes in the UK) was generally stimulative and looks likely to continue. We have little direct involvement in AI so, if it blows up, the UK will be less affected than other markets. Miners and oils have been great performers this year but the profit upgrades we're now seeing are mostly because of metal miners. Small caps have been nowhere to be seen. Why? It is not healthy if the small and medium-sized companies that employ 90% of workers are struggling. UK investors have seen over £180bn returned to them in 2025. That's over a 6% return on the All-Share Index, which should continue to support UK shares if things continue as they are.
Guests: Russ Mould
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Original Broadcast: This is Money
Mortgage lenders are battling to offer borrowers lower rates - running ahead of the Bank of England making an expected cut next week. That's good news for anyone buying a home but it's even better for the 1.9million people who need to remortgage next year — many of whom will be facing a payment shock as they come off much lower fixed rates. So, will the mortgage cuts revive the moribund housing market — and what should you do if your fixed rate is running out? Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Simon Lambert talk mortgages and the property market - including why experts say now is the best time in a decade to negotiate on a new build home. Plus, what does the Fed rate cut mean for investors, would you give a child or grandchild shares for Christmas, and finally, where are Britons trying to buy homes abroad — and why?
Guests: Helen Crane
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Original Broadcast: Motley Fool Show
Disney agreed to let its characters be used in OpenAI’s Sora videos, so is this a visionary move, or is Disney giving away its IP to AI? We discuss media in AI, Oracle’s recent earnings report, and ask what executive would be the dream free agent pickup for some beaten-up stocks. Travis Hoium, Dan Caplinger, and Jon Quast discuss Disney’s licensing deal with OpenAI, Oracle’s earnings and AI buildout, Lululemon earnings recap, and CEO free agent picks. Companies discussed: Nike (NKE), The Trade Desk (TTD), Disney (DIS), Block (XYZ), Oracle (ORCL), Alphabet (GOOG). Host — Travis Hoium; Guests — Dan Caplinger, Jon Quast.
Guests: Dan Caplinger,Jon Quast
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Original Broadcast: Motley Fool Show
2025 has been an above-average year for stocks. And over 300 publicly-traded companies have increased in value by 100% or more. This has our team asking the question: Which of these upward moves are legit and which could be doomed to revert back in 2026? This episode features discussions on energy, technology, real estate, and more. And our analysts aren't in perfect agreement on the outlook for these stocks in the coming year. Tyler Crowe, Matt Frankel and Jon Quast discuss solar energy and nuclear energy, quantum computing and AI trends, a real estate meme stock, and stocks on our radar. Companies discussed: LMND, MU, NXT, OPEN, QBTS, OKLO, EME, DIS, MELI. Host — Tyler Crowe; Guests — Matt Frankel, Jon Quast.
Guests: Matt Frankel,Jon Quast
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Original Broadcast: The Hypnotist
Inception Island is a rather special island in a rather special Canadian lake; Adam uses this analogy to help you to create a wonderful feeling of positive relaxatin — just what's needed for Christmas time. Inception islands are also known as recursive islands: try this YouTube video — https://youtu.be/YaBy5fLUsCc?si=TAOb4iKKRYtMuudn
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson says that box office, despite a WoW drop of 17%, is still very healthy. #5 Eternity depicts an afterlife where souls must pick their preferred eternity. Although a comic parable where a woman must choose with which man to spend the afterlife, it fails to work on several levels. James, disappointed by the ending, was not moved. He found the Blu-Ray release of 1954's Apache, directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Burt Lancaster to be a fascinating insight into attitudes of the time. Although at the forefront of those films more sympathetically depicting Native Americans, Lancaster is an unpleasant and hugely misogynistic character while the movie is highly patronising by current standards. James was much keener on Netflix's Jay Kelly, Noah Baumbach's film of a film actor not hugely dissimilar to George Clooney, played by George Clooney, only more unpleasant and egotistical. It has many wonderful scenes, should resonate with many and James loved it.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
Finlay Mathers of Edison discusses BP, which has changed strategy to give an emphasis to shareholder return, increasing investment in oil & gas by 20% while reducing transition investment by 70%. The company will be focussing on cost reductions and efficiency, strengthening its balance sheet and reducing net debt. Neil Shah of Edison returns to the topic of Games Workshop, which he has mentioned here before on more than one occasion. This one-time small company has now entered the FTSE and the shares are up 40% this year. It's an exceptionally well-run business and its Warhammer figurines will become even better known when the Amazon TV series approaches production. It has a very progressive dividend and, while it is on a PE of 30, it is a niche business that should keep growing at pace.
Guests: Finlay Mathers,Neil Shah
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans adds his voice to those opposing the restriction to trial by jury. It is an ancient right to be judged by one's peers, a democratic safeguard of liberty against an overbearing state. He feels it will lead to a loss of public confidence and democratic illegitimacy of the legal system. Without the rule of law, you don't have trust and without trust you don't have an economy. The government need to find other ways to reduce the legal backlog. While the Chancellor and her advisers appear not to have worked out exactly how EV users will be charged per mile they drive, Tim wonders if she realises that the idea is a darling of the libertarian right, proposed by Milton Friedman back in the early 1950s. It is, in essence, returning to the Georgian era of turnpikes. He feels, though, that it will create an incentive to keep roads in a good state. The era of all roads being "The King's Highway" can no longer be afforded.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin says it's been a bad week for Elon Musk. X has been fined €120m for breaching EU digital laws, his Optimus robot demo was disastrous and X's new location facility may help Iranian authorities identify dissenters. He discusses the researchers hoping to make robot hands from lobster shells, the glasses that change focus automatically, a crowd-funding project redesigning a loose-leaf teapot, a printer for children's drawing ideas, an LED light from Ikea and a biodegradable coffin made of mushrooms. He also strongly recommends https://everythingiknow.online, his own new website.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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