This is Money Podcast

Mortgage rates have shot up this week as the impact of the conflict with Iran for inflation and interest rates sinks in.Banks and building societies have been racing to raise their fixed rates - with some even pushing them up twice in the space of a few days.It comes in response to a sudden switch around in expectations for the Bank of England base rate, but will this flurry of hikes continue or...

In the past week, news headlines have been dominated by the conflict in the Middle East. It has pushed up oil and gas prices, and as such, concerns over our household finances in Britain.Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Helen Crane discuss what the conflict means for investors, mortgage rates, price at the petrol pumps and energy bills - is there anything you can realistically do to keep a lid on the...

The flying Footsie is on course for the best start to the year since 1998 and driving it are 20 stocks that have risen by 50% or more in the past year.Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost discuss what's going on for the flagship UK index and whether the run can continue.They also zoom in on Rolls Royce... its shares have soared by more than a thousand per cent in five years. Is it too late...

Pensions are a topic that dominate the financial landscape and for the past decade This is Money readers have had Sir Steve Webb on hand to answer their questions.A former pensions minister, Steve has been our weekly columnist for ten years and helped guide people through the maze of retirement finances.On this episode of the This is Money Podcast, Steve joins Georgie Frost and Simon Lambert to...

In this bonus This is Money podcast episode, Simon Lambert interviews Marcus and Alexander Blunt, the brothers behind travel firm Heidi, to find out how they turned a start-up into the UK's second biggest ski package holiday firm in eight years - and survived the pandemic's threat to the business along the way. Eight years ago, brothers Marcus and Alexander Blunt were passionate skiers frustrated...

A shake up is happening in the world of DIY investing. Some of the biggest investment platforms are overhauling their fees ahead of Rachel Reeves' big push to get Britain investing - and under pressure from upstarts offering much cheaper services.The biggest name of all, Hargreaves Lansdown, has cut its prices for most investors, yet this seems to have triggered a chunk to jump ship. So, why are...

Student loans look like another mess that has reached a tipping point in Britain's shonky financial system.There are three different types of student loan plan that graduates could currently be on and one of them offers a particularly bad deal.Those who took out Plan 2 student loans, between 2012 and 2022, suffered fees being hiked to £9,000, face interest rates of RPI plus 3 per cent, and have...

The Government has announced plans for a cap on ground rent - is it a welcome policy that will finally fix a broken system or does it risk creating new problems along the way?Helen Crane, Georgie Frost and Lee Boyce discuss the plans first revealed on TikTok by the Prime Minister, what's potentially changing and when.Watch out - HMRC is about... Stamp duty investigations are on the rise - is it...

Donald Trump has been hijacking the headlines this week, with his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos a major talking point globally. With plenty of geopolitical drama afoot, what does a weakening US dollar mean for UK investors with money tied up in US and global funds?Simon Lambert, Georgie Frost and Lee Boyce discuss.One of the world’s biggest investment firms, Vanguard has spurned the...

Life isn't what it once was for star fund managers. The investment industry once thrived on big names but these widely recognisable figures are few and far between nowadays.Two that remain are Terry Smith and Nick Train but their Fundsmith and Finsbury Growth & Income investors have had their patience tested by five years of underperformance compared to just sticking money in a cheap market...