Institute for Fiscal Studies Director Paul Johnson joins this week’s episode of Merryn Talks Money to explain how the seemingly impossible can be achieved.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merryn Talks Money

Can the UK Fix Its Troubled Tax System?

In a new series, Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek are examining housing markets across the globe to see how they’re holding up, and if there are any lessons we can read across to the UK. On this episode, they take a look at Germany with Bloomberg editor Benedikt Kammel and TV correspondent Oliver Crook, both in Berlin, and talk about the profitable world of subletting, the consequences of rent control and the country's fascination with Kleingartens.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BONUS: The Housing Market Where Renters Can Make a Fortune

In 2021, Jeremy Grantham was telling anyone who would listen that global asset markets were in one of the biggest bubbles of all time—and that a reckoning was coming. That reckoning, he says, began the next year.The co-founder of GMO LLC says that, while this reckoning recently took a break, it’s now back with a vengeance. Grantham joins this week’s episode of Merryn Talks Money to make the case that—as a result—no one should be invested in the US. In particular, he warns of the Russell 2000, with its high level of zombie companies and horrible debt levels. He calls it “the most vulnerable area” to rising rates. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeremy Grantham Says No One Should Invest in the US

If you think the US is heading for a soft landing, you might have another thing coming. That’s according to Seema Shah, the chief global strategist for Principal Asset Management. Despite a stream of data in recent weeks supporting the Federal Reserve’s best-case scenario, Shah argues there’s no way an economy can survive the super-fast shift in interest rates just seen without some relatively unpleasant repercussions. What would that future look like? Shah joins this week’s Merryn Talks Money to give her view of the landscape. Plus, Merryn and John Stepek discuss what Shah's predictions could mean for your portfolio, and John's tip of the week could earn you £1000 for a few hours of "admin work." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seema Shah Warns: US Recession Still Coming. What Does That Mean For Your Money?

On this week’s Merryn Talks Money, host Merryn Somerset Webb poses the question of whether Brexit has actually harmed the UK economy as much as some may think. The answer is discussed by her guests: Robert Colville, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, who voted for the UK to remain in the European Union, and economist Julian Jessop, who voted for the UK to leave. They agree that—in the short term—it’s hard to argue there isn’t some damage, given the friction the UK has created between itself and one of its major trading partners. Brexit has also added to political uncertainty in the country over the last few years. But what’s less certain, they say, is how much harm has been done by Brexit. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is Brexit Truly to Blame for the UK’s Problems?

Matt Cole, head of Strive Asset Management, the anti-activism fund co-founded by GOP hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, assails the use of sustainability targets in determining executive pay.  He joins this week’s Merryn Talks Money to discuss what he says is Strive’s mission— encouraging companies to “focus on excellence” rather than ESG mandates—and argues why he thinks ESG mandates threaten democracy. Plus, Money Distilled author and senior reporter John Stepek on why the UK pensions Triple Lock needs to go. Sign up for Money Distilled now: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/uk-wealthSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why UK Pensions Triple Lock Must Go and How ESG Threatens Democracy

Senior reporter and Money Distilled author John Stepek joins Merryn to talk through the themes hit in the two panels at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BONUS: Fringe Panel Aftershow, Why the Heavy Hand of the State Is Getting Heavier

Double feature this week--here is the second day of Merryn's panel "The Butcher, the Brewer, the Baker." Again, it was held at Panmure House--Adam Smith's residence between 1778 and 1790. We taped this panel on August 27, 2023. Guests include: Jim Mellon, Richard Wilson, Paul Johnson and Simon Evans.Sign up to John Stepek's Money Distilled: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/uk-wealthSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fringe Festival Panel Day 2: Jim Mellon, Richard Wilson, Paul Johnson and Simon Evans

This week, we bring you a lightly edited version of Merryn's panel at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh called "The Butcher, the Brewer, the Baker and Merryn Somerset Webb." It was held at Panmure House--Adam Smith's residence between 1778 and 1790. We taped this panel on August 26, 2023. Guests include: Russell Napier, Anna MacDonald and James Anderson.Sign up to John Stepek's Money Distilled: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/uk-wealthSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fringe Festival Panel Day 1: Russell Napier, Anna MacDonald and James Anderson

For your summer listening, the Merryn Talks Money team brings you an episode from another podcast you might like: In the City. This week, Francine Lacqua speaks to a panel of Bloomberg experts including Bloomberg Opinion columnist Marcus Ashworth, reporter Tom Rees, and Ana Andrade of Bloomberg Economics. They discuss the central bank’s strategy and what moves the monetary policy committee might make next.Find In the City wherever you're listening, and subscribe.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BONUS: The Bank of England Arrives at a ‘Crunch Point’

This week, we bring you an earlier interview by Merryn Somerset Webb of Bloomberg's Merryn Talks Money, originally recorded in November 2021 as part of the MoneyWeek podcast. It's a conversation with Vivek Ramaswamy, author of Woke, Inc., biotech entrepreneur and a far-right candidate for the 2024 Republican Party nomination. We're republishing it because the populist themes discussed in the interview, like "woke capitalism" and "boycott culture," are back in the news. And so is Ramaswamy himself.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Conversation With Vivek Ramaswamy: the Man Who Warned of 'Woke Capitalism'

Is it time to get out of passive funds and switch to their active brethren? Or should you dump equities entirely and find a nice savings account that pays 4%? While the latter means you won’t be maintaining the real value of your capital, at least you won’t lose too much of it. And what of silver or gold, or perhaps even Bitcoin? If you had to choose one, which would it be? And, just to ask, how angry should UK investors be with the Bank of England for forcing them to think about all of this? Or that the central bank left quantitative tightening too late and lost a fortune on their bond portfolio? In this special ask-us-anything episode of Merryn Talks Money, host Merryn Somerset Webb and senior reporter John Stepek try, with the help of reporters Joe Easton and Eddie Spence and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Marcus Ashworth, to give some answers. No one chose Bitcoin over real money and no one stepped up to defend the Bank of England. But there wasn’t 100% agreement on the rest. Listen in for the conflicts, some summer reading suggestions—and a few reasons why you should watch the Barbie movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How Angry Should the UK Be With the Bank of England?

Former Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King says the central bank hasn’t been covering itself in glory of late, and that’s partly thanks to it falling victim to groupthink. The economics profession is jammed with brilliant people, he argues on this week’s episode of Merryn Talks Money, but unfortunately, they’ve all been taught the same thing: money has absolutely nothing to do with inflation.Believing that was a “big mistake,” King says it’s brought the UK economy to where it is: inflation at multi-decade highs and the BOE having its credibility questioned.  According to King, it’s likely that—despite all money supply indicators signaling the consumer price index will soon be falling fast—the BOE will keep raising rates and the UK will end up in a recession. The central bank will have made the misstep “in both directions over a period of three to four years.” He points out that whether rates go up or down a little over the next year won’t change the fact that they are likely to remain far above the historical lows to which people are accustomed. And that suggests all asset prices are going to have to come down relative to income.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mervyn King Says the Bank of England Is Making a ‘Big Mistake’

Inflation in the US is going to continue falling, says founder of Intertemporal Economics Brian Pellegrini, and much faster than one might think. He joins Merryn Somerset Webb on this week’s episode of Merryn Talks Money to share his predictions. Indeed, the rate of inflation will drop so quickly that it will unnerve the US Federal Reserve, he says. Pellegrini contends signs of the decline can be seen in inventory levels, factory prices in China and the labor market. He argues that it’s also reasonable to think the Fed will turn to monetary easing in the not-too-distant future, claiming the central bank has become politicized. Going forward, he warns that if interest rates stay too low this time around, there’s every chance of another inflation explosion. So what should investors do? Pellegrini says look at energy and look at agriculture. And if you ever have to choose between gold or Bitcoin, choose gold, he says. We can be almost certain people will still value gold in a decade, says Pellegrini. We can’t say that about Bitcoin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US Inflation Will Keep Falling, Intertemporal’s Pellegrini Predicts

A decade ago, it was almost impossible for private investors to buy into private equity with the professionals. Most PE funds require huge minimum investments and long-term commitments. Good managers also don’t come cheap. Now, however, there are more ways for private investors to get into the unlisted sector. There are funds and trusts that buy individual private companies alongside listed ones, but there are also a few dedicated listed PE trusts.One of them is Pantheon International. In this week’s Merryn Talks Money, Helen Steers, a partner in Pantheon’s European Investment Team and co-manager of its listed global PE investment trust, Pantheon International Plc, joins host Merryn Somerset Webb to discuss the merits of the sector. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More Ways for Investors to Crack the World of Private Equity

Merryn Talks Money with Bloomberg senior columnist Merryn Somerset Webb is your key to understanding how markets work – and how you can make them work for you. Every episode features a relaxed but in-depth conversation with a fund manager, a strategist, a Bloomberg expert or just someone Merryn finds particularly interesting in any given week. Listen in for the kind of insights and explanations everyone can use to help them make better saving and investing choices. Every Friday starting December 9th. From Bloomberg Podcasts.

hubhopper

Merryn Talks Money

hubhopper