This is Money Podcast

President Trump is back. The US election finally came to a head this week and rather than the knife-edge result many expected, Donald Trump secured a decisive win over Kamala Harris. This podcast episode is a special double header: the team discuss that US election result and interest rate cuts in the first half and then celebrate the tenth anniversary of the This is Money podcast in the second. First up it’s President Trump. In a sense, he is more of a known quantity this time round – having already racked up four years in the White House before. But that’s only in so much that Donald Trump can ever really be a known quantity and the financial world is preparing to strap itself in for another rollercoaster ride. But why does Trump claiming a second run at US president matter to our finances in the UK? What could his policies and pronouncements mean for small investors in Britain? And will the President-elect really drive mortgage costs up on British homes? Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert discuss the potential impact of the new Trump presidency on the show this week. Plus, the Bank of England has cut base rate again to 4.75 per cent but cautioned that it sees higher inflation and slower rate cuts in future. The team discuss what that means for our mortgages and savings. The menace of out-of-control bamboo in people’s gardens and what you can do if a neighbour has some is also up for debate. And finally, podcast fans should listen to the end for the tenth birthday chat – and an announcement on some celebrations.

On this special bonus episode of the This is Money Podcast, Rob Morgan, chief analyst at Charles Stanley Direct, joins Simon Lambert to answer the big questions that have emerged from last week's Budget. On this podcast, Simon and Rob cover among other things. Pensions and inheritance tax: Who will be caught out What can investors do – should they spend their pensions before other savings? What has happened with capital gains tax - and who will it catch? What are the best ways to keep a CGT bill down? How can savers and investors beat the frozen threshold stealth tax? What are the financial planning basics people should make sure they get right?

Rachel Reeves' maiden Budget this week saw the first-ever female chancellor make £40billion of sweeping tax rises to plug funding gaps, everywhere from the NHS and schools.  While it left many of us with something to be miserable about when it comes to our money, there were also some important dodged bullets, as Simon Lambert, Georgie Frost and Helen Crane discuss on this week's podcast.  Among the losers were landlords, investors and those who have stashed wealth in their pension, as stamp duty, capital gains tax and inheritance tax all came under the spotlight.  The attack on the middle classes was perhaps to be expected from a Government which has told us those with the broadest shoulders must bear a bigger burden.  But aside from a rise in the minimum wage and 1p off a pint, did the Budget give enough of a boost to 'working people' - and will changes to employers' National Insurance Contributions indirectly hit them in the pocket anyway? Given growth was the buzzword of the Labour election campaign, did Reeves miss an opportunity to get people excited about British industry and entrepreneurship?  We also dig into what wasn't announced in the speech, including a not-so-fond farewell to the short-lived British Isa, and a child benefit change that could have helped parents but found itself on the scrapheap.