Merryn Somerset Webb sits down with  Mark Wood, Chairman of Everest Funeral Concierge, Chair of PensionBee, and former CEO off Prudential UK and AXA, to discuss how sweeping pension reforms could transform the way UK earners save and draw down their pensions.

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These days, UK energy policies arguably seem more ideological than anything else. But that doesn’t seem to be working, so perhaps it’s time for it to be practical instead? With that in mind we invited Dieter Helm, a professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford, to join this week’s Merryn Talks Money podcast. He discusses how the UK, which consistently ranks among the most expensive countries for consumer electricity prices, should address its energy problem.

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In this week's markets roundup, host Merryn Somerset Webb, editor-at-large for Bloomberg UK Wealth, sits down with Noor Al Ali from Bloomberg Markets Live to unpack gold’s remarkable rally and its implications for global markets.

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September signals the end of summer in the UK and the start of the school year. Gearing up to start university can be a daunting time for many young people, often catapulted into a situation of continuous firsts—first time living away, first time having to cook all their own meals and the first time having to manage their own money.

On this personal finance episode of Merryn Talks Money, host Merryn Somerset Webb is joined by award-winning journalist Marc Shoffman to discuss all things student finance.

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We'll be back next week with more Merryn Talks Money interviews, but for now we bring you an interesting conversation from the Odd Lots team.

These days, everyone is talking about high interest rates across the rich, developed world, while warning of eventual fiscal disaster. But we may have gotten an early glimpse of this anxiety in October 2022, when then-UK Prime Minister Liz Truss unveiled her mini-budget that spooked the gilt market. Well today, rates at the long end of the British yield curve are even higher. So what's going on? Why all this angst now about UK fiscal sustainability and the economy itself? In this episode, we speak with Liz Truss about what she learned during her brief time as the PM. She talks about the political reality of fiscal consolidation, and how difficult it is on both the tax and spending side. And we also discuss what her economic vision was really all about, had she not been forced from the position so quickly. In addition, we talk about the general state of politics, the media, and free speech in the UK.

Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox — now delivered every weekday — plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots

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In this news round up episode of Merryn Talks Money, host Merryn Somerset Webb has returned from her holiday and is joined by Bloomberg Opinion columnist, Marcus Ashworth. The pair discuss why the IMF won't be bailing out the UK anytime soon, gold's stellar performance, soaring high gilt market yields and the whether the stamp duty regime is actually, all that complicated.

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On the final panel at this year's Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, host Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Richard Wilson, chief executive of one of the UK’s largest investment platforms, Interactive Investor, Anna McDonald, investment manager at Aubrey Capital, and journalist and author Alex Massey. The episode is taped in front of an audience at Adam Smith’s final remaining home, Panmure House.

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In this episode of Merryn Talks Money, host Merryn Somerset Webb is joined by Bloomberg senior reporter John Stepek, author Dominic Frisby and Interactive Investor Chief Executive Officer Richard Wilson for a roundtable discussion at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The conversation takes place at Panmure House, the last home of economist and philosopher Adam Smith.

The panel share their favorite Adam Smith quotes and their relevance to our current economic and financial climate. They question how relevant the ideas of Adam Smith are today and the lessons we can learn from his writings.

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