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A comment article in The Times last Friday was headed, 'Starmer and Reeves must change to survive' — but which way? The backbench Labour MP uprising called for even more State spending, but the bond market and the July 22nd ‘Cost of Government Day’ say no — the public sector is already much too big. Of more concern is their preference to go for the 'stick' of welfare reduction rather than the 'carrot' of empowerment through individual ownership and freedom for all, drawing a sharp contrast between this Labour Government and that of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown two decades ago. Background music: 'Hopeful Freedom' by Asher Fulero Image: happier days, from Wikimedia

Jobs hold steady, Cloudflare takes a stand on AI and the stocks leading us to financial freedom. Jason Moser and Andy Cross discuss the recent jobs report, what the stress test means for banks, the current state of autos, Cloudflare pushes back on AI crawlers, and stocks to celebrate financial freedom. Tickers mentioned: BAC, TSLA, F, GM, NET, NFLX, HD, WM. Host - Jason Moser; Guest - Andy Cross.

With Simon Rose enjoying a well-earned break this week, we bring you CNBC's Squawk Box Europe comment on the challenges for long-dated UK bond yields following the Government's climbdown on its welfare bill, courtesy of Capital Economics.

The Chancellor was like a person sitting on the cliff-edge of colossal public debt last week, convinced that her massive 'investment' commitments can overlook the void below. It appears that economic stimulation is the only game in town for the British economy, and even that seems to avoid joined-up thinking in some key areas. Background music: 'Ether Oar' by The Whole Other

The unabridged recording of Rachel Reeves’ speech in the House of Commons on 11th June 2025.

What would you do with £208 million? Ahead of another Euromillions rollover, This is Money spoke to an adviser to those fortunate few who have scooped a jackpot to get some practical tips on what to do if you win big…just in case! Would friends and family be top of your list when it comes to how to spend it... or something else? Lee Boyce, Simon Lambert and Georgie Frost discuss. Simon turns his focus on The Big Winter Fuel u-turn and the spending review – 'pray for Rachel and all of us', he says. We borrowed too much to buy our home - what can we do about our huge mortgage? And an auction expert revealed the four types of property that savvy buyers are snapping up right now.

On 11th June UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves presents her Spending Review against the backdrop of a gargantuan public debt liability which is costing the UK taxpayer £111 billion a year in interest. Further tax rises have been ruled out, so she needs to identify achievable, structural reductions in spending. Elon Musk thought he'd done just that as head of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but only a small fraction of his planned reductions were achieved. In the UK at least we can break away from welfare universality — but will she do it? She's tried taxation and now she has to tackle spending, but the real elephant in the room is debt: all £2.7 trillion of it. Background music: 'Dark Alley Deals' by Aaron Kenny

With the Bank of England citing Donal Trump's trade war as the key driver for lower interest rates, will the UK-US trade deal stall the fall? Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Helen Crane discuss this and — will the new IHT levy on pensions lead to retirees spending more on holidays? Also, as companies require more of their staff to return to the office, is 'Working From Home' over?

When it comes to investing, it's stock markets that regularly hog the headlines but it's government bond markets that really matter. Share prices taking a prolonged tumble is one thing but if bonds take a hammering, the financial world starts to really the notice. A textbook example occurred a few weeks ago when in the aftermath of Donald Trump's introduction of US tariffs, stock markets took a dive and the President refused to budge. But when bond market ructions started to get investors and even central bankers worried, Trump appeared to take heed and introduced his 90-day pause. Georgie Frost, Tanya Jefferies and Simon Lambert discuss government bonds, the basics of how they work, why they matter and what impact they have on ordinary investors and our finances. Plus, the state pension top-up mess that refuses to go away, how to find the best SIPP to invest for retirement, and is a care annuity the answer to our care costs problems or just a treatment for the symptoms? And finally, there's been a mass stampede to Cash ISAs: what's going on — and is the tax-free saving allowance still likely to get chopped?

Fed independence brings stability, and markets love stability. Asit Sharma and Dylan Lewis discuss the Trump Administration’s focus on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the role of an independent Federal Reserve Bank for the market and investors, and Netflix’s earnings and status as a “recession-proof” stock. Then, 16 minutes in, Anand Chokkavelu hosts Fool Contributors Dan Caplinger and Rick Munarriz for a Scoreboard episode on Shopify. Companies discussed: NFLX, SHOP, AMZN. Host - Dylan Lewis; Guests - Anand Chokkavelu, Dan Caplinger, Rick Munarriz