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Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Helen Crane consider reducing interest rates — are they opening up a divergence between central banks in the U.S., the UK and Europe? What are the implications for mortgages and savings? They consider how investments fared in the pandemic crash and rebound, and what the implications might be as a result of Trump's trade wars. And they review Nectar's stolen points problem.

DeepSeek hasn’t dissuaded big tech’s on cloud buildout spend. Ron Gross and Jason Moser discuss what the Jobs report and the tariff headfake mean for the big macro, earnings from Amazon and Alphabet, and big tech’s $300B cap ex plans for 2025, and PayPal’s good quarter/bad reaction, Spotify’s music streaming supremacy, and Chipotle’s plans to burrito the world. Then, 19 minutes in, this year’s Super Bowl offers a rematch from two years ago, a Kendrick Lamar halftime show, and if the NFL regular season’s been any indication – plenty of ads for sports betting Ricky Mulvey caught up with Motley Fool analyst Nick Sciple for the investing angle on legalized sports betting and why parlays are the penny stocks of gambling. Finally, 34 minutes in, Ron and Jason break down two stocks on their radar: Academy Sports And Outdoors and Uber. Stocks discussed: AMZN, GOOG, GOOGL, PYPL, SPOT, CMG, DK, MGM, AOS, UBER. Host - Dylan Lewis; Guests - Ron Gross, Jason Moser, Ricky Mulvey, Nick Sciple

Think you know how the trade wars will shake out? Don’t bet on it. Jim Gillies and Ricky Mulvey discuss the reaction to potential tariffs in Canada, separating your political ideas from your investments, and PayPal’s $15 billion buyback authorization. Then, 16 minutes in, Alison Southwick and Robert Brokamp offer some ways to get your 401(k) in better shape. Companies mentioned: PYPL. Host - Ricky Mulvey; Guests - Jim Gillies, Alison Southwick, Robert Brokamp

Adam Cox is joined by Thea Watson from Bright HR. They discuss a new report carried out by Bright HR, all about business confidence. What did it find? Well, it shows how 68% of UK businesses who have embraced a technology strategy see growth as their number one objective for 2025.Shockingly though, over half of all survey respondents — many without a tech plan — say they are not expecting to grow in 2025, and more than a quarter are simply looking to survive. https://www.brighthr.com/

Most people carry burdens of guilt and shame, perhaps from decades ago. Sometimes it's not due to personal responsibility, but part of a wider issue. This episode helps to come to terms with these things, to let them go. Whether they have served their purpose or call for some forgiveness, this episode can help with moving on.

James Cameron-Wilson says that UK box office is down for the fifth week in a row. #3 is Companion which James says is best enjoyed knowing little about it. It has laughs, thrills and plenty of surprises but is essentially a black comedy. Steven Soderbergh's horror Presence has slipped to #20 but James found it a one-trick pony with little flesh on its bones, short though it is. He suggests everyone avoids at all costs Amazon Prime's matrimonial romcom You're Cordially Invited. With Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, it is depressing, irritating and mean-spirited and beggars belief in its awfulness.

For the 500th show, Steve Caplin takes a look back at some of the highlights of 10 years of Gadgets & Gizmos. He covers sprayable sleep, cows imitating zebras to ward off mosquitoes, crows collecting cigarette butts, NFTs, self-parking slippers, KFC chicken-tasting nail polish, the first human head transplant, the Skunklock noxious bike lock, Refrigerdating, the robot dog flamethrower, ant populated gin and how to make pain relief pills 10 times more effective.

While "Never Here" Keir Starmer thinks the UK can reset its position with the EU, political commentator Mike Indian believes the government is viewing the stagnating EU with rose-tinted spectacles and that this will not be a panacea for our financial troubles. Despite talking about it a great deal, the government has done little so far to promote growth and Reeves' recent speech highlighting a third runway at Heathrow will do little to change that. We need a better-connected country and should be encouraging local mutuals. Mike finds Trump's ideas for Gaza irresponsible and risks plunging the region back into conflict.

Finlay Mathers of Edison Group thinks investors should keep an eye on IntelliAM which uses AI software to provide solutions to target inefficiencies for companies in the FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) sector. Able significantly to reduce the time equipment lies idle, it is small but has really great growth potential. He also looks at the way profit forecasts in the consumer sector are proving more resilient than their underperforming share prices would suggest. He discusses which sectors and companies are doing well and will continue to succeed.

Both the Office for Budget Responsibility and Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, have warned of serious consequences for public finances if significant action isn't taken. The assumption is that this must be achieved by lifting growth in productivity. But what if the main impediment to traditional economic growth, as evidenced by GDP, is endemic demonetization brought about by advancing technology and automation? Is it time to look for a radically new approach which will allow everyone to participate in that wealth creation? Background music: 'The New Order' by Aaron Kenny