This is Money Podcast

Despite repeated assurances that Labour would not break its election manifesto by hiking income tax, it appears it is now under consideration by the Chancellor in the Autumn Budget. Why is Rachel Reeves mulling over this U-turn, how much would it cost us, and would she really dare to do it?   This is Money's Angharad Carrick, Helen Crane and Georgie Frost discuss. Speculation over a 'mansion tax' in the Budget has also reared its head again. The team discuss whether it's a good idea to tax people with pricey homes, and how on earth HM Revenue & Customs would decide whether someone's house is worth more than £2million or not. Elsewhere, some good news in store, as Goldman Sachs has predicted the Bank of England will cut interest rates at its meeting next week. Does fading inflation and sluggish growth mean this is now on the cards, and would the Bank dare to make a move before the Budget beast is unleashed? The team discuss. They also look at why we're now paying three times the energy standing charges we were six years ago, and why some chocolate biscuits can no longer call themselves chocolate.

The dream of becoming an Isa millionaire will be a common ambition among many This is Money podcast listeners. Most will probably dismiss it as fantasy but what if you could actually get there? Recently a long-time This is Money reader got in touch to tell us that he had managed just that... at the age of 36. Ollie Perry was happy to share his story, not to boast but to try to inspire others and to show that it isn't just wealthy boomers who can manage to make an Isa million. On this podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert discuss his story and what we can learn from it.  How did he do it, are the big risks he took suitable for others, and what if you if prefer to get rich slower but with less chance of something going wrong? With a new top rate in town, Lee takes a look at the best buy savings deals on the market, Simon delves into why so many homes are seeing asking prices cut, and Georgie ponders why people are rushing to pay big money for retro tech that doesn't work.

Rachel Reeves is in a sticky position ahead of the Budget.  Forecasts suggest she will need £30billion to balance the books - and having made such a fuss about the Tory 'black hole' and her fiscal rules, the Chancellor is in a bind. Problematically, the government also painted itself into a corner with Labour's election pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT - which amount for two-thirds of tax revenue. So what can Rachel Reeves do? Should she fiddle at the edges and try to raise bits here and there, distorting behaviour with tax even more, or should she break that promise and hike one of the big three. On this week's podcast, Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Simon Lambert look at why the Chancellor is in a pickle and what leading economists at the IFS say she could do. And whether just because she could, does it mean she should? Plus, should you doom prep your finances, why are millennials becoming landlords and would you ride in a driverless taxi?

AI hype is still driving share prices higher but there are a growing number of voices warning of a stock market bubble that might soon burst. The Bank of England added its name to the list of those raising concerns this week, as its Financial Policy Committee drew comparisons with the ‘dotcom’ boom 25 years ago that soon turned to bust. The red flags include a number of high profile, huge money deals involving OpenAI, with Oracle, Nvidia and now AMD, along with a massive data centre infrastructure splurge and questions over the robustness of credit markets. But why has AI gone from great investment hope to potential market super villain in a short space of time? What on earth is going on with US tech giants' 'I give you money, you buy my stuff' deals? And are there genuine parallels to be drawn with the dotcom boom, or the months before the credit crunch? On this podcast, Georgie Frost, Angharad Carrick and Simon Lambert, look at why people are worried about an AI bubble popping and what investors can do to protect themselves. Plus, could you claim some money back from the car finance compensation that the FCA announced this week? Could we really scrap stamp duty - and would that be a good idea? And why did some households manage to may nothing for their electricity last week?

Britain's weather is famous for its ability to go from stunning to downright miserable in the blink of an eye. The nation's jobs market has a habit of doing the same. Not so long ago, workers finally had the upper hand and were celebrating a post-Covid jobs boom, where almost all roles were in-demand and some decent salary rises could be negotiated. Now, the chat down the pub is more likely to be about redundancies, recruitment freezes and endless rejections that can end with someone accepting a lower salary and position just to get a job. It will almost certainly swiftly also turn to artificial intelligence and its threat to employment, particularly the white collar kind. But can you AI-proof a career, are the machines really coming for our jobs and what are the roles that are in hot demand at the moment? On this podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert dive into the employment market and look at the list of the 30 most in-demand roles to see what they can uncover. Plus, is Rachel Reeves being irresponsible in allowing another pension tax-free lump sum rush to occur, if she isn't going to stage a Budget raid? Why is Lee not happy about his football club and cash? What did the team discover after a shout out to listeners to tell them about mystery flight delays? And finally, if you don't get unlimited Yorkshire puddings with a pub roast, can you really go to Trading Standards?