Robert Peston and Steph McGovern bring you insightful business and finance stories.
Join Robert Peston and Steph McGovern as they delve into the key challenges and opportunities facing today’s business world. From the complexities of tech investments to the impact of political decisions on global markets, this podcast offers valuable perspectives on current financial topics. Whether discussing business funding, economic policies, or corporate strategies, they provide listeners with the tools to understand today’s fast-evolving market.
Each episode brings expert analysis on important issues, including market regulations, economic recovery, and the forces shaping the future of work. Robert and Steph bring you the latest insights from influential leaders and top entrepreneurs, making this podcast a must-listen for anyone interested in business growth, financial trends, and the evolving economic landscape.
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How much can Burnham re-engineer the fiscal rules? Should he stick to a manifesto that has already been trampled over? Who should he choose to be chancellor? Will the markets approve? The former director of the IFS is back to tell us about the constraints and opportunities the new prime minister will have to get the economy growing and improve living standards. Listen to Robert and Steph’s interview with Paul Johnson. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy ...
Why are each of us £15,000 a year worse off than we should be? What can we learn from the US about housing? Can ‘Manchesterism’ work across the UK? How much is the triple lock state pension holding back young people? Paul Johnson, former director of the IFS, is back to tell us about his new research on The Prosperity Gap and what it means for the new Prime Minister. Plus why Count Binface should be considered for housing minister. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s ...
Can Andy Burnham’s civil service employ fewer but more productive officials? Is it fair to blame Brexit and Covid for the rising headcount? Is the government buying British the best growth policy? How the government can save £30bn a year by being more efficient. Tech boss Stephen Kelly - former CEO of Sage Group - tells us about working with David Cameron’s government to make £50bn in public sector efficiency savings. Plus find out why he thinks he was sent to the wrong building for a government...
Should political leaders show us their tax returns in detail? Are the financial questions concerning Farage about tax or something else? Which politicians were careless and which were more culpable? Robert and Steph chat with Dan Neidle who reveals his investigations into the financial affairs of several high-profile politicians. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer. Email: the...
Will all the rich people leave if we slap a wealth tax on them? How have plans for a 5% billionaire tax in California gone down? Is tax the best way to redistribute wealth more fairly? Former tax lawyer Dan Neidle is back to tell us why he thinks the theories of influential economists Gabriel Zucman and Thomas Piketty are all pie in the sky. So what would he do instead? Listen to Robert and Steph’s interview with him to find out. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s s...
Why is cutting VAT for specific sectors a bad idea? Should there be a flat rate on everything, including the things currently exempt? Why does cutting business rates only benefit landlords? Are we keeping too many inefficient businesses going? Dan Neidle from Tax Policy Associates is back to explain why he thinks no one deserves special treatment when it comes to VAT and business rates. Plus why Burnham’s plan to rescue pubs won’t work. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Brit...
Why did Nick Clegg quit Meta, and what does he really think about Silicon Valley? Why are tech bosses so greedy? And how can Europe catch up in the AI race? Robert sits down with Nick Clegg (former UK Deputy Prime Minister and Meta's ex-President of Global Affairs) to discuss how the UK can once again become a tech and economic powerhouse. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer. Email: the...
Should it be about the pre-distribution, rather than re-distribution, of wealth? Will that create an economy with fewer billionaires? How would it work in practice? Is it even possible given the balance of power lies with the rich? Leading economist Professor Mariana Mazzucato is back to tell us why her theory on ‘The Common Good’ is a game changer for Western economies. Plus does she think Gabriel Zucman’s wealth tax on billionaires is a good idea? Robert and Steph find out. The Rest is Money i...
Is the UK stuck in a debt and tax doom loop, and how do we get out? How do we cut welfare spending? How important is it to give regional mayors more agency over tax and spending? And what can we learn from Mississippi? Robert and Steph talk to former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt about his take on the economy now he's not running the Treasury, as detailed in his new book 'Can we be rich again?'. Plus for the first time Steph admits it's not all about Middlesbrough. The Rest is Money is brought to you b...
Are the government plans to help low income households hitting the right spot? Is there too much focus on symptoms and not causes? Could fiscal devolution happen too quickly? Why does the IMF often give the UK a rough ride on forecasts? Paul Johnson - former director of the IFS - is back to give us his take on the economic reforms being discussed across the political sphere. Plus Robert puts him under pressure to tell us which government has been the worst economically. Will he answer? Listen to...
How many billionaires are there in the world? How much has their wealth grown by? Why do lots of billionaires pay almost no income tax? How much of a problem are tax havens? Would a 2% global wealth tax (on people with over $100million) work in practice? Robert and Steph talk to prominent economist Gabriel Zucman about his decades long research on wealth inequality and discuss the pros and cons of wealth taxation policies. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart en...
The episode dissects Rachel Reeves's controversial proposal for voluntary supermarket food price caps, examining its feasibility and potential impact on businesses and consumers. It then delves into the broader economic landscape, covering inflation, rising mortgage costs influenced by global events like Trump's Iran war, and changes in the UK's rental market. A significant portion explores Andy Burnham's "Manchesterism," evaluating its potential to reform public utilities like water and energy based on the Manchester bus network model, while also considering the inherent challenges and financial implications of such an approach.
Is the government doing enough to prioritise British SMEs in its defence spending plans? Should price always come first or should more expensive British made goods be the priority? Or are we in danger of propping up zombie business? And with rising energy and employment costs, how hard is it to be a UK manufacturer now? With the government aiming to increase UK SME defence spending by fifty percent, Steph talks to a manufacturer desperate to win back the MoD contracts it lost in the 1980s. Ben F...
Has Labour got what it takes to deliver growth? Is a change in leadership going to help? How might Rayner, Burnham or Streeting fair against the bond markets? Could a plan to shift the tax burden away from working people and on to assets be the answer? As the chaos in Westminster continues, and government borrowing costs reach a 28 year high, Robert and Steph discuss what it will take to get the stability we need, and more importantly the growth. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus En...
Why is the UK’s energy pricing system so broken? Why must the transition to green energy be accelerated? And how can we make clean, renewable power the most affordable option for those on low incomes? Robert joins Emma Pinchbeck, CEO of the Climate Change Committee, to discuss the misunderstood parts of our energy system and what the UK’s shift to renewables actually looks like. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer. Email: ...
Could the government’s creditors protect Starmer and Reeves, even if Labour is humiliated in the elections? How high are UK interest rates going to rise because of Trump’s Iran war? Has monetary policy stopped working? Could AI actually lead to the creation of millions of new jobs? And is coal consumption in the 19th Century a good way to predict this? Steph and Robert dissect the Bank of England’s latest assessment of the UK economy. Plus Robert takes us back in time to explain why Jevons Parad...
If household debt as a percentage of GDP is at its lowest since 2002, why are debt charities seeing record levels of demand? Is this a temporary problem because of the cost of living crisis or about much bigger structural problems in the UK economy? Plus, what is ‘co-erced debt’ and why is it a growing problem? Steph talks to Vikki Brownridge the CEO of the debt advisory charity StepChange about what’s really going on for the increasing number of people struggling with money. They discuss the ch...
How much did Brexit cost the UK? Would rejoining make us much richer? And if US managers are PSG players, are British ones more like Aston Villa’s? Robert talks to Stanford Professor Nick Bloom about his influential forecast, recently adopted by Rachel Reeves, that quitting the EU made Britain 8% or £240bn poorer than it would otherwise have been. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer. Email: the...
How long will Starmer cling on for? Will politicians sucking up to Northerners make any difference to the North South divide? What’s the latest with the Strait of Hormuz and how is it impacting global prices? How is that feeding through to inflation here? Is Miliband right to stop more oil being drilled in the North Sea and what’s his plan to bring down energy bills? After another week of Mandelson drama, Robert takes us behind the scenes and Steph looks at examples in business where bad vetting...
Is it fair that only some businesses have access to Anthropic’s super-powerful Mythos AI, given its ability to pierce cyber defences? Will OpenAI go bust? Will Demis Hassabis win the AI wars? Robert Peston talks to Sebastian Mallaby about his biography of British AI genius Demis Hassabis, The Infinity Machine. Note: We contacted OpenAI for comment, who told us that 'the article revisits old, widely reported episodes and frames them through selective anecdotes, anonymous claims, and incomplete co...
Why are one million young people not in education, employment or training? Is the benefits system part of the problem? Are schools out of date? What’s the alternative? Steph talks to former health minister Alan Milburn – who is leading a review into NEETS -about the systemic health and structural barriers to work. They discuss the cost to the economy and the alarming stat that if a young person doesn’t get a job by the time they’re 24 they’re unlikely ever to. Fortunately Alan thinks he has the ...
What’s the point of the government’s new £500m sovereign AI fund? How is the government planning to avert AI Armageddon? Isn’t it time for AI to be permanently in the classroom not banned from it? Robert talks to AI Minister Kanishka Narayan to explore the government’s strategy for a trillion-dollar British AI ecosystem-and whether the UK can truly scale a sovereign challenger to rival the likes of OpenAI, Anthropic and Gemini. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s sma...
Why are governments failing to notice how AI is replacing many jobs now? If AI replaces all or most jobs, how can governments replace all the lost taxes? Who will pay for public services and stop us from starving? Robert sits down with Monzo founder Tom Blomfield to hear his revolutionary plan to reform the tax system for an AI world. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy pioneer. Email: ther...
What’s a ‘finfluencer’ and why are they getting in trouble with the regulators? How much of a problem is dodgy tax advice given on social media? What part does financial literacy play in all of this? And is the law finally catching up? Steph talks to Stella Creasy - MP for Walthamstow and a prominent consumer rights campaigner - about her latest mission to stop the rise of unregulated financial advice on social media. The Rest is Money is brought to you by Octopus Energy, Britain’s smart energy ...
What difference would wider adoption of AI have in our struggling public services? Is it the answer to the UK productivity problem? Why does the government struggle to "buy British" when it comes to tech? And could a simple software fix save frontline workers 8 hours of admin a week? In this episode, Robert and Steph are joined by Alex Stephany, the CEO of Beam, a British ‘GovTech’ success story used by two-thirds of UK councils. Alex tells us how it works, but also why the government procuremen...
A month into the war in the Middle East, what are investors thinking? Are we heading for a global recession? Who is most exposed? What are the options central banks and governments have for getting through it? What does this mean for the UK economy? How can the government help people with bills without upsetting the bond markets and increase borrowing costs? Plus, what should you be thinking about if you have money in stocks and shares? Karen Ward – Chief Market Strategist EMEA at JP Morgan Asse...
In this episode, former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein shares insights from his memoir, "Streetwise," detailing his journey from Brooklyn to leading a global investment bank through the 2008 crisis. He addresses current market volatility, geopolitical risks, and the opaque private credit market, contrasting it with the strengthened position of traditional banks. Blankfein also reflects on Goldman's public perception, its unique hiring culture, the societal implications of wealth inequality and AI, and the personal challenge of managing a cancer diagnosis during his tenure.
Richard Walker, Executive Chair of Iceland Foods and the government's Cost of Living Champion, shares insights on navigating global geopolitical crises, like the Middle East conflict, and their effect on UK inflation and household budgets. He defends existing short-term support packages while advocating for targeted aid and proposing temporary profit caps for energy companies. The episode also delves into debates on North Sea oil production, rising employment costs, and a critical discussion about the Bank of England's mandate in a globally interconnected economy.
Robert Peston and Steph McGovern explore why the UK economy is particularly exposed to the ongoing Middle East conflict and rising energy prices. They delve into the government's fiscal challenges, the impact of current tax policies on businesses, and the debate over relaxing rules to stimulate growth. The episode highlights the critical need for radical reforms to boost the UK's productive potential, alongside a nuanced discussion on balancing support for vulnerable households with long-term economic strategy and the path to net-zero.
Robert Peston and Steph McGovern analyze Rachel Reeves' new growth plan, scrutinizing its proposed initiatives on AI, devolution, and EU market access. They critique the government's delays in addressing major economic trends and explore the complexities of local spending and closer ties with Europe. The episode also features a segment on historical economic shifts and real-world examples of AI's disruptive impact.
