Podcast
Merryn Talks Money
Hosted by Bloomberg · EN
Merryn Talks Money with Bloomberg senior columnist Merryn Somerset Webb is your key to understanding how markets work – and how you can make them work for you. Every episode features a relaxed but in-depth conversation with a fund manager, a strategist, a Bloomberg expert or just someone Merryn finds particularly interesting in any given week. Listen in for the kind of insights and explanations everyone can use to help them make better saving and investing choices.
384episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
How to Invest Amid an Upended Global Financial Order
Apr 1700:29:26Summary readyMerryn Somerset Webb speaks with Ruffer fund manager Alexander Chartres about investing in a world marked by receding US dominance and a more inflation-prone, shock-driven global economy. Chartres argues Donald Trump is just an accelerant to changes that have been developing since the end of the Cold War. Traditional market assumptions like reliable hedges and stable globalization are breaking down, requiring more active, diversified investment strategies. Chartres highlights opportunities in commodities, energy, China technology and repurposed industrial capacity, while warning that political volatility and structural change will define markets for years to come.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Summary
Are Markets Just Plain Wrong to Keep 'Looking Through' The Iran War?
Apr 1700:19:05Summary readyMarkets have continued to hit new highs despite escalating geopolitical tensions and a major energy shock, raising questions about whether investors are underestimating long-term risks such as inflation and rising interest rates. The hosts argue that while markets often look through geopolitical events, today’s slow-burning crisis—combined with weak real income growth and fiscal pressures in countries like the UK—may be more consequential than current optimism suggests.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Summary
The Contrarian Case for London Real Estate After a Decade of Stagnation
Apr 1500:24:27Summary readyIt might surprise some listeners, but UK-wide house prices have delivered only negligible returns after inflation over the past decade, note Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek, and London prices have actually fallen sharply in real terms. Rising interest rates, taxes, and political uncertainty continue to weigh heavily on the market. Yet guest Daniel Austin, chief executive of ASK Partners, suggests that while high transaction costs and policy risks remain a hurdle, prime central London may still look attractive at current levels to global investors with an eye for a bargain.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
SummaryWhy You Should Wait Out AI’s Super-Spending False Start
Apr 1300:36:51Summary readyMerryn Somerset Webb sits down with Janusz Marecki, CEO & Founder of Fractal Brain and AI Partner at Ahren Innovation Capital, for an insider perspective on AI hype vs. reality—and what may come next. The focus is on large language models (LLMs)—and whether they are hitting fundamental limits. Marecki discusses the data ceiling (we’ve used most high-quality internet data), diminishing returns from scaling compute and persistent issues like hallucinations and probabilistic errors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
SummaryMarkets Wrap: Ceasefire Uncertainty, Energy Supply Shocks, and Chancellor Miliband?
Apr 1000:25:08Summary readyOn this week’s markets wrap, Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Helen Thomas of Blonde Money about how Middle East tensions are creating lasting energy disruptions despite ceasefire uncertainty. They warn this could drive persistent inflation and leave the UK particularly exposed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
SummaryCambridge Professor Helen Thompson on the Iran War, Energy Markets and Britain’s Risks
Apr 600:30:48Summary readyAs the US-Israel war with Iran upends global energy flows, Professor Helen Thompson joins Merryn Talks Money to explain what the shock means for oil, gas, supply chains and the wider world economy. They discuss why this may mark the end of any return to “normal” in energy markets, how Asia and Europe could be hit differently, and why Britain’s energy strategy now looks dangerously exposed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Summary
Active vs Passive: How to Help Your Kids Invest
Apr 100:10:27Summary readyOn this week's Merryn Talks Money personal finance episode, Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek answer an interesting listener question surrounding the active vs passive debate. The pair look at financial data spanning the past 40 years to help a listener understand the pros and cons of active vs passive investing and why passive investing isn't truly passive. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
SummaryWhy Investors Are Rotating Into Commodities with BlackRock's Evy Hambro
Mar 3000:35:22Summary readyWhy did gold fail to protect portfolios during the latest market shock? In this episode of Merryn Talks Money, Merryn Somerset Webb speaks with Evy Hambro, global head of thematic and sector investing at BlackRock, about the violent moves in gold and silver, the new energy risk premium, and why commodities may be entering a powerful new cycle. They discuss inflation, interest rates, energy security, mining valuations, AI-driven demand for materials, and why investors may need to rethink how much exposure they have to gold, energy and broader commodity equities.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Summary
Markets Wrap: Gold, Bonds and Bitcoin Struggle as War Uncertainty Clouds Investor Outlook
Mar 2700:15:43Summary readyIn this week’s markets wrap, John Stepek, senior reporter and author of the Money Distilled newsletter, and Bloomberg Opinion's Marcus Ashworth discuss how geopolitical uncertainty is leaving investors with few clear safe havens, as gold, bonds, and currencies all behave unpredictably while cash gains appeal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Summary
What's Eating Away at Inheritance Money
Mar 2500:47:33Summary readyMerryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek speak with Paula Steele, director at John Lamb Hill Oldridge, about how to pass on an inheritance efficiently — minimising tax, managing the succession process, and avoiding unintended effects on beneficiaries’ motivation. The conversation was recorded at a live Bloomberg.com subscriber event in London on March 17.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Summary