Merryn Talks Money

Hosted by Bloomberg

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Episodes

382

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

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.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 21, 202623 min

Markets Wrap: Higher Yields, Higher Gold

Hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek are both back from their holidays and this week unpack the surge in global bond yields and how governments might respond. They also look at a study which suggested that Small Language Models (SLM) could make today’s vast AI data-centre buildout unnecessary, posing a substantial risk to hyperscalers and investors. https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.07885 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August 17, 202631 min

What it Takes to Build a Stagflation-proof Portfolio

Joining Merryn Somerset Webb for this week's episode is Duncan Lamont, Head of Strategic Research at Schroders. Lamont explains how investors can protect their portfolios against stagflation, and how to avoid being too exposed to the AI trade. He also explains why all-time highs might not actually be a sell signal for investors - and how AI-driven job losses might affect US stocks. https://www.schroders.com/en-us/us/institutional/insights/adapting-asset-allocation-to-the-risk-of-stagflation/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August 14, 202647 min

What's Eating Away at Inheritance Money Re-Run

At a Bloomberg.com subscriber event earlier this year, Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek spoke with Paula Steele, director at John Lamb Hill Oldridge, about how to pass on an inheritance efficiently — minimise tax, manage the succession process, and avoid unintended effects on beneficiaries’ motivation. This is a re-run of that conversation which first aired March 17th, 2026. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August 10, 202630 min

The Capital Cycle Is Turning

What is "capital-cycle" investing and why does it matter for your portfolio? Luke Bridgeman, Senior Partner and Portfolio Manager at Hosking Partners joins Merryn Somerset Webb for a discussion on why supply, not demand, is the key to finding the best investment opportunities. The pair also discuss investing in Japan, energy markets, and why the shipping industry might be easier to break into than you think. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August 7, 202616 min

Markets Wrap: Gold Rallies, AI Briefly Blows Up and the UK Market Still Needs Saving

It's been a tumultuous few weeks for markets, and yet nothing much has changed. Join Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek as they discuss why an AI hedge fund implosion and US intervention in the Japanese yen appear to have merely strengthened market optimism. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 has hit a new record high, even as the underlying need for practical policy help to save the UK market from extinction becomes ever more urgent. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August 3, 202638 min

You Are Unhappy Because You Aren't Taking Enough Risk

Have we become too risk-averse? This week John Stepek and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Allison Schrager discuss her new book, Worth the Risk, and why avoiding risk could be holding back both individuals and economies. They explore the challenges of retirement planning, whether homeownership is still a rewarding investment and what history can teach us about navigating the future of AI. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July 31, 202621 min

Markets Wrap: Trouble Ahead For The AI Money Machine?

Large sections of the debt and equity markets now depend on the ongoing growth of a vast AI ecosystem that ranges from chipmakers to hyperscalers to end-consumers. Does this week's drama in the South Korean Kospi market point to a wider problem? On this week's Merryn Talks Money Markets Wrap, Author of the Money Distilled newsletter John Stepek, is joined by Bloomberg's Private Companies Managing Editor, Neil Callanan to talk through the the AI industry's growing reliance on debt, concerns about circular financing, and whether or not any crash here could spill over into the wider financial system. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July 29, 202612 min

Hot Tips for Saving Money on Summer Vacation (Re-run)

On today's personal finance edition of Merryn Talks Money, we're playing an episode that first aired in July 2025 when hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek, shared their top money-saving tips for helping you get the most out of your holiday. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July 27, 202636 min

Are We Repeating the Biggest Mistake of 1873?

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Liaquat Ahamed joins Merryn Somerset Webb to discuss 1873: The First Great Depression and the Making of the Modern World , exploring how the first truly global financial crash reshaped economics, politics and society for decades to come. Together, they unpack striking parallels between the railway boom of the 1870s and today's AI investment frenzy, asking whether history is once again rhyming—and what investors should learn before the next bubble bursts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July 24, 202622 min

Markets Wrap: Inflation Means Bad News for Burnham

Even as Britain welcomed a new Prime Minister this week, renewed conflict in the Middle East threatened to remove what little breathing space he may have had, pushing up everything from oil to food prices. This week, John Stepek is joined by Bloomberg macro strategist Simon White to discuss why inflation matters so much for asset prices, what it might mean for the increasingly indebted AI companies, and what it all means for your money. Check out this week's Merryn Talks Money Markets Wrap. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.