Budget business backlash, interest rate cut fallout and ETFs inflows and Bitcoin both breaking records

AJ Bell Money & Markets

On this week’s episode, Charlene Young and Laith Khalaf talk you through the impact on business of rising National Insurance and minimum wage bills. Plus labour market data for the period to September showed us the gloomy reality for businesses before the Budget as stalling investment and hiring plans fueled rising redundancies and unemployment.

The Bank of England voted 8-1 to cut interest rates last week but forecasts published alongside the announcement give us an insight into just how inflationary the bank thinks Rachel Reeves’ Budget will prove, and the likelihood of her achieving her pledge of ‘growth, growth, growth’.

Dan Coatsworth interviews Jack Caffrey from the JP Morgan American Investment Trust for his take on the US election and why the market reacted like it did to that Donald Trump victory.

To continue our US theme, Laith looks at how some of those early “Trump Trades” have fared in the last week as the Trump starts to appoint his trusted team with some familiar names.

Bitcoin gets a double mention – not only has it been breaking records but a UK pension scheme has announced it will be allocated 3% of its assets to diversify its investment base, in a break with tradition in the pension space.

It’s also looking like a record year for flows into Exchange Traded Funds. What are ETFs are what has made them so popular? On the other side of the coin, we look at outflows from Fundsmith Equity and why first-time buyers might find the frozen Lifetime ISA property limit locks them out of their dream family home.