Good Money Guide Podcast: Investing, Trading & Currency Markets Explained

In this week’s podcast, Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson discuss the record highs in gold and silver, as well as President Trump’s comments on the US dollar. They also look at this week’s numbers from Lloyds, Tesla and Microsoft and look ahead to next week’s BOE and ECB meetings, as well as the latest results from Shell, Vodafone, Amazon and Alphabet.

Michael Hewson and Michael Brown from Pepperstone discuss the current state of the markets, focusing on economic indicators, corporate earnings, and consumer behaviour. They analyse the impact of US-China trade relations, bond market volatility, and the performance of various sectors, including retail and technology. The conversation highlights the challenges faced by companies like JD Sports, Lloyds Banking Group, EasyJet, Tesla, Microsoft, and Meta, providing insights into their financial health and future prospects.Chapters00:00 Market Reactions and Economic Indicators20:51 Earnings Season Insights30:42 Retail Sector Performance and Challenges31:13 Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Outlook35:04 Political Pressures and the Fed's Dilemma36:15 Lloyds Banking Group: Performance and Prospects39:21 EasyJet: Navigating Post-Pandemic Challenges44:21 Tech Giants: Tesla, Microsoft, and Meta's Market Dynamics55:37 Apple's Innovation Dilemma and Market Position

Michael Hewson and Michael Brown from Pepperstone delve into the current state of financial markets, focusing on geopolitical tensions, particularly the U.S. administration's stance on Venezuela and Greenland. They discuss the implications of recent Department of Justice subpoenas directed at the Federal Reserve and how these developments are affecting market sentiment. Despite the political turmoil, markets appear resilient, with the FTSE 100 reaching record highs and the S&P showing signs of recovery. The hosts also address listener feedback regarding their previous claims about U.S. oil dependency on Venezuela, emphasizing the complexities of the oil market and the geopolitical motivations behind U.S. actions.The conversation shifts to the performance of various sectors, including UK markets, where the hosts analyze recent GDP data and corporate earnings reports from companies like Whitbread and Persimmon. They highlight the mixed signals from the labor market, particularly in the recruitment sector, and discuss the potential impact of upcoming economic data releases on monetary policy. The episode wraps up with a preview of next week's earnings reports, including Netflix, and the anticipated market reactions to these developments.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Overview02:13 Geopolitical Tensions and Oil Markets11:44 Trump's Influence on the Federal Reserve20:51 Economic Data Insights22:13 Tech Companies and AI Innovation26:46 U.K. Market Analysis and Construction Challenges33:46 Construction Sector Resilience36:49 Retail Performance Insights39:37 Labor Market Challenges42:54 US Banks and Credit Card Interest Rates47:17 Upcoming Economic Indicators and Earnings Reports

As the momentum from 2025, carries over into 2026, Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson discuss whether the FTSE100 and other markets can continue recent positive momentum at a time when geopolitical noise around US foreign policy dominates. They also look at this week’s numbers from Next, Tesco and Sainsbury and look ahead to US bank earnings.

In this year-end podcast, Michael Hewson and Michael Brown from Pepperstone reflect on the financial markets over the past year, discussing key economic data, market drivers, and the performance of various sectors. They analyse the implications of US inflation trends, UK economic challenges, and the performance of the FTSE 100. The conversation also touches on corporate investment trends, particularly in the retail and defence sectors, and concludes with insights into BP's leadership change and predictions for the upcoming year.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Year-End Reflections02:05 Market Drivers and Economic Data Overview05:02 US Economic Indicators and Federal Reserve Outlook09:27 UK Economic Challenges and Bank of England Decisions12:33 Political Influence on Monetary Policy14:35 FTSE 100 Performance and Economic Context17:46 Global Market Comparisons and Future Outlook24:53 Market Reactions and Guidance Clarity26:22 Defense Sector Dynamics and Investment Trends28:40 Debt Markets and Economic Outlook31:21 Banking Sector Performance and Risks35:09 Retail Sector Insights and Consumer Behavior39:10 Investment Climate and Corporate Decisions41:03 Leadership Changes in Major Corporations

In this penultimate podcast of 2025 Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson discuss the latest Fed decision to cut rates, as well as looking ahead to next week’s rate decisions from the Bank of England and Bank of Japan respectively, discussing the risks to global bond markets in 2026 of a more hawkish BOJ. We also look ahead to the latest numbers from Nike, FedEx and Currys.

In this podcast episode, Michael Hewson and Michael Brown discuss the current state of the markets as they approach year-end, focusing on key economic indicators, upcoming Fed meetings, and significant corporate developments. They analyse the implications of the dollar's weakness, M&A activities like Netflix's potential acquisition of Warner Brothers, and Unilever's spin-off of its Magnum Ice Cream brand. The conversation also covers the UK economy's performance, PMI data, and the retail sector's outlook as Christmas approaches. Additionally, they delve into the financial results of companies like Mitchell & Butler, Balfour Beatty, and Broadcom, highlighting trends in the defence and semiconductor industries.

In this week’s Good Money Guide podcast Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson discuss this week’s buy now, pay later Klarna budget statement, and whether it makes a December rate cut more or less likely. They also look at the latest results from easyJet and Kingfisher and look ahead to numbers from Balfour Beatty and Frasers Group.

In this week’s podcast Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson discuss this week’s UK CPI data and whether it makes a December rate cut more or less likely. They also look at the latest Q3 numbers from Nvidia as well as looking ahead to next week’s budget.

In this week’s podcast Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson discuss this week’s disappointing UK economic data, and what it means for another rate cut. They also look at this week’s numbers from Vodafone and Rolls-Royce as well as looking ahead to next week’s UK CPI numbers and earnings from Nvidia and Walmart.

In this week’s podcast Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson discuss the latest Bank of England rate decision, as well as a host of retail earnings from Sainsbury, M&S and ABF, as well as recent ITV bid speculation. They also look ahead to next weeks UK Q3 GDP and Rolls-Royce earnings.

In this week’s podcast Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson discuss more record highs for US stocks and the FTSE100, as well as the latest Fed rate cut and the hawkish reaction to it. They also talk about the slide in Meta and Microsoft share price on concern over accelerated AI spend, as well as looking ahead to next week’s Bank of England rate decision, and the latest numbers from Diageo, BP, M&S and AstraZeneca.

In this week’s podcast Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson talk about how solid earnings, as well as the prospect of another U-turn on tariffs by President Trump is helping to underpin markets as well as push the FTSE 100 to another record high. They also look at this week’s numbers from Netflix and Tesla, and look ahead to next week’s big slate of numbers from Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft.

In this week’s podcast Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson look at how markets have reacted to President Trump’s unexpected decision to announce 100% additional tariffs on Chinese goods and whether this escalation in tensions could prompt a deeper sell-off. They also look at this week’s earnings numbers from JPMorgan, and other US banks, as well as looking ahead to next week’s updates from Lloyds, Barclays and NatWest, as well as Netflix and Tesla.

In this week’s podcast Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson look at the reasons behind more record highs for the FTSE100, US markets, the German DAX as well as gold and silver. They also look at the drivers behind recent moves in Lloyds Banking Group and the HSBC share price, as well as looking ahead to the start of US earnings season with JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo.

In this week’s podcast, Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson look at more record highs for the FTSE100 and US markets, despite another US government shutdown, and why markets are ignoring the political noises, as well as looking back at this week’s numbers from Tesco and Greggs and what they tell us about the UK economy. Plus, why is AstraZeneca moving to New York?

In this week’s podcast Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone and Michael Hewson look at the shifting expectations when it comes to further rate cuts from the Fed and BoE, as well as whether markets are in a bubble given this week’s news of Nvidia’s $100bn deal with OpenAI. They also look at this week’s numbers from Kingfisher and JD Sports, as well as looking ahead to US non-farm payrolls, and results from Tesco and JD Wetherspoon.

In this week’s podcast, Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson return to look at more record highs for US markets after this week’s central bank rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and Bank of England, as well as looking at the prospects for the UK economy after another set of poor government borrowing numbers. They also look at this week’s numbers from Next and what they add to the discussion around UK PLC, as well as looking ahead to Kingfisher and JD Sports H1 results

After a brief podcast break Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson return to look at more record highs for US markets and the FTSE100 this week, as well as looking ahead to next week’s rate decisions from the Bank of England and Federal Reserve, as well as discussing the lack of innovation at this week’s Apple event. They also discuss the recent numbers from Nvidia as well as looking ahead to the latest results from Next and what they might tell us about the UK consumer. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.

In this week’s podcast Michael Brown (Senior Market Strategist from Pepperstone) and Michael Hewson discuss the odds of a Fed rate cut next month after this week’s US CPI and PPI numbers. They also look at the health of the UK economy through the lens of Q2 GDP, and unemployment numbers before looking ahead to UK CPI, Retail sales as well as earnings from Walmart, Target and Hays.