In short
BBC “Wake Up To Money” episode featuring a Friday panel on market volatility and UK economic pressure from the Iran conflict, plus National Savings & Investments (NS&I) bereavement-tracing errors, and a Hollywood segment with Eva Longoria on media consolidation.
Guests/backgrounds
- Sophie Millican: CEO of Newcastle PR firm Mojo; advises on business communications and thought leadership.
- Francis Coppola: independent economist.
- Randeep Somal: fund manager at M&G Investments.
- Anna Bowes: personal finance and savings expert at private office financial advisory.
- Eva Longoria: Hollywood actor turned producer; entrepreneurship advocate; partners with Lenovo on small-business initiatives.
Key claims/notable examples
- Trump extended Iran peace-talk deadline to April 6, 10 days; markets reacted with extreme volatility (oil, gold, US stocks worst day since conflict began).
- UK exposed to energy shocks; OECD forecast warns UK could be among worst-hit economies.
- Bank of England rate decisions complicated by “stagflation” risk; markets pricing rate rises.
- NS&I: about 37,500 bereavement cases affected; tracing error, funds “100% safe,” government says NS&I will contact people.
- Curry’s shares fell ~11% after CEO Alex Baldock stepping down; succession planning and founder/personality branding matter.
- Eva Longoria: Hollywood mergers (e.g., Paramount/Warner Bros Discovery) may reduce “diversity of thought,” pushing cookie-cutter production; AI is both tool and competitor.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOEconomic Forecast and Current Events
2:16 to 3:02
Discussion about economic forecasts and the impacts of recent global events.
“Welcome to Wake Up To Money on Friday the 26th of March.”
Introducing Panel Members
3:02 to 4:25
Introduction of the panel members and their roles in discussing economic issues.
“Perhaps you'll have comments or questions for our panel too.”
Market Reactions to Global Events
4:25 to 6:16
Panel discusses market volatility related to the Iran conflict and its implications.
“Or is it other things too that have kind of eaten away at that confidence, if you like, do you think?”
Energy Prices and Consumer Behavior
6:16 to 8:10
Exploration of how rising energy prices are affecting consumer behavior and markets.
“Yeah, and just give us a sense of where we ended up last night, because it wasn't just company share markets, was it?”
Impact of Economic Conditions on Businesses
8:10 to 10:00
Discussion on how economic conditions are affecting business decisions and consumer confidence.
“Greg Jackson on the Big Boss interview podcast with Sean earlier on in the week.”
Consumer Sentiment and Market Trends
10:00 to 11:28
Review of consumer sentiment and how it’s influencing market trends amidst uncertainty.
“But then I guess it's that ripple effect of the clients that they're then working with and some of them being hit harder.”
Economic Outlook and Challenges Ahead
14:00 to 16:40
The discussion centers on the current state of the UK economy, including interest rates and inflation concerns.
“on the general economic situation over the next 12 months of something they track.”
Impact of External Factors on UK Economy
16:40 to 19:20
Analyzing how global events, like the Iran war, affect UK economic conditions and consumer confidence.
“And it may be that the shock to the economy, you know, the negative demand shock, the shock to confidence will actually force them to either hold or possibly even continue cutting rates.”
Housing Market and New Towns Debate
19:20 to 22:20
Exploring the challenges facing the housing market, including interest rates and government initiatives on new towns.
“It's also on how markets behave, and it may well be we'll get a substantial monetary tightening just from that.”
Energy and Economic Support Strategies
22:20 to 26:00
Delving into potential energy solutions and broader support measures for businesses and households amidst rising costs.
“Well, we saw a few of them certainly get delayed, Sophie, already.”
Show all 21 chapters
Political Considerations in Economic Policy
26:00 to 28:05
Discussing the political implications of economic policies and the need for broader support beyond just benefits.
“Yeah, I mean, it's easy with this to focus upon energy.”
Insights on Market Influences
28:05 to 28:41
Discussing the impact of global events on UK markets and the economy.
“No, I mean, unfortunately here we are a hostage to fortune.”
Upcoming Topics and Guest Introduction
28:41 to 28:58
Preview of second half topics including NS&I and Eva Longoria's concerns.
“Frances Coppola there, independent economist.”
Discussion on NS&I Customer Fund Access Issues
30:59 to 33:37
Analyzing the National Savings and Investments issue regarding bereaved families.
“Tom in Bangor have been in touch saying, Trump probably enjoys the effect his posts have on the market.”
The Impact of NS&I Issues on Public Trust
33:37 to 38:28
Exploring the implications of NS&I's failures on public confidence in savings.
“Anna is personal finance and savings expert at the private office financial advisory.”
Leadership Transitions and Business Branding
38:28 to 42:00
Examining the challenges of leadership changes in businesses like Curry's.
“Anna, thanks so much for your time this morning.”
Connecting Brands to Consumers
42:00 to 44:06
Learn how personal connections in branding are crucial for modern businesses.
“No, go ahead, Sophie, and then Randeep, you jump in.”
Entrepreneurship Insights from Eva Longoria
44:06 to 45:04
Discover the challenges small businesses face and how to overcome them.
“Not something I thought we would say very often on Wake Up To Money, but we've been talking to the desperate Housewives actor, Eva Longoria.”
The Emotional Weight of Small Business
45:04 to 47:54
Explore the personal challenges entrepreneurs often encounter while building their businesses.
“And I've often seen they don't have the infrastructure of opportunity.”
Hollywood's Media Consolidation Concerns
47:54 to 50:24
Understand the implications of media consolidation on creativity and diversity.
“And we actually have all the bizarre things to say about a business program.”
The Future of Media and Regulation
50:24 to 53:18
Discuss the potential outcomes of media mergers and regulatory impacts on the industry.
“You must be excited then as someone, as you say, who's in the football business.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Will Bain:This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.
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1:18Will Bain:Wake Up To Money from BBC Five Live. Hello, morning. Welcome to Wake Up To Money on Friday the 26th of March. Yeah, we've got our Friday panel with us as a result. President Trump has extended that deadline overnight for peace talks with Iran, but it came just minutes after the worst trading day on Wall Street since the conflict began. Lots then for that panel to explore in a week that a major economic forecast was also warning the UK could be one of the world's worst hit economies as a result of the war. Also on the programme this morning, still plenty of questions for the Treasury-backed national savings and investments this morning as the boss leaves amid the crisis.
1:54Will Bain:And here's a sentence I didn't think we'd be saying on Wake Up To Money. Hollywood actor turned producer Eva Longoria is on the programme. But less diversity of thought and less diversity of thought leaders. And she's going to tell us more about her concerns around those mergers in Hollywood. Wake Up To Money with Will Bain. Good morning. Welcome to Wake Up To Money on Friday the 26th of March. Just gone five o 'clock in the morning. We're with you this morning. Great to have your company on what's going to be another busy day. Lots of market moves late last night after President Trump, as you may have just heard in the news, made that announcement about extending a deadline for peace talks with Iran to 10 days out into April the 6th.
2:35Will Bain:We will also look at what's going on at NS &I. If you've been following that story, we'll have the latest and try and bring you up to date about what's going on with any financial redress. And yes, Eva Longoria on the programme. She was here to talk to us about entrepreneurship in a partnership she was doing, but we went on to talk about a lot of her views on what's going on in Hollywood, particularly with the Paramount Warner Brothers merger lingering in the background still. So lots of interesting stuff to chat about when we get there. We'd love your thoughts on the stories as we make our way through the programme this morning.
3:05Will Bain:Perhaps you'll have comments or questions for our panel too. 85058 is the text number if you do so. 08085 909693 is the WhatsApp. Let's introduce you to our panel then. Sophie Millican back with us this morning. Sophie, the Chief Executive of the Newcastle-based PR firm Mojo. Morning, Sophie. Great to have you back on the programme. Good morning. How's business going at the moment? It's good. Well, I say it's good. I'm ever the optimist. And I think you have to be, especially if you're someone in the business that does a lot of the business development. You've got to be enthusiastic and optimistic all times.
3:41But it's a bit weird. I'm not going to lie. I would say that last time I was on the show, I think, was January. And I was coming into the new year feeling really optimistic. We had had loads of inquiries over the Christmas break, which was really unusual and it definitely feels like it has changed a bit since then so yeah a few um yeah I guess more people just being a bit more cautious I think I'm seeing a lot of that people saying I want to do all of this stuff but actually can we just wait to see what happens with x or y so a bit of nervousness but I'm just trying to stay positive and we're getting those
4:19Will Bain:x's and y's in a bit more detail in a moment but is that all really recent is that all that's everything that's been going on around the war in Iran? Or is it other things too that have kind of eaten away at that confidence, if you like, do you think? It's hard to tell. I think a lot of people are nervous about hiring at the moment for all sorts of reasons around the costs and the implications of hiring people right now. So I think that is definitely at the forefront. And then it's just that general nervousness that we get when there's crazy things going on in the world, right? Yeah, absolutely.
4:50Will Bain:Well, alongside Sophie this morning, independent economist. Francis Coppola with us for the first half hour of the programme as part of our Friday panel. Francis, morning, great to have you back on the programme too. Good morning. What have you made of the week so far? With Sophie on this, crazy things going on. What on earth? Yeah, we've seen these wild swings in markets. The kind of Trump says something and the market explodes and then it all comes crashing down again. And yeah, what on earth is going on? Well, the only person who may be more fried trying to answer that question this week is the third member of our panel, Randeep Somal, back with us, fund manager at M &G Investments.
5:31Will Bain:Morning, Randeep. Good morning. Has it felt like a long week then? It really has. Where do you lead us off then? Because we're obviously going to kick off with the war in Iran and everything that's gone on. Give us a bit of a headline and we'll move through some of the, I guess, the thoughts of some of the leaders we've heard this week on it all. But overnight, this 10-day extension then seems to have moved the futures market this morning after a pretty dreadful day on Wall Street yesterday. It has. It's been a hugely volatile period, not only for asset prices, commodity prices. We'll see how things go.
6:05Will Bain:But the market really now is just hugely volatile around anything, any news that comes out of the Middle East and trying to ascertain of what that means longer term. Yeah, and just give us a sense of where we ended up last night, because it wasn't just company share markets, was it? It was everything, US Treasury, price of gold, price of oil going back up again. Exactly. I mean, it looks as if it's going to be a prolonged, fought out issue in the Middle East, which is going to impact not only, like you say, asset prices, but commodity prices as well. Right. Well, let's move through it then, shall we?
6:40Will Bain:As we say, the cost of a barrel of Brent crude has hovered between$100 and$110 a barrel. It was up about 5 % yesterday on everything that was going on overnight. We heard President Trump, of course, extending that deadline to not attack Iranian energy infrastructure, as he put it, until April the 6th. The announcement came just 11 minutes after markets closed on Wall Street with U.S. stocks, as Randip was just explaining, notching up their biggest single day loss since the conflict began. A little earlier in the week, we heard from one of the biggest names in global finance, Larry Fink, the boss of BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, was speaking to our business editor, Simon Jack.
7:18And you can paint a picture where oil prices could be lower than they were prior to the Iranian war three and a plus weeks ago. There's a cessation of war, and yet Iran remains a threat, a threat to trade, a threat to the Straits of Hormuz, a threat to this peaceful coexistence of the GCC region. Then I would argue that we could have years, years of, you know, above$100, closer to$150 oil.
7:49Will Bain:Well, those fluctuations in the price of energy might be pushing consumers in a greener direction, apparently. So says Greg Jackson, the boss of Octopus Energy. We've seen a 50 % increase in sales of rooftop solar for households. We've seen a 30 % increase in sales of heat pumps, 20 % increase in demand for electric vehicle charges, 30 % increase in demand for electric vehicles. Greg Jackson on the Big Boss interview podcast with Sean earlier on in the week. And of course, aviation and travel, as we've talked about a couple of times over the past few weeks, still being really severely impacted.
8:28Will Bain:Tony Fernandez is the chief executive of AirAsia. He spoke to Sean on the Today programme a little bit earlier this week about what was going on with the price of jet fuel. Kind of a shell shock, to be honest. You wake up one morning and one of your major costs has doubled. But, you know, we're a very resilient group. We've been through many, many calamities. Our last major crisis was COVID. We can still fly at the moment. Jet fuel supplies are still okay in our part of the world. That means we have an ability to recover quicker. We're serving a market that wants low fares and we want to stimulate the market.
9:03Will Bain:So we have to be double innovative in this kind of environment. We're furiously cutting costs. And of course, there has to be some increase in the airfare as well. So if you want to start us off where from just your perspective, you always give us a good kind of window into this because you talk to so many other companies as well as obviously being able to reflect your own company. Which of the things from pure UK perspective do you think is having the most impact already? Perhaps is weighing on those leaders you were talking about earlier in that confidence most. Is it is it the energy? Is it fuel prices?
9:35Will Bain:Is it just sort of the overall uncertainty about what it might do to interest rates? What do you think is putting the most pressure on? I think it sounds a bit wooly, but I think it is all of those things because the clients that we deal with are mainly, well, I think they're all service-based businesses at the moment that we're working with. So we don't see, you know, things like the fuel having an impact on their businesses. It's all personal stuff. But then I guess it's that ripple effect of the clients that they're then working with and some of them being hit harder. so we're just seeing all of these things all together and it's all everyone's talking about as well yes this is it's a distraction from anything else this is this is it when there's so much going on we're all talking about this and even when it's not directly relevant to our business it's a distraction from getting on with the stuff that is we'll break down the nitty-gritty as we go francis but actually is that so if you're right there is that one of the big impacts that it could potentially have immediately here for us at home confidence spending confidence decision-making confidence from businesses.
10:40Absolutely. Yeah, it's dominating everything and it's all anybody's thinking about. And I think also because immediately people who have kind of sort of gone in their minds, gone back to 2022 and say, oh my goodness, we're going to see inflation at that level again. We're going to see these massively high energy prices. What is the Chancellor going to do about that? And then getting sort of rather depressing news that the Chancellor possibly isn't going to do very much about it. And it's just kind of dampening everything.
11:12Will Bain:And in terms of UK markets and stock markets, Randip, have we seen the same kind of gyrations that we've seen in the US? Unfortunately, yes. The UK economy in general wasn't growing hugely. And unfortunately, news of potential shocks increasing in gas prices and oil prices has had a dampener on the market, knowing that the consumer will be hit from this as well. And Francis, we've had this week the OECD, one of the many that does these sort of forecasts for growth in the UK economy, downgrading the UK economy, and it looks, based on their forecast, that we could be one of the worst performers of the ones they now measure.
11:54Will Bain:I mean, why are we so seemingly in Europe, if the OECD is right, uniquely kind of exposed to what's going on? I think it's because of the particular dependence on energy, the way we price energy, the way we use it, that we are more exposed to these kind of shocks than Europe, really. And as a result, Sophie, if there was to be kind of intervention, very difficult, isn't it, you have to say, for whoever would be the government at the moment, given it's all decisions that are completely out of their hands at the moment, being taken by other parties that are having this impact. But if they were to intervene, is it around energy where there needs to be swift intervention?
12:36I think that would give people some confidence. And I think energy does impact everyone in some way, obviously some more than others. but that would definitely be welcome, I think.
12:49Will Bain:Yeah. Randy, what do you think? Yes, unfortunately, we are hugely dependent, especially on the natural gas price. So that will impact not only the consumer directly when they purchase gas, but indirectly through everything they purchase. And we're starting to see potentially the Bank of England now looking at raising interest rates going forward rather than decreasing them. Yeah, well, let's hear a bit more about those consumers as well because Phil Halliday, the managing director of HMV, also chatted to Sean a bit earlier this week about what he was seeing out there on the high street. We're watching the sales.
13:24I mean, we're watching kind of hourly anyway, but we are bracing ourselves for a slowdown as people either, you know, their sentiment swings or they start to feel genuine pressures because interest rates go up and whatever. So we're trying to work out, you know, on the cost side, where the cost increases will emerge and when. We've started to see a little bit of that trickling through
13:42Will Bain:on fuel surcharges and the like on, you know, on our distribution costs. So anything where there's an immediate sort of feature in the pricing, I guess, that allows someone to move it overnight. And Randy, this morning we've got GFK's long-running consumer confidence tracker warning about a ripple of fear leading to a six-point fall in perceptions on the general economic situation over the next 12 months of something they track. And then from a stock market perspective, heard next, didn't we, talking about 15 million pounds worth of additional cost in their results earlier in the week impacts already.
14:15Will Bain:Exactly. In the latest economic data so far, we've seen growth stall to zero. And that's before the war in Iran occurred. So the next set of figures we're likely to see are likely to be a huge dampener on what we're seeing in the UK economy. I mean, you're not in charge, Sophie. But if you were, what does change that then? because it feels like self-perpetuating at certain points. Oh, it really does. And I think this is why I'm trying really harder than usual to stay optimistic. It's really tough, isn't it? And these are the kinds of conversations that I'm having with businesses all the time around, well, what would you do if you were in charge?
14:56And no one has the answer. And I think that is even more worrying because no one can kind of see a way through at the moment, which does sound super, super gloomy. And it's just a challenge that I would hate to have. I don't know what the answer is at all.
15:09Will Bain:As a result, Francis, you touched on interest rates a moment ago. Does that make, in ordinary circumstances, right, all of these prices going up that you guys have all talked through this morning and energy in particular being the one that obviously no one can avoid. It would just scream, wouldn't it, interest rate rises even rather than let alone holds because it would suggest that inflation was right around the corner. But does the wider kind of backdrop, the confidence and going back a little bit further, what we've seen going on in the jobs market, actually make that a more difficult decision at the moment for those policymakers at the Bank of England?
15:42Yes, very much so. We're seeing the market pricing in now for interest rate rises this year, which even a month ago, nobody would have thought of. We were talking interest rate cuts. So what would that take us to?
15:54Will Bain:That would take us just up to around, just over 5 % then at that point? Yeah, around 5 % issue, sort of almost back to where we were, almost reversing everything the Bank of England has done, which economically, from the point of view of people's mortgages and business borrowing costs, is disastrous, really. I question this, and I know that Bank of England policymakers are, in a way, trying to hold the moment to see how it goes, because when you get this kind of shock, we're not in the place that we were in 2022, when we had a lot of households and even businesses with pent-up savings and things like that, and we had much lower interest rates to start with.
16:35We're not in that place now. The Bank of England doesn't have as much headroom to raise rates, And it may be that the shock to the economy, you know, the negative demand shock, the shock to confidence will actually force them to either hold or possibly even continue cutting rates. Because in the end, yes, oil prices are going up, gas prices going up. There's potentially price rises in other areas as well, because this conflict is affecting things like fertilizers and chemicals. And that has a knock on effect as well. and supply chains.
17:12But when people have to start forking out more for essentials, they cut back in other areas so it can net out. And what you can end up with is actually, if anything, a recession rather than just a massive spike in inflation, in which case for the Bank of England, it's a hard decision. Do they raise rates? Do they hold? Do they cut? And right now, I wouldn't necessarily be assuming it would be a rise.
17:36Will Bain:what's your take Randy? Yes unfortunately that word stagflation is coming back into the narrative again where you have a stagnant economy but unfortunately with inflation the Bank of England is unable to reduce rates to try and stimulate because inflation which is outside of the government's control due to external factors like the Iran war is coming back into force in which case it's a unfortunately it's a bleak outlook for the UK consumer. Francis as As Angus, our producer this morning, points out, the Bank of England has been sort of using this mechanism, quantitative tightening, basically sort of selling off, hasn't it, a lot of the bonds that it had bought during the financial crisis.
18:19Will Bain:Is that a sort of mechanism as well, a wonky mechanism behind the scenes that could aid things?
18:28The economists at the Bank of England seem to think the quantitative tightening doesn't have much effect, which I find a little bit weird because they were so convinced that QE had a massive effect. And the rest of QE, I find that a bit odd. For me, quantitative tightening means what it does, what it says on the tin. It is part of monetary tightening. But actually, a bigger source of monetary tightening, and I think this is why the Bank of England is kind of holding off on actually raising rates while being quite hawkish in its communications, is actually the kind of tightening we get in money markets when markets are pricing in future rate rises or simply responding to announcements, where you're getting rises in gilt yields, for example, and that feeds through into mortgage rates on fixes and things like that.
19:20So we shouldn't ignore that. It's not all on the Bank of England. It's also on how markets behave, and it may well be we'll get a substantial monetary tightening just from that.
19:30Will Bain:What's the sense then? What do people think are sensible steps here or is it really just it's battened down the hatches, Francis, when he kicks off? Yeah, I think battening down the hatches is where we are and trying to see how this will play out because the other part of this is how incredibly uncertain it all is that the markets sort of responding as they do essentially to every post by Trump on Truth Social is not a good way to devise policy, really. So it's actually really hard to call. So I think a fair amount of just, yeah, as you say, batting down the hodges and waiting to see is probably what policymakers are going to be doing.
20:10Will Bain:Sophie?
20:14I think it's exactly that, isn't it? It's observing and watching what is going on and reacting, and it's that whole pausing and waiting to see, isn't it? And that's what's delaying any kind of real business happening in the background.
20:29Will Bain:And Randy, the ability for markets to see through some of the true social posting that Francis is talking about. I mean, they've had a few years to have a crack at it. They do. I mean, if we look at the oil futures market, it's still not quite at$100 European Brent. So there is a hope that this conflict will come to a resolution much quicker than the current price is expecting. But with the news of the 82nd airborne on its way to the Middle East, the markets in the near term are still remaining quite jittery on what could be quite a prolonged conflict and potentially a much longer closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Read the full transcript
21:06Will Bain:An area that we haven't talked about a lot, because we've done energy and travel, obviously, the big ticket ones and food prices and then supply chain, as you guys were mentioning as well. But this week, Randy, or in the last couple of weeks, the house builders, a lot of their updates to the financial markets or just the movements in their share price. Is that the pressures that are under? Is that input costs, but also that potential outlook for interest rates, borrowing rates that Francis was talking us through? Yeah, I mean, the interest, the movement and interest rate has a huge implications for the house builders.
21:41Will Bain:We weren't building enough houses as it was, but the likelihood that rates may rise here because inflation, especially in the near term, looks to be moving the other way, has used implications on an individual's ability to borrow. And when that increases, obviously a house is the largest purchase any of us will ever make. So that has a knock-on effect. and it comes in the week Francis where the government trying to get things moving on this with this announcement right at the start of the week Monday morning about these new towns to try and sort of boost a bit of the building targets they've certainly got in England yeah the timing could hardly be working it seemed unfortunate didn't it in the end as it turned out I mean I'm a little bit cynical about new towns simply because we seem to have been discussing in new towns for years, decades even, and they never actually materialise because something always happens to stop them.
22:38And I'm just wondering, this is yet another case if we're announcing some new towns and, oh, wait a minute, something's happening to stop them and they won't actually happen, which would be very unfortunate if it went like that yet again.
22:51Will Bain:Well, we saw a few of them certainly get delayed, Sophie, already. I mean, do you share Francis' scepticism, cynicism, concerns? Yeah, I think we do. We see this a lot, don't we? And this is this whole thing around things pausing. You know, how long do things pause before it then becomes a new idea again and we're just seeing the same thing. And that's the thing, isn't it? You made this point earlier. It stacks up a lot of these problems. A lot of these problems that we haven't managed to grip, things that would be top of the agenda, get knocked down. And that feels like it keeps happening in the last five or six years, whether it be COVID or the previous energy crisis because of Russia's war in Ukraine, we sort of seem to keep being caught in these vortexes and not being able to try and plan long term alongside them, as difficult as that might be.
23:41I think that word vortex is really interesting. I can totally relate to that. And it's just a few steps forward and then back again, isn't it? And we just need to just have a bit of a boom period where we can actually have some really good times and be celebrating all of our successes rather than being dragged into yet another crisis.
24:01Will Bain:Wendy, where did you stand on the new town's plans? I mean, as fantastic as they look on paper, with anything we've seen with infrastructure in the UK, it always becomes quite a desperate battle to get them done. And although we saw a government come in with a huge majority two years ago, this government unfortunately isn't acting as something that has a fresh mandate and a huge majority. They've unfortunately been caught up with the traps of previous governments and house building, whether it be the new towns, whether it be new housing in the capital, isn't taking off. And what do you think boosts that or changes that?
24:40Will Bain:Well, I mean, at the moment, very little. Unfortunately, if the prime minister had more of more power over his backbenchers, this would be very easy. But he doesn't. is the key thing now addressing energy and where energy goes do we think Sophie? I think that would definitely help because as I said earlier that is something that does impact everyone on some level and I think because there's so many things that seem to be impacted at the moment maybe it would be helpful to focus on one big thing that's going to move the needle somewhat and then perhaps some confidence is going to follow as a result.
25:15Will Bain:And what does that look like to you is it support for businesses for homes is it is it bigger than that is it about what our energy mix is what does it look like yeah I think I think it is probably all of those things you know I've got I wear a few hats and and one of the roles that I have is that I sit on the business and economy board for our northeast combined authority and I've had a couple of emails from businesses this week in that context of people that are having increased transport costs and seeing what I can do to find someone that they can talk to about this. And they're not ranty, you know, poor me emails.
25:52They're quite pragmatic. You know, I need to be able to speak to someone that can influence this. Can you help me get that connection? So I think something like that would definitely be helpful for everybody.
26:03Will Bain:Frances? Yeah, I mean, it's easy with this to focus upon energy. And because, like I said, everybody's looking back to 2022 and saying, oh that's happening again because that also was a war that that caused the problem um but i think we should be looking a little bit broader and saying trying to see where exactly excuse me this is going to hit because the implications of this are actually wider and the situation is different um so um if i was the chancellor i would be having a broader look at the kind of support that households and businesses are going to talk us through some of those areas where you think Well, I've mentioned already, for example, that this closure of the Strait of Hormuz affects, for example, fertilisers, and that's going to affect food prices.
26:51And this is something that hasn't been talked about a great deal and probably needs to be.
26:56Will Bain:And so what would that look like, do you think? Well, I mean, I think the Chancellor is right to say that in terms of household support, she's focusing on the people who need it most. So she's talking about targeting it towards people on benefits. The problem really is that I think she's going to have to look a bit broader than that, simply because when you focus only on people on benefits, you create enormous resentment among the people just a rung or two up who say they get things that we don't. And that causes lots of political problems, especially, I would suggest, for a Labour government.
27:31So I think she's going to possibly have to give more support generally.
27:36Will Bain:In terms of the bond market's response to that, do you think? Well, that's the problem, isn't it, is the bond market saying, but I think what she needs to avoid is kind of the Liz Truss scenario where you just throw money at everybody and say we're targeting it, but we may be being a little bit more generous in our targeting than just people on benefits because of the political consequences of that. ran deep anywhere we've not talked about or anything you'd add? No, I mean, unfortunately here we are a hostage to fortune. There's nothing we can do to influence either the president or commodity or markets in general.
28:17Will Bain:So unfortunately, the government and all of us as British residents have become a hostage to whatever happens in the Middle East. Well, certainly not the cheeriest Friday panel that we've had, but really fascinating to get all of your insight into it and where we go. And interesting, isn't it? Now it seems the key is this 10-day pause and what perhaps can be negotiated within it. Frances, thanks so much for your time this morning. Always appreciate it. Pleasure. Frances Coppola there, independent economist. We're going to have plenty more from Sophie and Randeep in the second half of the programme where we're going to talk about, well, the mess that seems to be unfurling still at NS &I, National Savings and Investment.
28:52Will Bain:And we're also going to hear from Eva Longoria, the Hollywood actor turned producer, on her concerns around those mega mergers in Hollywood, with particularly what's going on at the moment with Paramount and Warner Brothers Discovery. Turn your tax refund into a new landscape with Menards. Make this the year you check that project off the list. Create stunning patios and build strong retaining walls with our huge in-stock selection of beautiful concrete blocks ready to take home today. Plus, easily build and design your own raised garden beds with our garden block. On sale now. Check out our weekly flyer and start saving on landscape blocks.
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30:22Morning.
30:23Will Bain:Welcome back to Wake Up To Money on Friday the 27th. of March. Yes, sorry for my Ron Burgundy moment earlier on in the programme. Glad a lot more of you are more awake than I was this morning and spotted that. 27th of March indeed. In fact it's my birthday next week so it would have been quite good to have realised where in the month we were wouldn't it? Alongside us this morning, our panel is Sophie Millican, the Chief Exec of the Newcastle based PR firm Moja and Randeep Somal, the fund manager at M &G Investments. Your text coming in during the first half of the programme, not just about getting the date wrong, but some questions to Randeep as well on 85058.
30:59Will Bain:Tom in Bangor have been in touch saying, Trump probably enjoys the effect his posts have on the market. However, the Iranians have him by the ghoulies. Tom thinks as well, perhaps the first half of that, Randeep. Do you think, and we're all speculating here, I know, but do you think that the president, he does seem to take a big interest in what goes on on Wall Street. and it does seem to shape quite a lot of his political decision making. He does. I mean, he did especially in his first term. In his second term, I think he realises that he actually wants to get things done and leave a legacy. He does, however, have midterm elections coming up in November.
31:37Will Bain:And if things carry on the way they are in terms of inflation and also his poll ratings, it looks as if the Republicans are likely to lose heavily. So it's in his interest to try and get a resolution in the Middle East pretty quickly before that date nears. But also the timing of this statement last night went on True Social 11 minutes after Wall Street closed. Yes, exactly. That's not a coincidence, is it? No, no, not at all. I mean, with the 82nd airborne going, he's trying to force Iran to make a decision pretty quickly and come to a resolution to this issue. Unfortunately, Iran have realised that they, like the caller there has said, they have the Strait of Humus coast and it's causing massive worldwide implications.
32:27Will Bain:So they're not in any hurry to have a resolution to this. Well, if you've got a question for our panel, a comment you'd like to make, 85058 is the text number to get in touch. 08085 909693 is the WhatsApp, if you prefer to get in touch that way. Well, let's return to a story that Chorn was talking about on the programme yesterday, wasn't he? because the pensions minister, Torson Bell, has said bereaved families who've been unable to access their late relatives' money from the government-backed national savings and investments will be reunited with the funds. He had this message from MPs in the Commons yesterday.
32:59These deposits belong to customers. Returning them in no way represents an additional liability to the taxpayer. And for the avoidance of doubt, let me spell out that those savings are 100 % safe. This issue is about tracing, not the security of any funds. But it is important nonetheless.
33:18Will Bain:Well, NS &I has apologised for poor customer service with some 37 ,500 people affected and over£400 million of deposits impacted too. The chief executive, Dax Harkins, also left yesterday, replaced by the former HMRC boss, Sir Jim Hara. Anna Bowes joins Randeep and Sophie. Anna is personal finance and savings expert at the private office financial advisory. Good morning, Anna. Good morning. What a mess this remains. Yes, I'm afraid so. And, you know, it's the most popular savings provider that we have. So many people, I'm sure, will be very concerned to have heard all of this news, even if they haven't been affected.
34:00Will Bain:I slightly fudged about Dax Harkins' exit, because depending on which newspaper you read, he was either pushed or showed himself the door. Regardless, was it inevitable that someone had to carry the can for this, do you think? I guess so. it's a big issue, as I say, and now it's got all this airing that something needs to happen. So the good news is that it seems that the error has been fixed, according to NS &I. So from customers' perspective going forward, they shouldn't be concerned. But obviously, it really makes sense to make sure you know what you've got and make sure you know that your executor, your loved ones know what you've got so that they can address this going forward.
34:42Will Bain:Well, it's well worth taking us back to the start as well, especially after the debate in Parliament yesterday, Anna. So run people through coming to it brand new or wanting to try and understand as well, maybe how they're affected. You know, going back, what's happened, it's been brought to light that there has been an issue in the tracing of accounts held by deceased customers. So when their families, their executives have put in a bereavement claim, it appears that the tracing service at NS &I hasn't identified all of the accounts that were held by that person. And so either all or some of those accounts were not ever repaid to the deceased estate.
35:24Will Bain:And in terms then of how people can go about finding out if they were impacted, did the government sketch that out any more yesterday? Well, they have said it's down to NS &I to solve this problem. So they will be approaching those people who they believe have been affected. They've gone through and had a look at every customer and they've identified this 37 ,000 and 37 ,500 people that they believe have been affected. but you know if you do want to check go back to your to your situation and have a look at any accounts that you may have opened and make sure you you have looked at that you can look at tracing accounts you can look there's a lost accounts tracing service that you can have a look at those sorts of things should be available on the nsni website and i'm sure if you phone you may be able to get through and speak to someone to help but as i say the government has said it's the onus is on nsni to make sure they resolve resolve this problem that's important isn't it that they've got to come to you rather than you having to initiate anything yourself as well randy just coming at this point just what it does in terms of you know at a time there's an enormous government push isn't there centrally and actually by a lot of the companies themselves advertising campaigns to try and get a saving more and here we are arguably the place that was seen as sort of the boring place to save the safe place to save because it was government bank because it didn't have maybe quite as juicy rates as private companies, mired in, if nothing else, a total PR nightmare.
36:54Will Bain:It is, unfortunately. I mean, thankfully, it looks as if it is just an administrative error where savings are an issue and that they can get to a quick resolution from this. But for those savers that have their capital there, this will be a time of worry. As someone, well, I hope you don't deal with too many PR nightmares, Sophie, but as someone who, I presume, occasionally has to deal with PR nightmares, your take? It really is not good at all, is it? Because people need to be able to have confidence in where they put their money, especially when it is government backed. And I think it's even worse that it's impacting people who've lost someone and they're having to deal with all the other things that come with that.
37:36And then to have to deal with this as well, I imagine that's really upsetting.
37:40Will Bain:Anna, just that issue of the reputationally as well, and what it means for a sort of a savings culture? Well, you know, you shouldn't put people off savings for sure. And NSNI is not a stranger to a bit of scandal and a bit of problems. And it still remains very popular because, as everyone else has said, the fact is that this money is not lost. It is a tracing issue. It is still safe. It is still 100 % backed by HM Treasury. And therefore, it's safe. So, there certainly isn't any reason for people to stop saving. They don't have to save with NSNI. There are plenty of other banks and building societies if they want to put their money into cash.
38:16And there are plenty of other places to save. The key is to make sure that you're not sort of fearful of doing anything, because that means that you're going to be the loser. So make sure you carry on saving.
38:28Will Bain:Anna, thanks so much for your time this morning. Really appreciate it. Anna Bowes, personal finance and saving expert at the private office financial advisory firm, should say in a statement we received from NS &I, They said that errors occurred because the search process used when handling a bereavement claim failed to identify all of its products. That was kind of as Anna was pointing out, wasn't it? The issue has been resolved. They go on to say for current and new bereavement claims and robust measures have been introduced to ensure this does not happen again. Ennis and I apologises and is extremely sorry for these errors.
39:00Will Bain:It's working hard to ensure everybody affected is paid what is owed to them. And as Anna was pointing out, they will come to you. You don't have to chase them up, but probably worth looking through your old accounts, as Anna says, if you think you may well be affected. 5.44 here on Five Live. Let's turn to some companies news, because amidst all the kind of big economics, Randy, there has been some sort of interesting bits and pieces out there from UK companies this week, not least from Curry's. Shares falling pretty sharply on the news. Unexpected news, right? The boss, Alex Baldock, is going to be leaving.
39:36Will Bain:That's right. I mean, Alex was thankfully for Curry's there that created a huge turnaround for the company. And they got them back on a shorter footing, greater profitability. So this news, which has come as a shock that he's stepping down, has been seen as a huge negative. And we've seen an 11 % decrease in the share price. Leaders and leadership. Sophie, you'll know all about this, running your own company. That transition and how much sort of power you give to others. Alex Baldock, very well-known people, lots of our listeners might well have kind of seen him, you know, in their inquiry zone adverts, fronting things on TikTok and social media, tongue in cheek, having a bit of fun with himself.
40:16Will Bain:When someone becomes a big part, obviously, as Randeep says, helped in that turnaround story. But how difficult then to replace them and find them? Sorry, find the people to kind of fill in those roles that they were doing. That is a real challenge. And, you know, we do a lot of personal branding with founders and we recommend that there is a faith of the business and some personality. But when it's a business of that size, you need to be thinking about who else have you got on the team that's going to be able to step into that. So if I'd been advising them years ago, I would be saying to spread some of that personality sharing and have some other people there so it doesn't seem so much of a gap.
40:56Will Bain:Right. So without naming a kind of company, give us an example of sort of the type of advice you might give around that, around that becoming the brand, as you were saying. I think it's really important. I mean, we've seen it a lot more now with the rise of AI and people becoming more anonymous because everyone sounds the same. So it's those personalities that are cutting through and being able to show a bit of flair. and I think when you've got a great management team, you have all got different personalities and different strengths and that's what makes the business successful. So I'm enjoying seeing a lot more going on on the likes of LinkedIn where people are sharing opinions and some more of this thought leadership stuff.
41:37I'm trying to think of an example of someone that I think is doing it great but it's still a bit too early for me to have one to pull out. But yeah, good businesses are doing that really well.
41:46Will Bain:And the importance now, Randeep as well on this, but Sophie first, the importance now of being out there, I guess, on social media as a business leader in some of those, not just LinkedIn, but Alex Baldock was very kind of active, Instagram, TikTok, all those kind of areas as well. I think it's really important. Oh, sorry. No, go ahead, Sophie, and then Randeep, you jump in. Yeah, I think it's really important because people want to see who is behind the brand and people, they connect with people more. So even our most loved brands can be brought to life or revitalized by seeing who's in charge and what's going on.
42:25And I think it just allows customers or clients to really connect well. And I think social media is what amplifies all of that. There's all the other stuff for the good stuff that's going on behind it. But social media is where we want to see things. We don't want anonymous CEOs anymore.
42:40Will Bain:Randy? Yes, I mean, if you look at the UK high street, it has been a tough spot for everybody involved. And that's why Curry's was quite a good story. You know, things had turned around. It was looking positive again. So they do need someone quite dynamic to come in and to show that, you know, this business will carry on and flourish going forward. But the key of a good leader, like we've mentioned previously, is also good succession planning. And also with that type of business, is it important to when you're competing, I guess, with tech to kind of show that you're savvy using it, Sophie? I think so.
43:13Yeah. And I think it's non-negotiable now. People expect to see you. They don't just want to see boring company press releases, do they? They want to see that personality. They want to feel that connection. And that's why we need to not rely on AI too much when we're creating this type of content. And we're seeing a lot of corporate clients come to us that want to do LinkedIn training where they can help to teach their staff to do that. Because I think when you work for a big corporate, you're always worried about saying the wrong thing or going against some social media guidelines. And we're doing a lot of work teaching people how to use it well that amplifies the business and helps things.
43:54Will Bain:Yes, that does seem to be a key thing to modern business now as well, doesn't it? Well, Alex Baldock always very generous with his time with us on the programme. So we wish him happy trails in whatever he does next. Hopefully we'll have him back on the programme in that new role. Let's turn to the world of Hollywood. Not something I thought we would say very often on Wake Up To Money, but we've been talking to the desperate Housewives actor, Eva Longoria. She's been speaking to us about consolidation in the media industry and her concerns that that could lead to innovation and diversity dying as it encourages, in her words, cookie-cutter approaches to production.
44:27Will Bain:She was responding, obviously, to what's going on at the moment around Warner Brothers Discovery and its potential merger with Paramount. We were chatting to the actor turned movie producer, very successful movie producer now. She promoted Lenovo's backing every business initiative, which pairs small businesses together to inspire collaboration and mentorship. All about entrepreneurship, something that she has also moved into as moving away from her acting career. So we started by chatting about what you think small business needs to succeed. My life's work with my foundation has been about entrepreneurship and helping women either become entrepreneurs or scale their businesses if they're at a certain point.
45:05And I've often seen they don't have the infrastructure of opportunity. And so you hear a lot of the same challenges that small businesses face. And so I've heard I've heard all of the challenges, whether it's, you know, access to capital, bank loans, credit, growing, scaling, shipping, you know, depending on what's happening in the world, you know, pipeline cost. It's so many things. And so I've been lucky to have had a lot of face time with, you know, people on the ground trying to grow and build, you know, their businesses and being able to really dig deep into what it is that they need to really close the support gap.
45:56And so when Lenovo came along and developed this entire program that, you know, helps close that support gap, they found that that was a universal challenge for most small businesses. I don't know. I feel like people don't understand that small businesses fuel the world's economy.
46:14Will Bain:I was going to say, can some of those weights be personal, actually? Totally. They can be personal. They can be, you know, a moment that you're going through in your life. You could be, especially as women, like you could be a mom balancing motherhood, you know, having to continue to be there. You could be a person taking care of your elderly parents and trying to build a business and trying to, you know, still maybe doing your day job while you're trying to build this other business. Lots of people want to know how to do it, actually. It's not even the practical things, the money or the raising the capital, although those are obviously challenges.
46:46Will Bain:It's the how do I even start doing this? You were obviously in a slightly different position in that. But how did you go about doing it? How did you find confidence to do it? Yeah, I really it is interesting. I always say, you know, don't be the smartest person in the room. Surround yourself with people smarter than you who've been there, who've done that. Sharing of knowledge really creates real practical solutions. And I've been able to do that in my entrepreneurship and companies. You know, I own a couple of soccer teams. I by no means know who to put on the pitch, but, you know, I definitely know about business and how much players cost and who's valuable, who we may need to trade, who we may need to sell, who, you know.
47:28And so it's in that industry, I've been able to lean on some incredible partners and really grow my sports portfolio from Angel City to Nacoxa in Mexico to Colombian team now that we have in Colombia. And so, again, I'm not the expert, but I am definitely surrounded by football experts.
47:49Will Bain:I know when the guys mentioned that we could chat to you, also mentioned about things around the entertainment industry. And we actually have all the bizarre things to say about a business program. We had Jane Fonda live from the Oscars red carpet on the program a couple of weeks ago, wearing a badge about no more mergers in Hollywood. Heard this week. Some of the people on the press junket, Sarah Michelle Gellar here in the UK talking about the importance of theatres and mergers again. And what is the mood? I mean, you've been on both sides of it, right? Both sides of the screen. Now we do a production company as well as being an actor.
48:20Will Bain:What's the mood at the moment in Hollywood around all of that? Is there a prevailing mood? There's, I think, a couple of different vibes happening. One is really AI technology changing our industry or how it's done. Not knowing enough about it, knowing too much about it. There's just a lot of concern about is it a tool or is it a competitor? So that conversation is happening. At the same time, there's intense consolidation. And when there's an intense consolidation of buyers, that's never good for any industry, right? I mean, we can see it in automotive industry. We can see it in... So it's that side of it, is it?
48:52Will Bain:That there would just be fewer players full stop with Warner gone rather than who's doing the buying? Fewer players means less, not only fewer people who are buying, but less diversity of thought and less diversity of thought leaders. You know, I think what YouTube and streamers did was disrupt the idea of who is the gatekeeper to becoming a creator. Right. You had to go through the studio system. You had to go through these proper channels. And now you can have a show and you can shoot something on your iPhone and you can put it up. And oh, my gosh, you're a great storyteller. Like you don't have to go through these traditional legacy studios.
49:30You can do it on your own.
49:31Will Bain:From your business perspective, what does that mean to you running a production company? And what would it mean, say, if Paramount does take over Warner Brothers? Again, the consolidation is the scary part of it, especially when you see a consolidation and you see a massive amount of job loss of creatives, because now it comes into this siloed system of intake. And so I probably will just pitch one person for five different buyers. But that one person, you know, pitching to one person, what happens in that process is innovation dies, diversity dies. It becomes very cookie cutter of like we're looking for a medical procedure and then it just becomes about that.
50:14Will Bain:So regulators need to look at this closely then. Yeah. I mean, I think we all need to pay attention to what's going to happen. Supposedly it's going to operate separately still. But, you know, who knows? Very last one then. World Cup. You must be excited then as someone, as you say, who's in the football business. Are you ready for it? Are you ready for all of us coming over from Britain? We're ready to call it football. We are ready. That's a good start. I mean, that's a start. I mean, yeah, it's a start. Look, I live between Mexico and Spain and Los Angeles. And so I just I was just in Mexico.
50:46And oh, my God, the airport's a mess because of just the amount of people that they're expecting and trying to really build out the airport. so that it is a more streamlined process. But look, any country that hosts the World Cup ends up better off because the infrastructure is being built for easier flow. And so hopefully next year, we'll all benefit from that. But we're excited. We're actually excited. I've always been excited about the World Cup, no matter where it is in the world. I just find it fascinating that the global language of the world is football, is soccer. You can be from anywhere in the world and understand and speak the language of football.
51:25And that to me is so uniting. And I think sports is one of the few things that we can look forward to in this moment, in this moment of history that could unite us.
51:37Will Bain:Hollywood actress turned producer, as she was talking about in the interview there, Eva Longoria and sorry, I know it's a bit soon for our Republic of Ireland and Wales fans after last night. Randy, scary was the word she used about mergers going forward. Does that sort of speak to the challenges that even though Paramount looks like it's the only buyer now for Warner that might still be ahead in terms of with regulators? It is. I mean, the amount also paid constantly kept on going up due to the bidding war between Netflix and Paramount. So, you know, that has much to play on it as well for a shareholder.
52:16Will Bain:but going I mean like she said the the media or the method of which people can now produce has constantly changed the way in which we can consume media has constantly changed as well so you're seeing some mergers in order to try and take out costs. Sophie do you think consolidation has to mean less creativity? No I don't I don't I think creativity is is really really really important, more important than ever, again back to the AI point that we said earlier. So it shouldn't have to mean that. But I guess part of the problem with consolidation is it tends to involve more of the serious people, doesn't it?
52:57And there's that perception that that is what stifles creativity. But I don't think that has to be the case. And I think sometimes when we see that happen, that's when things go wrong.
53:07Will Bain:And Randy, what do you think the timeframe is now? Do you have a sense of when we'll start to know and when regulators will start to make decisions? I mean, it should be quite soon. Like, you know, the boards of both companies have agreed. So it should be something that comes out pretty quickly. And it'll be interesting. People will be looking at prices, obviously, for us as well. What it means to how many films come to your local cinema, how much you pay for your streaming services too. It's going to be fascinating when it does come down the track. A story that is going to kind of dominate the second half of the business year I think a little bit as well.
53:38Will Bain:Thanks so much for your time this morning both big thanks to Sophie Millican the Chief Exec of the Newcastle based PR firm Moja and to Randeep Somal the fund manager at M &G Investments who've been our guests this morning and most importantly big thanks to all of you for listening to us here on Wake Up To Money New teams new rules a new era Formula One returns the engines are revving, people are getting excited Hear every race live on BBC Sounds. It's all eyes to the lights and foot to the floor. On 5 Live Sports. You know when you're wrapping up a long day in that what's for dinner panic hits?
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From the publisher
Will Bain talks to Eva Longoria about what consolidation could mean for the entertainment industry. The expert panel discusses the picture for UK growth and we get a closer look at what the future could hold for NS&I customers.
