Markets are ripping higher on blockbuster earnings and AI euphoria—but on this week's markets wrap, hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek aren’t buying the calm. From contrarian magazine covers to a looming of IPO supply, they ask whether this melt-up is masking the seeds of the next downturn.

Markets are ripping higher on blockbuster earnings and AI euphoria&mdash;but on this week's markets wrap, hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek aren&rsquo;t buying the calm. From contrarian magazine covers to a looming of IPO supply, they ask whether this melt-up is masking the seeds of the next downturn.

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.

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.

Merryn Talks Money

Melt-Up or Mirage? Markets Ignore Everything but Earnings

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/14d9c449-ac2f-45a2-80f4-b443015d41ba/transcript

Could Africa’s long-misunderstood population boom become its greatest economic advantage? Economist and author Joe Studwell joins host Merryn Somerset Webb to discuss his book, How Africa Works: Success and Failure on the World's Last Developmental Frontier. He argues that rising population density is already transforming the continent by creating deeper markets, boosting agricultural productivity, supporting urbanization and making manufacturing more viable. While governance, debt and commodity dependence remain risks, he sees a more diverse, locally driven growth story emerging across Africa.

Could Africa&rsquo;s long-misunderstood population boom become its greatest economic advantage? Economist and author Joe Studwell joins host Merryn Somerset Webb to discuss his book, How Africa Works: Success and Failure on the World's Last Developmental Frontier. He argues that rising population density is already transforming the continent by creating deeper markets, boosting agricultural productivity, supporting urbanization and making manufacturing more viable. While governance, debt and commodity dependence remain risks, he sees a more diverse, locally driven growth story emerging across Africa.

Why Africa’s Population Boom Could Power Its Next Growth Era

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e1c24e1c-479f-4d00-8dbb-b45800aa93c9/transcript

Marker 01

How can Keir Starmer - or whoever leads the country next - help to turn the UK’s fortunes around? Simon French, Managing Director, Chief Economist and Head of Research at Panmure Liberum joins co-host John Stepek to discuss former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s 5000-word prescription for the UK economy, the growing backlash towards Net-Zero policies and why the UK is at risk of sliding towards another “Liz Truss Moment”.

How can Keir Starmer - or whoever leads the country next - help to turn the UK&rsquo;s fortunes around? Simon French, Managing Director, Chief Economist and Head of Research at Panmure Liberum joins co-host John Stepek to discuss former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair&rsquo;s 5000-word prescription for the UK economy, the growing backlash towards Net-Zero policies and why the UK is at risk of sliding towards another &ldquo;Liz Truss Moment&rdquo;.

Blair Versus Starmer - Can the Government Get Out of Britain's Way?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/4c366180-42be-4e16-9a81-b4580145c2b6/transcript

Hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek take another listener question, this time around the pros and cons of ISAs, LISAs, and SIPPs. They debate the most tax-efficient method of saving depending on one's circumstances and why savers need to be aware of the withdrawal rules to avoid any nasty surprises.

Hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek take another listener question, this time around the pros and cons of ISAs, LISAs, and SIPPs. They debate the most tax-efficient method of saving depending on one's circumstances and why savers need to be aware of the withdrawal rules to avoid any nasty surprises.

What's the Smartest Way to Save in 2026?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/0f984486-8f2c-4909-ac08-b45600f794f4/transcript

Melt-Up or Mirage? Markets Ignore Everything but Earnings

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