In this week's market wrap, Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek unpack Next’s half-year report to reveal what falling vacancies, rising applications, and higher labor costs say about jobs, productivity, and AI. They also break down the Bank of England’s rate hold, the Fed’s cut, and what diverging policies mean for growth, inflation, and investors.

https://www.nextplc.co.uk/~/media/Files/N/next-plc-v4/documents/2025/half-year-results-july2025.pdf 

In this week's market wrap, Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek unpack Next&rsquo;s half-year report to reveal what falling vacancies, rising applications, and higher labor costs say about jobs, productivity, and AI. They also break down the Bank of England&rsquo;s rate hold, the Fed&rsquo;s cut, and what diverging policies mean for growth, inflation, and investors. <a href="https://www.nextplc.co.uk/~/media/Files/N/next-plc-v4/documents/2025/half-year-results-july2025.pdf">https://www.nextplc.co.uk/~/media/Files/N/next-plc-v4/documents/2025/half-year-results-july2025.pdf</a>&nbsp;

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

UK Jobs Squeeze, AI Disruption, and Diverging Rate Cuts

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ec54dcb7-8b7f-4af7-af36-b35d00e2768d/transcript