This week’s picks from our YouTube channel feature a look at the housing bubbles that are looking increasingly shaky in a number of countries and a little tale of what happened when Instagram fact-checked a meme I posted about CBDCs. 

A home of one’s own is a big deal for many people, especially in my native UK and elsewhere. This fact, coupled with years of near-zero interest rates, have meant that housing prices in many countries have been rising for a long time. The so-called ‘race for space’ triggered by the pandemic lockdowns only exacerbated this upward trend, but this may now be about to change.

In short, inflation and the rising interest rates deployed against it mean that the era of cheap money is coming to an end. Mortgages are going to become more expensive, meaning fewer people are going to be buying homes. Rising prices mean many people will be less able to save for a deposit. And, as many current homeowners who aren’t on fixed-rate mortgages find themselves unable to make their monthly payments, they may be forced to sell. All of which will put heavy downward pressure on home prices. In countries like the UK, USA and Canada, where housing markets have long been overheated, this could spell yet more economic pain.

Next up, find out what happened when a meme I recently posted on Instagram got fact-checked. The meme in question related to central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, which are going to become a reality for many countries very soon. The meme highlighted how the convenience of CDBCs will blind many to their failings and it seemed this fact was a little too close to the truth for some people’s liking.

So, listen in and find out why what the meme says is in fact correct, and why it seemed to trigger the fact-checkers. Make no mistake, CBDCs pose an enormous threat to financial freedom and the more people who know about this, the better. They may be inevitable, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be resisted.

We hope you enjoy the show.

Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown

Editor: Semir Mutapcic

Theme music composed by: Noel Brown