In this podcast, Peel Hunt's Insurance Analyst, Andreas Van Embden, talks with Markus Gesmann and Quentin Moore, the founders of Insurance Capital Market Research, and they discuss the outlook for the Lloyd’s insurance market.

Both Quentin and Markus were instrumental in setting up the performance management team within Lloyd’s and provide a thorough analysis of the state of the Lloyd’s market, the global centre of underwriting specialty insurance risks. Amid a new wave of M&A activity in London, they discuss the merits of becoming an institutional investor at Lloyd’s.

In this podcast with Charles Myers, chairman and founder of Signum Global Advisors, we discuss scenarios for the Iran war, the broader outlook for US geopolitical and trade policy, the global strategic position of the US in its 250 anniversary, a look ahead to the mid-term elections, what the new chair of the Federal Reserve could mean for the US economy and markets, and the future of MAGA as well as its options forthe 2028 presidential election. Charles has over 25 years of US political and electoral experience advising candidates in presidential, Senate, House of Representatives, and gubernatorial races, including Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and Joe Biden for president in 2020.

Czarnikow (CZ) is a global supply chain solutions company, which partners with a broad range of the largest global consumer companies. This gives deep insight into supply chain challenges. In this podcast with Will Rook (CZ CEO), we discuss the current situation and how to manage complexity, risk and pricing across a broad range of core commodities in extreme conditions. It is clear that the impact is already widespread and will inevitably be prolonged even if the truce becomes permanent. The result will be a greater focus onsupply chain reliability and flexibility. Problem solving is core to CZ’s business model.

Private capital is an increasingly important part of the UKeconomy and the financial ecosystem. UK Private Capital (previously called BVCA) is the industry body for the sector and has done a first-class job highlighting the benefits of the sector to policymakers and regulators. The UK is a leader in private capital and we need to ensure that the sector thrives,particularly as it employs 2.5m people and represents 7% of GDP.

We also discuss the urgent need for pension fund reform to turbocharge investment in the UK and the changes needed to encourage entrepreneurs to found, scale and stay in the UK. There is some healthy competitive tension between public and private markets, but it is essential for the UK that all segments thrive and are joined up.

In this podcast with Kallum Pickering, our Chief Economist, and Kieron Hodgson from our mining team, we discuss the economic and political drivers of the surge in minerals prices, notably gold and silver. This is happening in minerals which are stores of value as well as critical components in new technologies, such as AI and EV, as well as broader industries. There is a marked shift in views on resource accumulation and security, with the change in pricing driving currency moves and economic wealth. This has material implications for geopolitics across Russia, Africa and Latin America let alonethe US and China. The UK and Europe have many natural advantages, but general lack of critical resources means that policy makers have to be clear that status quo and complacency is not an option.

In this podcast, Charles Hall discusses the recent extraordinary events in Venezuela with Sam Wahab, Peel Hunt’s Oil & Gas analyst. We dive into how oil (particularly heavy oil) has played an important role in the US’ actions in terms of energy security and geopolitical stability. We also discuss what a renewed Venezuelan oil industry may look like with US and foreign investment, and the potential impact on oil prices over the coming years.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s second budget is one full of political compromises that can keep her in office, but does little to address fundamental economic issues. The budget does little to seriously tackle sluggish growth, low confidence, or a bloated public sector financed by a distortive tax system. However, unlike with last year’s NICs increase, the budget does not seem to contain any serious inflationary measures either – keeping open the door for further BoE rate cuts.

The new measures leave the overall fiscal position broadly neutral by the end of the five-year forecast – but with substantial front-end easing and back-loaded tightening. The Government now has £21.7bn against its self-imposed target to balance current spending by 2029/30 – up from £9.9bn in March. For financial markets, the budget is tolerable – with no major shifts in rates, BoE pricing, or inflation expectations. But the danger comes with the back-loaded nature of the budget.

The base case for the UK economy should be growth beating to the upside, thanks to a disinflationary tailwind and lower interest rates – but fiscal uncertainties remain.

Paul Johnson (CBE) - Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Provost of The Queen's College, Oxford.

Johnson began his career at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) from 1988–1998, rising to deputy director, then held senior government roles including chief economist at the Department for Education and Skills and at HM Treasury (2000–2007). Johnson is a Times columnist and wrote the book "Follow the Money" (2023).

Michelle Ostermann’s role as CEO of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) puts her at the heart of discussions on the UK pension system. Her knowledge of the Canadian system and position as Chair of the International Centre for Pension Management makes her ideally placed to take the UK market forwards to the benefit of pensioners, savers and economicgrowth. The PPF has been a vital backstop to the UK’s defined benefit pensions market over the last 20 years. It now has over £30bn of AuM and supports over 400,000 members. It has developed a strong track record and notably has material exposure to growth assets as well as a material scale of investment in the UK. We discuss the merits of the Canadian model and lessons from other countries. We also discuss the potential for the PPF to take a role in pension consolidation, the benefits of scale and the importance of acting as an assetowner.

Moneybox is one of the rising fintech stars inthe UK. The business now has >1.5m customers, is profitable and is growing rapidly. In this podcast with Brian Byrnes, Head of Personal Finance at Moneybox, we discuss the growth in the business and what differentiates the company’s customer offer. Moneybox is a leading player in ISAs and pensionconsolidation. We chat through the current debate on Cash vs Stocks & Shares ISAs, the importance of the Lifetime ISA and ongoing measures to improve financial inclusion & advice as well as removing barriers to investing.