Russ Mould of A J Bell says that while the UK economy may look gloomy, it is not the stock market. With earnings season under way, 82 companies are doing better than expected, with 72 doing worse, so things look moderately positive. Remember of course, that the majority of FTSE company profits are earned overseas. With buybacks significantly ahead of last year, the cash yield is 4.5-5%. The UK is cheap compared to the US, on 28 times forward earnings. But they are more exposed to technology and, let's face it, the Americans are more ruthless and work harder. Russ also gives his views on whether the Government should be trying to get more people to invest.

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