Royal Mail deal completes first hurdle, global markets pull back and why state pensions are back in the news

Dan Coatsworth and Charlene Young bring you this week’s episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast. We’re covering the latest takeover news, ask whether the pressure is piling on Nick Train at the Finsbury Growth and Income Trust and what is happening with the NatWest share deal. Dan discusses how and why markets have taken a step back this week and gives us an insight into the upcoming FTSE quarterly reshuffle. Charlene Young has the latest on the takeover situation for Royal Mail’s parent company and how markets aren’t quite as confident how it’ll clear the next hurdle of government approval. Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, discusses the triple-lock-plus pledge from the Conservatives and some worrying research highlighting the confusion around when exactly you might be able to claim your state pension. Charlene asks Wealth Wizards’ chief executive Ben Hampton about joint FCA and Treasury proposals to get more people investing, namely what help do people want, when should they consider advice and what changes could consumers see as part of effort to close the so-called “advice gap”. Martin Gamble and Tom Sieber also join us from Shares magazine to discuss big growth plans from AstraZeneca.