In this personal finance edition of Merryn Talks Money, Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek weigh the pros and cons of taking out a student loan.

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Merryn Somerset Webb and Diana Choyleva, chief economist at Enodo Economics, discuss what Choyleva considers one of the most important relationships in the world: US and China. What will change if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the November presidential election? Or Donald Trump?

For more from Diana, check out these links:
Enodo Economics Track Record: https://bit.ly/4dTckeS
Diana's X profile: https://bit.ly/3Mpiesw

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We're trying something new: weekly episodes dedicated to Merryn and senior reporter and Money Distilled newsletter author John Stepek discussing the biggest stories in markets and economics at the moment.

This episode looks at:
1. Why gold is having a moment
2. Why the UK is doing well, despite what the government says
3. And the two key fears behind the market's scary start to September

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From Day 3 of the Merryn Talks Money panel at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival from Adam Smith's Panmure House, our special panel discusses the economics behind net zero and how the UK isn’t on track to reach it by 2050. Panelists include Ed Conway, author of Material World: A Substantial Story of Our Past and Future, MacroStrategy founder James Ferguson and Bloomberg senior reporter John Stepek.

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From Day 2 of the Merryn Talks Money panel at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival from Adam Smith's Panmure House, our special panel discusses the Labour government’s effort to right the budgetary ship and why it may be doing it wrong. Panelists include Interactive Investor Chief Executive Officer Richard Wilson, British comedian Simon Evans and Bloomberg editor John Stepek.

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Ruffer Fund Manager Duncan MacInnes, Dominic Frisby, British author and comedian, and Adam Dixon, Adam Smith Chair in Sustainable Capitalism join Merryn for the first day of her run at Adam Smith's Panmure House for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

They tackle questions like are political leaders dulling innovation with regulation? Is too much protectionism bad for capitalism? And how should investors position themselves at a time when politicians are too focused on dividing the pie, rather than growing it?

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Reality TV stars are freezing their eggs on camera. Lawmakers in DC are debating federal protection for IVF. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested in slick startups that market fertility treatments for all. But this rapid growth has revealed cracks in the system. Misconception, a new series from Bloomberg’s Prognosis, follows reporter Kristen V. Brown on her own intimate journey as she uncovers the business of fertility. Along the way, she finds a fractured industry — a profit-driven field of medicine that thrives on dueling messages of hope and fear as people gamble everything for a chance at a baby.

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Merryn and John are still OOO, enjoying their summer break, so on today's episode, we bring you a conversation between Stephanie Flanders and author and journalist Anne Applebaum about her latest book Autocracy, Inc: The Dictators Who Want to Run The World.

She says a network of dictators from China to Venezuela could be the beneficiaries of a welcoming White House should Donald Trump win the US election come November and warns that the self-proclaimed dealmaker and convicted felon’s foreign policy may be more personal and even less predictable in a second term.

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