Markets hit by interest rate decision, Microsoft and Alphabet fail to win over investors, Elon Musk’s odd behaviour, and finding opportunities among UK mid cap stocks

On this week’s episode of the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast, Dan Coatsworth and Danni Hewson discuss the impact on markets as the Federal Reserve seems to push a rate cut into the long, spring grass. The pair chew over why Microsoft and Alphabet’s results were such a let a down as both companies warned the AI boom would come at a price. Danni mulls over Elon Musk’s odd behaviour after a judge in Delaware voids his 2018 mega pay deal and Tesla shareholders are asked to vote on moving the company’s legal home to a different US state in apparent retaliation. Dan digs into what’s going on with IPOs and why companies like Flutter are still quitting London for New York. You can also hear about the IMF warning that the UK Chancellor’s potential tax cut plan doesn’t add up, the surge in demand for help dealing with financial problems reported by the Money Helper service, and the green shoots spotted by mortgage brokers in the housing market. This week’s guest interview features Jean Roche from Schroder UK Mid Cap investment trust who’s on the show to talk about interesting companies on the UK market and why she is becoming more optimistic.