The UK has some of the most expensive electricity in the world, for a country that had oil and gas. It's really a disaster. Electricity is the new gold, you need electricity for all almost everything and if you are having to pay the most expensive electricity in the developed world, you are not gonna generate much in the way of industry.

Central banks are caught in a bind, and the pressure lands on all of us. This episode explains the interest-rate squeeze now facing households and firms across Europe and the UK, how energy prices have fed into it, and what has to happen before rates start to fall. We work through what it means for borrowers and savers, and for anyone whose plans depend on the cost of money.

Conflict involving Iran has disrupted oil and gas supplies, and the knock-on effects are still spreading. This episode traces how an oil shock like this feeds into the cost of almost everything across Europe and the UK, from heating bills to the weekly shop, and why the pressure often lingers well after the headlines move on. We look at how these shocks build and what they mean for your own budget in the months ahead.