As we welcome back Duncan Williams and John Newsome of Williams Investment Management for another episode of the podcast, the only story that is making the news is the economic fallout from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Which means we are going to be covering the inevitable impact on the global economy, an inflationary shock and the subject of energy security.

There is also some news about a new member of the Williams team, and how he will feed into the future discourse.

Back after a short break, and straight into the economic repercussions of the conflict in the Middle East. Duncan Williams and John Newsome try to make some sense of the last few days, and what it might mean in the short, and the medium term.

They consider the immediate impact on the strength of the dollar, and whether it will be an ongoing trend, and what it might mean for the markets. They also consider why it wasn't mentioned in the Chancellor's Spring Statement (but also what was) and what it will mean for wider Government policy, particularly around the future of fossil fuel.

Finally they turn to private markets, and a couple of key updates.

After a couple of fairly epic episodes (certainly by our standards) John and Duncan are back for a more streamlined take on the latest economic and investment news.

Proceedings are more than a little influenced by what is going on in the U.S, and the Presidents pick for the Chair of the Federal Reserve, which starts a whole heap of chat about the reasons behind the pivot and how the markets may have influenced the choice.

There is a look at the volatility of trading in Silver and Precious Metals, what was learned from the recent forum in Davos, and the nagging question at the heart of Bitcoin.