Podcasts related to Economics - UK

Adam talks to Destiny Onisile and Jessica Tonwe, two millennials, about their attitudes to saving money to coincide with British Savings Week. They discuss how ignorance and confusion lead to a reluctance to save and how student debt create poor financial habits that can make debt attractive and saving something they believe is for older generations. They also explore if there’s anything that would encourage young people to save or learn about finance.

Ahead of the European Council summit in the Austrian City of Salzburg on the 20th of September, we ask what’s next for Brexit. Can the Government stick its beleaguered Chequers proposal? Could the UK take the Norway option whilst negotiating a more comprehensive Free Trade Agreement? To discuss these issues the IEA's Digital Manager Darren Grimes was joined by Stephen Booth of the Open Europe think tank. Stephen argues that Chequers is the only game in town because it’s the only deal that meets the EU’s tests, and because the Government simply does not have the numbers or political capital to move any further away from the EU through a Canada-style Free Trade Agreement. Also joining Darren is Victoria Hewson, Senior Counsel at the IEA’s Trade Unit. Victoria argues that the EU’s demand for backstop could lock the UK into the EU’s orbit in perpetuity. For Victoria, the prospect of a our future trading agreement being determined by parliamentary politics is why Brexiteers are so worried about Chequers. There’s a feeling that if we don’t seize the momentum, the pro-Remain majority within Parliament will win the day and the opportunities of an independent trade policy and regulatory autonomy will be lost. The pair give their analysis on what’s next, how we got here and how all roads lead to Ireland.

It’s inevitable that stock markets will fall sooner or later. In this edition of The Big Call, Ed Bowsher asks whether ETFs will contribute to that fall. Ed speaks to Helen Thomas of the Blondemoney website, who thinks that ETFs may well contribute to a correction and Adam Laird of Lyxor who disagrees.

This is Money in partnership with NS&I. What would you teach a student about money? It’s almost time for a fresh year of students to start university and as they find their feet with new friends and a new way of studying they will also face another challenge – being in charge of their financial life. But we don’t have to send them off ill-equipped to deal with that, a few helpful tips can stop students ending up down to their last few pounds before the clocks even change. And as well as offering guidance, it’s perhaps even more useful to tell students about where you went wrong with money at university, or in your younger life. On this week’s podcast Simon Lambert and Georgie Frost have some helpful advice for students and a few candid tales of the money mistakes they made. Also, on this week’s show, we discuss child trust funds and how the free money dished out to children has often been lost track of but could be a nice little windfall.

We may be leaving the EU – but what should our mode of departure look like? Today we’re joined by the IEA’s Head of Health and Welfare Dr Kristian Niemietz, and Associate Director Kate Andrews – to discuss the pros and cons of the so-called ‘Norway Option’ – a form of Brexit under which the UK would leave the European Customs Union, but remain in the Single Market. The ‘Norway model’ refers to two key European organisations: The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and European Economic Area (EEA). Norway (along with Liechtenstein and Iceland) is a member of both. And the idea has been gaining traction recently, with the government’s Chequers model looking unpalatable to EU negotiators, and the British public alike. Yet although Kristian is a proponent of the Norway option – it’s not quite as simple as that. He would probably back a Hard Brexit – provided we had a realistic chance of becoming a deregulating, free trading outside of the Single Market. Unfortunately, here the Zeitgeist is very much against free market types, he argues.

Recent decades have seen radical change in the way that conflict is dealt with in UK workplaces. Collective industrial action has been replaced by pursuit of individual employment rights through litigation, via Employment Tribunals (ETs). Richard Saundry is Professor of HRM & Employment Relations at Plymouth University Business School. He has written extensively on workplace conflict and brings a wealth of experience, including time spent at NUM HQ at the start of the 1990s. Peter and him consider why employees in certain types of firm report higher levels of conflict; whether ‘vexatious’ ET claims represent a significant cost to firms and discuss how conflict is resolved in the modern workplace. In this modern setting, what role is there for the union movement and what are the implications of Brexit?

The Bank of England has moved interest rates to their highest level in almost a decade. If you’ve got a mortgage, it might get more expensive. If you’ve got savings, you might get a bit more interest on your money. Does this tell us anything about what the Bank of England thinks is going to happen to the economy? And was it the right decision? Ayeisha Thomas-Smith speaks to Alfie Stirling, head of economics at the New Economics Foundation.

With power struggles within Parliament dominating the headlines, it’s all too easy to forget the bigger picture of our departure from the EU. Yet, with public consultations opening up about our first bilateral trade agreements, this debate is continuing – though perhaps not getting the attention it deserves. Today we’re joined by Shanker Singham, Director of the IEA’s International Trade and Competition Unit, and Senior Policy Analyst Dr Radomir Tylecote. They examine these consultations, what it could mean for business – and what the government should be doing to give firms more certainty and help them prepare for the future. Finally, they examine public opinion towards free trade. If recent polling is anything to go by, the public mood is decidedly anti-protectionist – just as it was in the 19th century, when free exchange triumphed over mercantilism in the battle of ideas.

Interest rates have finally risen above 0.5 per cent for the first time in almost a decade. The Bank of England has decided that the UK's economy is healthy enough to finally get above the financial crisis emergency level, but was the hike a wise move or a mistake. Of those in favour, some have been calling for a rate rise for a long time, others believe we must try to get back to normal before recession hits. But those opposed believe even this tiny shift up to a very low base rate level of 0.75 per cent, is a gamble too far from the Monetary Policy Committee's ratesetters. On this week's podcast, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost dive into the rate rise. Why did the bank hike rates, who will it affect, why do interest rates even move up and down and how did they end up at 0.5 per cent in the first place? Also on this week's show, Lee introduces us to the world of micro-saving, we discuss the case of the financial adviser who suddenly ask for £10,000 more and Simon tries to show he is down with the kids who are making money by selling on Depop.