Podcasts presented by Ed Bowsher related to Economics - UK

Shares in Unilever have had a good run since the failed takeover bid from Kraft-Heinz in February. Today, the company's Q1 statement revealed turnover was up 6% - but are the numbers good enough to justify the share price? For this and more of the day's big macro news stories, Ed Bowsher was joined by Rachel Winter, Senior Investment Manager at Killik and Co.

Ed Bowsher is joined by Daniel Thomas, deputy companies editor at the Financial Times to discuss the latest company news, including Weetabix being sold to a US firm, and the effect the early General Election announcement has had on the markets.

The pound was firmly up after the surprise election news, wiping out earlier losses. To better understand the announcement's effect on the markets, Ed Bowsher was joined by John Barrass, deputy chief executive of the Wealth Management Association.

UK inflation stayed steady at 2.3% in March, following rises in recent months. The biggest month-on-month rises were in food, but the figure was held down by low air fares. Given that inflation is above the Bank of England's 2% target, does that mean that the Bank will want to act soon and raise rates? And was last summer's cut to 0.25% a mistake? Ed Bowsher was joined by Ruth Gregory, UK Economist at Capital Economics to discuss further.

The pound has climbed a little on the same day that latest UK inflation data was released, showing consumer prices rose 2.3% in March, holding steady from February. To understand the latest currency market moves, Ed Bowsher spoke to Dennis de Jong, Managing Director at UFX.com.

UK inflation has kept steady at 2.3% the latest data reveals. To understand the impact this will have on UK prices, and more of the big news of the day, Ed Bowsher was joined by David Stubbs, Global Market Strategist at JP Morgan Asset management.

New evidence suggests the Bank of England may have been involved in the Libor rigging scandal. A secret recording from 2008 uncovered by the BBC suggests that the UK's central bank pressured commercial banks to push Libor rates down during the Financial Crisis. Libor is the rate at which banks lend to each other, setting a benchmark for mortgages and loans for ordinary customers. In one section of the recording, Senior Barclays manager Mark Dearlove speaks to Libor submitter Peter Johnson, telling him: "The bottom line is you're going to absolutely hate this... but we've had some very serious pressure from the UK government and the Bank of England about pushing our Libors lower." Ed Bowsher was joined by Chris Justham of 7IM.

New evidence uncovered by the BBC implicates the Bank of England in the Libor rate-rigging scandal. To discuss this and more of the day's big macro news stories, Ed Bowsher was joined by Ken Odeluga of City Index.

Trump has launched the first military action of his presidency at a Syrian regime airbase, we discussed what the markets reaction has been. Plus, UK industrial production suffered a contraction in February and the house price growth is at his lowest in nearly four years. For all the major economic news, Share Radio's Ed Bowsher was joined by Alastair McCaig, Director of Investment Management at Fern Wealth.

US futures are down, 10-year Treasury yields are at five week low, and oil prices are sliding. What's going on? Ed Bowsher was joined by Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG to discuss this and more of the day's big macro news.