Share Sounds related to Economics - UK

Office perks may be a thing of the past, with less than a quarter (24%) of companies planning to throw an office party this Christmas. New research reveals almost a third of Brits (31%) will work until Christmas Eve this year and just under one in five (18%) will be in the office throughout the Christmas period. Tom Hellier from Willis Towers Watson, a human resources consulting firm told Share's Melanie Wray what they had found.

We are being urged to check our energy prices and consider fixing, as experts warn that gas and electricity prices are likely to continue rising in 2017 by as much as 5%. According to energy comparison website Energyhelpline.com, over the past six months the cheapest energy prices have risen from £734 a year in June to £870 a year now. This all comes as customers of Big Six energy provider EDF are facing the first bill hike in three years as power costs rise. To find out more, Sue Dougan spoke on the line to Energyhelpline's Mark Todd.

Alex Lydall, Senior 360 FX dealer at corporate forex broker Foenix Partners, joined Share Radio to discuss the market reaction to the U.S. Federal Reserve announcement of a three interest rates hikes in 2017, and what can we expect from President-elect Trump going forward.

This week Nick looks at the gig economy in 18th century Britain, with Judy Stephenson, a researcher in economic history at Wadham College Oxford. Lord Baker slams the government's education policy as inadequate to the needs of industry. What does the fourth industrial revolution mean for business? We find out with Rob Hiron of Kronos and finally Gerwyn Davis, Labour Market Analyst at the CIPD, talks to Nick about shared parental leave.

Welcome to the This is Money and Share Radio podcast, brought to you in partnership with NS&I. This week we’re getting festive with our annual Christmas taste test. Four retailers will be competing on cost and quality as we sample a full range of festive fare. Will last year’s champion Lidl hold its top place? Or will it fall victim to a resurgent Tesco? Also on trial this week we’ll have the upmarket option, Waitrose, and a mystery wildcard. Georgie Frost is joined by taste testers Editor Simon Lambert, Consumer Affairs editor Lee Boyce and special guest Development Editor Rich Browning. It’s not all eating though and as we delve into the financial stories of the day we’ll be serving up a starter of inflation forecasts, digging into a main course of mortgages and for pudding we’ll be rounding things off with a look at how the supermarkets have fared this year. This is Money is presented by Georgie Frost in partnership with NS&I.

Joining Georgie Frost in the studio for the third annual taste test is Editor Simon Lambert, Consumer Affairs editor Lee Boyce and special guest development editor Rich Browning from the Financial Website of the Year. The team attempt to talk money matters - such as shared appreciation mortgages, a holiday Brexit tax and supermarket price wars - as they munch their way through a veritable feast of festive favourites. Who among Waitrose, Tesco, Lidl and our wildcard, will win out on taste and price, in our completely unscientific, pointless bit of seasonal fun?!

Georgie Frost is joined in the studio by Share Radio’s Senior Analyst Ed Bowsher. Today on the agenda, they discuss even more strikes, now by cleaners on Great Western Railway. Plus money wiring scams. All these stories and more on The News Review.

Ryan Heath, Senior EU Correspondent and Associate Editor at POLITICO Europe, joined Share Radio Breakfast to talk politics. The Daily Telegraph leads with news the UK could face a bill of £50 billion to leave the EU. Meanwhile the Financial Times says Brussels is preparing rule changes which would deprive London of one of its flagship financial businesses.

The latest retail sales data for November is in and, as widely expected, Black Friday and other retail sales days boosted the numbers. The figures are nearly 6% higher than the same period last year. But do the figures tell the whole story of what’s going on in retail, especially in light of Brexit, and with sterling in flux? Matt Cox found out more from Mintel’s Retail Analyst, Richard Perks.

There has been remarkable growth in property rental prices around the proposed new stations for HS2 and Crossrail 2. Otherwise, national rental growth has slowed. This has been revealed in Landbay's monthly Rental Index, which provides analysis of national rental growth. For more on this, the CEO and Co-Founder of Landbay, John Goodall, joined Share Radio Breakfast.