Podcasts related to Economics - UK

To go through all the political headlines this morning, Georgie Frost was joined Josh Lowe from Newsweek. The Chancellor says his u-turn over tax hikes for self-employed people was necessary to maintain voters' trust. Philip Hammond's reversed a National Insurance increase announced in his budget, because it broke a Tory pre-election pledge. Plus the Conservative Party has been fined £70,000 following an investigation into election campaign expenses. The Electoral Commission says there were significant failures by the Party to properly record how much was spent on canvassing. And a far-right party which called for mosques to be closed and the Koran to be banned has failed to win a general election in the Netherlands. Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom came second, winning fewer seats than expected.

Joining Georgie Frost to discuss the latest market headlines was Share Radio's very own Nigel Cassidy starting with this morning's company announcements. We've heard from Sainsbury's and Eurostar this morning. And we have the Bank of England's interest rate decision later. It will be the last before the UK starts formal proceedings to exit the EU. This comes after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday by a quarter of a percentage point to 1 per cent. It's the second rise in three months - and only the third-time rates have been put up since the 2008 financial crisis. So what can we expect?

Today at 12pm the Bank of England will be releasing its latest interest rate decision. It's likely that the bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will unanimously vote to hold rates at 0.25% in the face of potential economic upset from Brexit negotiations. Members of the Shadow MPC for the North East are supporting a rise in interest rates, arguing that it would be a positive move at the moment, especially for regional economies. Nigel Cassidy was joined by Christopher White, Financial Director at Darlington Building Society.

Morgan Mckinley, the specialist recruitment consultancy has today released their latest London Employment Monitor. The results show the job market is in decline in light of Theresa May's Article 50 deadline and with Brexit on the horizon in general. It seems as the government continues to send inconsistent messages about what kind of deal it is seeking for British businesses, larger institutions in particular are exercising hiring caution. Nigel Cassidy spoke to Hakan Enver, Operations Director, Morgan McKinley to discuss their results.

So the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's defeated a challenge from a far-right group in the country's elections. He's ahead of three other parties including one led by anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders. Speaking after a victory party the Prime minister said: , the [Dutch] people have said no to another country where the domino stone of the wrong side of populism would topple over. Geert Wilders is putting a brave face on coming second. He tweeted that he is proud of the more than one million people who voted for his Party of Freedom (PVV). To give his analysis, Nigel Cassidy was joined by Jeremy Cook, Chief Economist at World First.

Another drop in unemployment figures today, down to 4.7% in the three months to January, but wages aren't growing - can the UK solve its productivity puzzle? Ben Kumar from 7 Investment Management joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to discuss the biggest economic stories of the day.

This week Georgie Frost is joined by editor Moira O'Neil and product researcher Adam Williams. With low interest rates forcing more and more people to turn to stocks and shares over cash savings we get Moneywise's top tips whether you've got £50 to invest or £50,000. Plus we'll be getting the Moneywise take on last week's budget and asking whether the NS&I bond lives up to expectation.

Brexit Secretary David Davis says the UK hasn't assessed the economic effect of leaving the EU without a deal. But the government's attitude isn't surprising. Dr Ben Margulies, from Warwick University's Department of Politics and International Studies, joined Share Radio's senior analyst Ed Bowsher to explain.

Georgie Frost was joined by personal finance expert Kevin White, of Fortem Financial Management this morning. Today on the agenda, they discussed how first-class carriages could be scrapped on busy commuter routes under plans to ease overcrowding. Plus they look into why sales of garden gnomes have increased five-fold in the last year. All these stories and more on The News Review.

To go through all the political headlines this morning, Georgie Frost was joined Billy Bambrough, Editor of Verdict.co.uk. A survey shows support for Scottish independence is at its highest ever. The ScotCen research group says 46 percent of the Scottish public want a split from the UK - that's a record level for the annual poll. But the Scottish Social Attitudes survey also suggested the popularity of the European Union has fallen.