Share Sounds related to Economics - UK

Welcome to the This is Money and Share Radio podcast, brought to you in partnership with NS&I. It’s been another Super Thursday for the Bank of England as Mark Carney announced upgraded growth forecasts whilst still clinging doggedly to a rock bottom base rate. So good news or bad news? Despite the Governor’s optimism some are warning of a general slowdown to come which will hit the poorest households hardest, particularly given the lack of people able to save at the moment. Georgie Frost is joined by Editor Simon Lambert and Consumer Affairs Editor Lee Boyce to consider some of new alternative investments available from mini-bonds to a new high street peer to peer lender. Plus we find out where money’s really made with a look inside the Royal Mint. This is Money is presented by Georgie Frost in partnership with NS&I.

It could be the biggest technolgy IPO since Facebook. Snapchat's parent company Snap is now starting the process of listing on the stock market, and the valuation could be as much as $25 billion. Share Radio's Ed Bowsher was joined by Garry White from Charles Stanley, for his take on Snapchat and today's other corporate stories.

Sarah Lowther was joined by blogger Andy Webb from Be Clever with Your Cash. Today on the agenda, they discussed proposals to make switching bank accounts easier. Plus they look into Supermarkets rationing vegetables due to a supply shortage. All these stories and more on The News Review.

The Prime Minister is in Malta for a summit with EU leaders to discuss the UK's plans to leave. Her trip comes the day after her strategy was set out in a White Paper. Sarah Lowther was joined by Ryan Heath, Senior EU Correspondent at POLITICO Europe.

Joining us to discuss what the main market headlines of the morning are is Share Radio's very own Juliette Foster. A busy morning of company announcements starting with Ryanair - It's traffic statistics for January are out. The company we used to know as Zoopla have changed their name. And Sports Direct has bought an 11% state in French Connection.

Share Radio's Simon Rose brings you Market Wrap, a roundup of what's been happening in the businesses of Britain and the world. To help put the day's events in context I'm joined by Ed Bowsher, Share Radio's senior analyst. They discussed the Bank of England's prediction that the UK economy will grow by 2% in 2017, Reckitt Benckiser's plan to buy Mead Johnson Nutrition in a $16.7bn deal, worth £13.2bn that would boost its Asian business, and Sports Direct being identified as the ultimate owner of an 11% stake in French Connection.

The Bank of England has raised its forecast of economic growth to 2% this year, up from the previous forecast of 1.4%, with an increase from 1.5% to 1.6% for next year. The base rate is unchanged at 0.25% and the bank's quantitative easing or money-printing programme will also continue as planned. The Bank's announcement has triggered a 0.8% fall in the pound at $1.26. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to cover the big economic news of the day, including the government White Paper, Reckitt Benckiser's deal and more.

How important is imagination? And is there a science to it? Georgie was joined by Jerry Rhodes, author of a book that tackles this very subject... his book " I Wonder: The Science of Imagination" tackles the mysterious subject of imagination through a scientific lens.

Tempted to go self-employed but worried about the costs? You're not alone? According to research whilst two fifths of us want to be our own boss less than five percent actually plan to go it alone in the future. Going self-employed can offer many advantages, not least flexibility and more family time, however many are put off by financial uncertainty. To find out more about what's holding us back Share Radio's Tom Hill spoke to Jackie Leiper from the Centre for the Modern Family.

Today is Time to Talk Day, where we're being encouraged to talk more openly about mental health. The day has been launched by mental health campaigners Time to Change, and as part of their research they have revealed that of those who have experienced stigma and discrimination, almost 1 in 5 lost their job. Joanna Kowalski is from the charity and joined Georgie to discuss more.