Podcasts from Share Radio Breakfast presented by Nigel Cassidy related to Economics

Official figures from the British Bankers' Association (BBA) show that consumer credit expanded last month at the fastest pace in nearly ten years. Mortgage approvals meanwhile hit a five-month high. Alastair Douglas is the Chief of TotallyMoney.com, the price comparison site focusing on credit cards, loans and mortgages. Alastair has been digesting these latest borrowing trends and he joined Share Radio to delve into the findings.

When it first crossed the Atlantic, Black Friday was a one day affair when we sat back in amusement watching punch-ups over cheap TVs. Now, hundreds of household name retailers are already dangling Black Friday carrots in front of our noses. Last year, amazon.co.uk sold more than 7.4 million items on the day at a rate of 86 items per second and are expecting to beat that this year. Fergal Gara is a Director of Amazon UK, and he joined Share Radio Breakfast to discuss the event.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) on Thursday finished their annual analysis of the Autumn Statement, spending all night closely scouring the facts and figures to find out what the Chancellor is really saying. To get a grasp of the ins and outs of how the IFS saw the Autumn Statement, Matt Cox went along to the event to investigate.

Andy Scott, Economist at HiFX, joined the programme to share his view on the Autumn Statement. We started by asking a comment on Hammond's pledge that Britain will have to borrow £122 billion more over the next five years than it planned before June's Brexit vote.

Chris Justham, Relationship Manager for Seven Investment Management, joined Share Radio to discuss the City of London's reaction to the Autumn Statement. We started by asking him about Hammond's growth predictions being cut as a result of the Brexit vote.

In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond has revealed a plan to unlock a billion pounds worth of new finance to help firms grow and resist overseas takeovers because of the weak pound. Share Radio's Matt Cox heard from tech consultant Chris Green to find out more.

Tom Floyd, Senior Sales Trader at corporate forex broker Foenix Partners, joined Share Radio to look ahead to the Autumn Statement. He talks US Federal Reserve's Chair Janet Yellen indication that interest rates could rise "relatively soon", whilst also looking ahead to the Italian Constitutional referendum and Europe's elections.

As projects like Crossrail and HS2 are going ahead, some analysts are expecting an array of further building projects to be announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond, setting bigger budgets for local infrastructure in this week's Autumn Statement. Share Radio's Matt Cox spoke to Richard Threlfall, Partner and UK Sector Head for Infrastructure, Building and Construction at KPMG, who started by explaining why people are eyeing local infrastructure so closely.

Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen has insisted she will serve her full term until 2018, despite criticism of her and Fed policy by president-elect Donald Trump. However, while Ms Yellen may be staying put, Fed-watchers fear the next President could still remake the organisation in his own image with vacancies on the FOMC board waiting to be filled. Robert Van Egghen spoke to editorial fellow at the Peterson Institute and former Federal Reserve correspondent at the Wall Street Journal, Pedro da Costa, to find out how much of a threat Trump poses to the Fed's independence.

It’s been ten days since US voters went to the polls. And it certainly turned the financial world upside down. We've already heard about the perils of kneejerk reactions among investors, and it’s also an opportunity for some in the market to drive product sales by devising investment "themes". But which should be followed? To help cut through the noise at the end of another eventful financial week, David Miller, Executive Director of Quilter Cheviot, joined Share Radio Breakfast.