Podcasts presented by Sarah Lowther related to Economics

The Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for February came in at a five-month low and below expectations. The reading means the sector has been shrinking for a whole year. Meanwhile in Japan, the Nikkei Manufacturing PMI dropped to its lowest level in eight months in February. So what’s going on? Seijiro Takeshita, Professor of Management and Information at the University of Shizuoka, discusses the negative sentiment live from Japan.

The London Stock Exchange yesterday confirmed it was in detailed discussions with its German rival about an all-share merger. The exchanges have considered combining forces before. They agreed to merge in 2000 before a rival bid for the LSE from Sweden’s OM Gruppen scuppered the deal. The LSE then rejected a formal £1.3bn offer from Deutsche Börse in January 2005. So will it be third time lucky? Jasper Lawler, Market Analyst at CMC Markets, joins to discuss.

Simon Smith, Director and Head of Research at FX Pro, joins Share Radio to talk about the latest in the foreign exchange market. Sterling is still at lows against the dollar, so what is causing this? Simon also looks at safe havens, which are soaring, and discusses China ahead of the G20 Summit. Also, can you spot Simon's five hidden Bob Marley song references.

This year's National Farmers Union conference in Birmingham begins and Phil Bicknell, Head of Food & Farming at the NFU, joins Sarah Lowther and the Financial Orbit's Chris Bailey live from the conference to discuss this year’s event, the future of agriculture and the political challenges posed both within the UK and EU.

Jack Sommers, Assistant News Editor for the Huffington Post UK, discusses the Brexit debate, David Cameron's reaction to Boris Johnson after the Mayor of London announced he wanted to leave the EU, and what this all means for Jeremy Corbyn.

David McCorquodale, Head of Retail at KPMG, comments on the SRC-KPMG Scottish retail sales monitor for the month of January, which show that total Scottish sales decreased by 3.8% compared with January 2015, when they had declined by 2.3%. So what's to blame and what do these figures reveal about consumer confidence in Scotland?

Oil prices fell on Tuesday despite Saudi Arabia and Russia agreeing to freeze oil output at January levels if other producers follow suit. A potential stumbling block is Iran, after petroleum minister, Bijan Zangeneh, said that the country would "not forego its oil market share". Kevin Baxter, Global Commodities Spot News Editor at the Wall Street Journal, gives his opinion on the matter.

Negotiators are working hard to allow the European Council to agree on a final deal based on the demands presented by David Cameron. The French government, supported by Germany, has raised objections to the draft agreement put forward by European Council President Donald Tusk. Francesco Guerrera, Chief Financial Correspondent at Politico Europe, gives more on this.

Chris Bishop, Managing Editor of Forbes Africa, joins Sarah Lowther and Chris Bailey from Johannesburg to discuss the start of the two-day African Energy Indaba. It's a regional event, but how much of these two days will be dominated by the global agenda?