Podcasts related to Economics

Train fares in Britain will go up by 2.3%, on average, from January the 2nd. The Rail Delivery Group says the vast majority of the cash gets pumped back in to running services. But campaign groups say some passengers are "finding themselves priced off the railways". Tony Miles, Contributing Editor from Rail Business Intelligence, joined Share Radio Breakfast to offer his reaction.

Applications from foreign workers who want to work in the UK tech industry have increased tenfold over the last year. It's after the government decided to relax the rules, allowing groups of coders to apply as a group rather than run the risk of being rejected individually. Tech City UK, the organisation that processes the visa applications, says applications had spiked since the Brexit referendum. James Brydges asked Oliver Smith, tech reporter at the Memo, and Megan Caywood, Chief Platform Officer at Starling bank, about what had been driving the demand.

On this day in 2001, the American energy giant Enron filed for bankruptcy. Enron took accounting fraud to a whole new level, and its demise even led to the disintegration of its accountants Arthur Andersen. Its collapse was the worst business failure in US corporate history to date. Matt Cox has been investigating the causes and consequences of the fall, and the lessons we’ve learnt over a decade and a half later.

On Sunday, Italy holds a referendum. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi wants the power to streamline the country's creaking political system, reducing the power of upper house senators from blocking what he sees as essential economic reforms. But many are predicting he will lose. The worry for the markets is that a large protest vote could give the populist Five Star movement enough momentum to put Italy on a slippery slope to leave the Euro currency zone, plunging Europe into a fresh political and financial crisis. Dijedon 'Doni' Imeri is a country risk analyst for IHS Markit and he joined Share Radio Breakfast.

Oil prices are sitting at their highest level in a year. For now, financial markets seem convinced the Opec cartel's new deal to limit global crude production will stick. Motoring organisations have already warned petrol prices may rise by 9p a litre, adding about £5 to the average cost of filling up a car. But what of Oil's cousin, natural gas. How has the market for that been affected? Matt Cox has been hearing from Edgar van der Meer, Senior Analyst at industry specialists NRG Expert.

Hannah Kinston is student but needed help funding her degree and of course, she was not alone. So a few students teamed together to create an unusual business - a cheese making one. This is to help fund degrees in agriculture, business, and veterinary medicine at Nottingham University. She explains all to Georgie on the line.

What does it take to start up your own business? Guts determination and lots of energy. In the business world, some of the stories are truly inspirational. And in Cheryl Spain's case, it's no different. Back in 2013 Cheryl was a single parent with one dream - to create and run her own fitness studios. No money; very little and now she runs Fitness Fusions in a large building in Clapham. She joined Georgie in the studio to tell her story.

Christmas is an expensive time of year for us. And with it only round the the corner, it means spending money on gifts for many people. But what if you want to reject the pressure to splash the cash and make presents instead? Where would you start? To find out, Georgie was joined on the line by Textile artist Kate Jackson.

Are you hoping for a pay rise in 2017? New research has found 40% of us don't believe we’ll will get one. And, rather gloomy economic conditions combining with predictions British workers probably won't get a pay rise for 10 years. So how financially fit are you for the news year? To find out, Georgie was joined in the studio by Lisa Hardstaff credit expert from Equifax and Nick Hill, Money Expert from the Money Advice Service.

Georgie Frost is joined in the studio by Tom Church, Co-Founder, LatestDeals.co.uk. Today on the agenda, they discuss energy price hikes - and what they mean for millions of people, with it being estimated that four million working families are struggling to pay their energy bills right now before the increased bills. Elsewhere, it's better news for gas prices as British Gas has announced a price freeze for more than six million customers over the winter. Plus, Ofcom has announced a review of the retail market for standalone landline telephone services, to ensure that customers receive value for money. All these stories and more on The News Review.