Podcasts related to Economics

Black Friday is on and bargain hunting shoppers may spend an estimated £2 billion trying to beat expected new year price rises. And according to the online retailing association IMRG, well over half the spend will be done online. So it might seem surprising to find that two old pre-internet age stores are being revived on the High Street. Safeway and Austin Reed are both staging a comeback, so Matt Cox has been hearing from Mintel’s Retail Analyst, Richard Perks, about the return of these old names.

Leading Chinese online travel agent Ctrip has agreed to acquire the price comparison site Skyscanner for approximately £1.4 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Skyscanner’s current management team will continue to manage its operations independently as part of the Ctrip group. Our correspondent in Scotland, Maurice Smith, has been looking into the deal.

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.

There was plenty of employment news from the Chancellor's Autumn Statement yesterday. In addition to a raise in the minimum wage Philip Hammond also announced pay for apprentices would rise by 10p an hour. Sue Dougan spoke to David Allison, Founder and CEO of GetMyFirstJob to find out more.

Tomorrow is Carers Rights Day theme this year is knowing your rights. Across the UK, 6.5 million people are carers, supporting a loved one who is older, disabled or seriously ill. Each year Carers UK bring organisations across the UK together to help carers in their local community know their rights and find out how to get the help and support they are entitled to. Sue Dougan is joined on the line by Kayleigh McGrath, Senior Policy Officer at Carers UK, to find out more.

This week is Black Friday. Previous years have seen hordes of shoppers fighting it out for the best bargains. Despite its popularity scenes such as this have made the retail event somewhat controversial. But just what is Black Friday and how does it all work? To find out, our reporter Tom Hill spoke to retail champion Clare Rayner.

Have you ever used your mobile at the wheel? If so, you can cause a massive accident. As part of National Road Safety Awareness Week , Hudgell Solicitors have released images depicting the devastation caused by accidents on the road are being used as part of a new campaign to make drivers think twice before using their mobiles. It's meant to shock and stir emotions in the hope they will be widely shared and discussed. Our reporter Melanie Wray investigated by speaking to Nicola Downey and Tony Carter from Hudgell Solicitors.

It’s National Maintenance Week. And the theme is damp. The build-up of mould is something that all property owners should be thinking about. Left untreated it can cause a range of problems from serious structural damage to health concerns. It can also cost an arm and a leg to sort out, especially if neglected. So, to find out more, Sue Dougan spoke to Kate Griffin, from the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.