Podcasts related to Economics

Tesco has reported an annual profit of £1.28bn, before exceptional items. That was a little more than analysts had been expecting. Like for like sales were just below 1%, the first full-year increase in UK like for like sales in seven years. But a record payment related to its historic accounting scandal dragged down final earnings number.

Now you may have seen that the top singer of our times Ed Sheeran's settled a 16-million pound copyright claim over his hit Photograph. An agreement's been reached out of court. The song photograph was just a simple ballad inspired by taking a picture of his beloved. But Ed Sheeran may be regretting ever picking up that camera,

Toshiba has filed its delayed financial results, warning that the company's survival is at risk. "There are material events and conditions that raise substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern," the company said in a statement. The electronics-to-construction giant reported a loss of 532bn yen (£3.8bn; $4.8bn) for April to December.

UK inflation stayed steady at 2.3% in March, following rises in recent months. The biggest month-on-month rises were in food, but the figure was held down by low air fares. Given that inflation is above the Bank of England's 2% target, does that mean that the Bank will want to act soon and raise rates? And was last summer's cut to 0.25% a mistake? Ed Bowsher was joined by Ruth Gregory, UK Economist at Capital Economics to discuss further.

The pound has climbed a little on the same day that latest UK inflation data was released, showing consumer prices rose 2.3% in March, holding steady from February. To understand the latest currency market moves, Ed Bowsher spoke to Dennis de Jong, Managing Director at UFX.com.

Barclaycard has published its consumer spend data for March today showing spending up 4.6 per cent year-on-year last month. The first quarter saw record rises in supermarket spending in January - 2.9 percent - and in the amount spent on petrol - 19.2 percent in February. To find out more about the figures Sue Dougan was joined by Paul Lockstone, Managing Director at Barclaycard.

UK inflation has kept steady at 2.3% the latest data reveals. To understand the impact this will have on UK prices, and more of the big news of the day, Ed Bowsher was joined by David Stubbs, Global Market Strategist at JP Morgan Asset management.

Today on the agenda, Sue Dougan and Personal finance expert Kevin White discussed the latest inflation figures. Plus they look into why drivers are paying over 100 pounds more for their car insurance on average this year - compared with 2016. All these stories and more on The News Review.

Boris Johnson has asked G7 to consider fresh sanctions against Russia and Syria, claiming Putin is ‘toxifying’ Russia’s image and says Kremlin has to choose between withdrawing support for Assad or facing penalties. And Theresa May and Donald Trump have agreed a "window of opportunity now exists" to persuade Russia to drop its links with the Syrian government.

Joining Sue Dougan for the latest market headlines was Nigel Cassidy, starting with some inflation figures this morning. Plus, JD Sports has reported record profits with an 81% increase in pre-tax profits last year to £238.4m. And around 700 jobs are under threat at luxury fashion chain Jaeger.