Podcasts related to Economics

Utilitywise, the independent utility cost management consultancy, released interim results today. The deregulation of English water means thousands of local businesses will have access to ‘choice’ in supplier for the first time. Brendan Flattery, CEO of Utilitywise joins me on the line now to talk through Utilitywises' numbers and the recent deregulation of English water.

This week sees the introduction of the apprentice levy for many UK employers of 0.5% on their annual pay bill. It's aimed at funding training for apprentices but we're hearing a worrying number of firms have little or no knowledge of how the system will affect them. So what will it mean for businesses? To find out Share Radio's Tom Hill spoke to Chris Gray managing director at management consultancy ManpowerGroup.

Donald Trump says the US would act alone against the North Korea's nuclear threat - is his latest statement affecting markets? Plus London's rivals for finance jobs are amping up moves to pinch jobs from the sector post Brexit, according to a report. And is the pound 'significantly undervalued' and ready for a rise? Simon French, Panmure Gordon's chief economist, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to analyse the day's big economic stories.

Georgie Frost was joined by Deborah Hargreaves, Founding Director of High Pay centre and former Business Editor of the Guardian this morning. Today on the agenda, they discussed how credit card companies could soon have to help customers who can't pay off their balance. Plus they look into why more than two thirds of over-55s are still confused about the new pension freedom rules, two years after they were introduced. All these stories and more on The News Review.

A former Tory leader's come under fire for saying Theresa May would show the same resolve to defend Gibraltar as Margaret Thatcher did over the Falklands. Lord Howard was speaking after the EU suggested Spain will be able to veto future deals between the Union and the UK. Theresa May's heading to Jordan and Saudi Arabia for talks about stepping up the fight against Islamic State. The prime minister will pledge more UK support for airstrikes and new counter-terrorism measures during her visit. To discuss what developments can we expect to see from this, Georgie Frost was joined by political journalist Natasha Clarke.

Nigel Cassidy joined Georgie Frost to discuss the main market headlines of the morning, starting with UK chip designer Imagination technologies. They've made an announcement this morning regarding a license agreement with Apple. Also news coming out of Lloyds Bank this morning. It says it will shrink hundreds of branches in size. And Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser has confirmed it is beginning a strategic review of its food business.

At Share Radio, we're all about demystifying business and finance - and few things can be more confusing than tax. Well, on Saturday, a whole bunch of tax changes were introduced, which will come into force on Thursday (The 6th of April) for the tax year running for 2017 to 2018. To help understand how these taxes will effect you, business, and our economy, Share Radio's Matt Cox has been taking a closer look at the changes.

For over 40 years John Elliott has championed the cause of British manufacturing in County Durham. His Ebac company was founded in 1972 making dehumidifiers. Over the next 44 years, its grown and now makes dehumidifiers, water coolers, freezers and washing machines. Ebac dehumidifiers are the market leading brand of dehumidifiers in the UK. Over 1.25 million homes have bought a Ebac dehumidifier – that’s over 5% of all households. To get the latest snapshot on how UK manufacturing is coping, Nigel Cassidy spoke to John Elliott, Executive Chairman of Ebac, the British manufacturer.

The future of Gibraltar is at stake in Brexit negotiations. Spain could veto a trade deal if it doesn't get concessions over sovereignty. EU member states have received a letter setting out the bloc's opening stance for Brexit negotiations over the next two years. The letter says all issues relating to the Rock must be sorted bilaterally between London and Madrid. Share Radio's Peta Fuller spoke to Jonathan Lis from British Influence and Joe Carberry from Open Britain about the Gibraltar question.

New figures released today from PwC's Skyval Index show the deficit of defined benefit (DB) pension funds stood at £500bn at the end of March 2017, a £20bn decrease since last month. So what does this actually mean for pension funds? To discuss further, Nigel Cassidy spoke to Steven Dicker, PwC's chief actuary.