Share Sounds. presented by Georgie Frost related to Economics

Are we on the “Road to Zero”, or will we end up on a “Road to Nowhere” with the government’s new zero emissions car plans? How much would you pay to keep your email address? And the World Cup may not coming home...but we ask: How long does football fever last in the economy?

In this week’s programme: Hotel booking sites have been told to sort themselves out following an investigation by the competition watchdog over whether they work in the best interest of consumers. Plus – whisper it softly – but there may be some good news for savers, including from a bank called “Marcus”… but don’t be fooled by the friendly-sounding name. Moving into the realms of retirement – how much do you really need to save, and will having a specific figure in mind help you achieve it? And finally, we take a look at the winners and losers of the World Cup so far… both on and off the pitch!

The National Health Service is 70 years old this year and most of us are proud of the British institution, leaning on it in our times of need. However, we’re living longer with more complex problems and the service keeps crying out that it needs more money. Where does it come from? Do we make cost-cuttings or plough lots of money in, do we increase income tax, make the rich pay, or introduce a new special ring-fenced tax? Theresa May announced plans for £20.5billion-a-year cash boost – but was a little short on the detail. She hinted at tax rises and mentioned a ‘Brexit dividend’. This is Money editor Simon Lambert, along with consumer affairs editor Lee Boyce and presenter Georgie Frost look at ways to fix the NHS in the latest podcast.

Another month and another set of mixed messages about the state of the housing market is revealed. First-time buyers who have a deposit and home movers in the North are doing fine. But London is on the ropes and second and third movers are staying put, bringing the market to a standstill. In this week’s This is Money podcast, editor Simon Lambert, assistant editor Rachel Rickard Straus and money broadcaster Georgie Frost get into the aural attic to unbox the facts. The villain of the piece, they agree, is stamp duty. It used to be a 1% tax on purchases but it got tweaked into a giant cash cow for the Treasury by successive Chancellors. Stamp duty is stalling the market and needs to change but how? Also on the show: Paddington Bear 50p Gate.

Ever heard of money flipping? It’s a new scheme doing the rounds on Facebook and social media that promises to turn your £50 into potentially thousands. So how do you do that? Simple really, you pay others to get onto the bottom rung of a pyramid and then recruit more people to move you up a level and get paid yourself. What makes it so dumb is that it doesn’t even try to have the legitimate veneer of famous pyramid schemes of the past. It’s a Ponzi scheme, plain and simple, but what is one of those and who was Charles Ponzi, the man the scams are named after. On this week’s podcast, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost step back to America in 1920 to find out how Ponzi soared and then crashed – and look at the new money flipping scheme that has brought a trick as old as time to today’s digital age.

High house prices mean that the biggest barrier to buying a home in Britain is raising a deposit. With mortgage interest rates at near record low levels, many would-be homeowners could afford monthly payments - but saving the average £30,000 deposit would take years. For a lot of first-time buyers that means a trip to the Bank of Mum and Dad, but what if that's not an option? It is possible to buy a home without raising tens of thousands of pounds, if you take a 95% mortgage. With one of these deals, a first-time buyer able to pass mortgage affordability tests could put down a 5% deposit of £10,000 and buy a £200,000 home. But is that a good idea? Didn't small deposit mortgages crash the economy a decade ago? Are they not leaving themselves heavily overexposed to falling house prices? In this week's podcast, Simon Lambert and Georgie Frost dig into the world of buying a home with a small deposit mortgage, busting the myths and considering the benefits and the risks.

Also today: How concerned should we be about interest-only mortgages? Simon gets angry about potholes! And Sainsbury's boss may be in the money – but with a potential tie-up with Asda in the offing, what’s in it for the shoppers?

What has Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, got to do with long-forgotten television soap Eldorado? Find out in the latest This is Money podcast, in which editor Simon Lambert and consumer affairs editor Lee Boyce discuss the inflation figures out this week and whether they have increased the likelihood of a base rate rise. Meanwhile, house prices in London saw their first annual fall in price since 2009 and sellers across the UK are having to accept far less than their asking price. Are values in the capital about to fall even faster? And lastly, one for the gardening enthusiasts – how much of a drain on energy is the patio heater?

British Gas have revealed this week that more than four million households face a 5.5 per cent bill increase from the end of May thanks to changes to its standard variable tariff. Hot on its heels, EDF Energy announced it will be hiking the cost of energy bills by 1.4 per cent for 1.3 million customers. In this week’s podcast, Rachel Rickard Straus and Lee Boyce say it is time for people to fight back and switch. On the energy theme, we talk about our campaign to stop power firms using bullying tactics in order to force households into getting a smart meter – and why it is better to wait until the end of the year. We take a look at some of the methods to make your home more energy efficient, including insulation and wood burning stoves.

Good news. Chances are you just got a tax cut. Well an income tax cut at least, problem is your council tax is likely to be rising and if you are an investor the Government is after more of your dividends, or if you’re a landlord it wants your rental income. So who are the winners and losers of the new tax year that rolled round on 6 April? And what are the candidates for dumbest bits of Britain’s tax code. In this week’s podcast, Simon Lambert, Rachel Rickard Straus and George Frost take a look at who is getting the biggest tax cut and who is being hit.