Share Sounds related to Shares - M&A

Sales at Primark rose 21% last year - but what did this mean for Primark's owner, Associated British Foods? For this and the day's biggest company moves including house builder Persimmon, Trinity Mirror and Direct Line, Share Radio's Ed Bowsher spoke with Ken Odeluga, market analyst at City Index.

Barclays has reported a surge in profits, from a net loss of almost £400 million in 2015 to net profit of £1.6 billion in 2016, but the share price is slightly softer - for more on why, Richard Hunter, head of research at Wilson King Investment Management, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to talk through the day's biggest company stories.

Lloyds Bank is firmly on the recovery track as it announced the biggest profit since the financial crisis - shares are up and the bank is paying a special dividend. And Hotel Chocolat's in 'retail nirvana' while challenger bank Metro Bank is on track to make its first annual profit. Share Radio's Ed Bowsher covered the day's top company news with Chris Bailey, founder of Financial Orbit.

Want to keep up with the latest earnings updates from the States? We join Chris Hill and the Motley Fool Radio Show team here on Share Radio - direct from Washington DC - each Monday at 6 o'clock for news, views and analysis of US finance. On today's episode: Kraft Heinz proposed merger with Unilever, the latest filings from Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway and more.

Kraft Heinz has walked away from its £115bn bid for Unilever but that might not be the end of it. For more analysis on why the deal dried up today, and what's next, Share Radio's Ed Bowsher spoke with Ken Odeluga, Market Analyst at City Index.

Kraft Heinz has proposed a £112bn takeover of consumer giant Unilever, the company behind Persil and PG Tips. The scale of the deal would make it among the biggest in corporate history if it gets the go-ahead but Unilever has rejected initial advances. For the day's biggest corporate stories, Share Radio's senior analyst Ed Bowsher spoke with Craig Erlam, senior markets analyst at OANDA.

US social media company Twitter has released less-than-stellar sales results and Thomas Cook's share price is down despite decent financials. Richard Hunter, head of research at Wilson King Investment, joined Share Radio's senior analyst Ed Bowsher to get more on the day's top company stories.

Earnings were out for miners Rio Tinto, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and home furnishings retailer Dunelm, while there are reports that L’Oréal is considering the sale of The Body Shop as it reviews operations. Chris Bailey founder of Financialorbit.com joined Share Radio's Glen Goodman for these and more of the day's company news.

British consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser, which makes Nurofen amongst many other brands, is in advanced talks to buy baby formula company, Mead Johnson. Plus results from Shell, AstraZeneca and Vodafone - who's doing well and who's struggling? Share Radio's Ed Bowsher spoke with Richard Hunter, Head of Research at Wilson King Investment Management, for his take on the day's big company news.

Tesco's announced a £3.7bn planned merger with Booker group, a wholesaler and owner of Budgens and Londis convenience store brands, where are share prices today? While in the US, Google's parent company Alphabet reported Q4 profits were worse than expected but sales were up - and Starbucks failed to meet same store sales expectations. Carla Mozée, Markets Reporter at MarketWatch, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to talk through today's big company stories.