Share Sounds presented by Ed Bowsher

Tories, including Lord Heseltine, are likely to back an amendment to the Brexit Bill giving MPs a 'meaningful' vote on the final terms of the deal. But will it be accepted? Robert Colvile, Editor of CapX, discussed the top UK political stories with Ed Bowsher, Share Radio's senior analyst.

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.

The London Stock Exchange's big merger with its German counterpart, Deutsche Boerse, appears to be over - but what's finally pushed it over the edge? And the pound has dropped on fears of another Scottish independence referendum. For more on the day's key economic stories, Share Radio's Ed Bowsher spoke with Alastair McCaig from Fern Wealth.

Manufacturers of electric cars are racing to secure supplies of Cobalt, a metal used to make batteries that power electric cars. That's because a number of hedge funds have hoarded 6000 tons of the material, worth 280 million dollars. To find out what's going on, Share Radio's Ed Bowsher was joined by Simona Gambarini, Commodities Economist at Capital Economics.

RBS has today recorded nine years of losses, with the latest £7bn loss taking the bank's total losses since 2008 to £58bn. That's more than the £45.5bn taxpayer-funded bailout. But can the bank reverse the trend and turn a profit next year? Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher on the day's big company news, including BA’s parent group and betting company William Hill.

During an interview, Donald Trump called China the 'grand champion' of currency manipulation, causing a fresh row between the two countries. This allegation was rejected by a Chinese government spokesperson who defined the country as the 'grand champion of economic development.' To find out more about this, Share Radio's Ed Bowsher spoke to Professor Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China institute at London University.

EU Brexit negotiator Marcel Barnier said that trade talks should not be carried out at the same time as negotiations over departure terms. German and Italian officials are now backing Barnier's approach. Professor Richard G. Whitman, Director of the Global Europe Centre and Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to discuss.

Despite RBS announcing a huge £7bn loss, more than expected, could underlying performance for banks be on the up? Share Radio's Ed Bowsher was joined by Guy Foster, head of research at Brewin Dolphin, to explain this and more of the day's big economic stories.

Last night the Labour party lost the Copeland by-election to the Tories. The Party managed to hold their seat in Stoke On Central but its vote share fell by around 2%. Asa Bennett, Assistant Comment Editor at The Telegraph joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to discuss these results.

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.