Podcasts

A busy morning of company announcements, starting with Tesco, who've announced a big merger. And It's been a difficult week for BT Group. After the accounting scandal in its Italian division, they've announced their 3rd quarter results.

A third of the UK's richest taxpayers are under investigation by HM Revenue and Customs, which could total almost £2 billion in underpaid tax. It's figures like these that have spurred MPs to call for a stronger stance on taxing the wealthy. Public Accounts Committee chair Meg Hillier says HMRC's claims about the success of its high net worth strategy "just don't stack up." Richard Murphy, Professor of Practice in International Political Economy at City University of London and Director of Tax Research, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to discuss.

The fourth quarter US GDP figures have been released, which tell us how the US economy is performing. Figures came out at 1.9% annualised rate in the final three months of 2016, weaker than the rate that economists forecasted. Wall Street had expected the world’s biggest developed market to expand at a 2.2% pace, compared with 3.5% in the third quarter. Michael Hewson, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher for his immediate reaction.

Two Labour whips have said they will refuse to vote in favour of the Article 50 bill, this after Labour Frontbencher Tulip Siddiq resigned over the vote. Can Jeremy Corbyn unify his party through this divisive vote? Asa Bennett, Assistant Comment Editor at the Telegraph, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to discuss.

Analysis has looked into the state of the UK economy, six months after the Brexit referendum. Financial research centre, Capital Economics, has released new data. Gavin Oldham, the founder of Share Radio and the Share Centre, sat down with Ed Bowsher to run through the highlights.

Jack Sommers, News Editor at the Huffington Post, joined Nigel Cassidy to look forward to Theresa May's visit to the US today. She’ll be the first foreign leader to meet Donald Trump, a week into his Presidency.

The Government has published its Article 50 bill, placing the UK on the road to departure from the European Union. The so-called 'Brexit trigger' clocks in at a mere 133 words. It must now get the approval of MPs following the Supreme Court's judgement earlier in the week. But as the Bill weaves its way through Westminster's debating floors and committee rooms, it won't just be MPs bustling away. Over in Whitehall, civil servants are preparing for the negotiations ahead, oiling the Government machinery's for the mammoth task of separating the UK from decades of EU rules and regulation. To help decipher the government's bill, and to find out if Britain's bureaucracy is ready for what comes after, Share Radio's Simon Rose was joined in the studio by Hugh Bennett, Deputy Editor at Brexit Central, and on the line by David Golten, Partner and Head of Commercial Litigation at Wedlake Bell LLP, and Gavin Freeguard, Head of Data and Transparency at the Institute for Government and author of the 2017 Whitehall Monitor - an annual health check of the UK's civil service

This is Share Radio's weekly travel show - The Share Radio Travel Guide. Simon Rose is joined by travel journalist and author Sarah Tucker. Today they'll be discussing whether Bath will become the first UK city with a tourist tax, how Australia Day is being celebrated across the globe and they'll be revealing the riskiest laws that travellers can come across on their ventures. There'll also be an insider's guide to Buenos Aires with Fabian Ali, a guide from Tours By Locals and a live interview with Gill Edwards from ABTA - the UK's largest travel association on the impact of Brexit on the travel industry.

Share Radio's Simon Rose brings you Market Wrap, a roundup of what's been happening in the bourses and businesses of Britain and the world. To help contextualise the day's events, Simon was joined by Share Radio's senior analyst Ed Bowsher. They talked about UK's economy growing faster than expected, the pound dropping below $1.26 while the FTSE 100 turned flat, The Royal Bank of Scotland setting aside a further $3.8bn to cover fines in the US, and the 9% fall in operating profits for Sky due to the rising cost of the Premiere League's broadcast rights.

The number of over-55s taking advantage of new freedom to cash in their retirement funds has reached a record high since pension rules were relaxed two years ago. New figures released by the Treasury showed that 162,000 individuals took cash from their pension pots in the last quarter of 2016, up from 158,000 in the previous quarter. Share Radio's James Brydges spoke to Steve Webb, Director of Policy at Royal London