Podcasts

Retirement can often be the trigger for a big purchase, whether it's a new kitchen or a brand-new car. But what happens if the car you buy develops a major fault or the kitchen turns out to be fitted by cowboys? What are your rights and when can you make a company refund your cash? Sarah spoke with Sylvia Rook, who's lead officer for fair trading at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute; Martyn James, who's from the complaints website Resolver; and Kate Jobson, who's a consumer law expert at Citizens Advice.

Positive sentiment has returned to financial firms for the first time in a year, despite Brexit uncertainty. For more on why the sector is now bucking the trend, Ben Jones, principal economist at the Confederation of British Industry, joined Share Radio's senior analyst Ed Bowsher.

The Competition and Markets Authority has recently brought in new rules for car rental firms to make their pricing clearer for customers. Hidden costs, such as insurance and young driver surcharges, are often not included and customers should be given a clear "drive away" price. So are companies sticking to the rules? Share Radio's Jinan Rahma has been finding out.

Donald Trump's failure to muster Republican support for his new healthcare plan has left the White House reeling and markets jittery. Plus what to expect as Article 50 is triggered and more strong economic data from Germany. Alastair McCaig, director of investment management at Fern Wealth, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher for more.

It's just over a month until the launch of the government's tax-free childcare scheme, which will give parents up to £2,000 towards the cost of their childcare. The scheme will go live on April 28th and will be available initially for parents with the youngest children. Meanwhile later this year, the amount of free childcare that parents will be able to get will increase to 30 hours a week in termtime compared to the current limit of 15 hours a week. So, how can you find the childcare that's right for you and your budget and how do you apply for the new tax-free childcare? This week Sarah Pennells is joined by Lynn James who's the founder of money blog Mrs Mummypenny and Chris Davis, head of the Customer engagement team at HM Revenue and Customs.

According to new data from the Cranfield School of Management and the British Standards Institution businesses are 'sleepwalking' into disaster as Brexit approaches. They also found less than one-third of CEOs were confident of leading their firms to long term success. The report argues companies aren't taking enough risks because of 'rigid' ways of thinking. To discuss the findings James Brydges spoke to Howard Kerr, CEO of the British Standards Institution.

New data suggests less than a third of us check terms and conditions before sharing personal data, which could leave us open to having personal information fall into the wrong hands, being shared amongst unknown groups. Share Radio's Tom Hill spoke to Neil Aitken, Spokesman for Payments UK, to find out more.

According to research from Price Waterhouse Coopers up to 30% of existing UK jobs are susceptible to automation with transport, manufacturing or retail amongst the most at risk. Whilst this might boost overall productivity it does present problems for those in some of the industries at threat. To find out more about the future of the job market with automation Share Radio's Tom Hill spoke to John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC.

UK mums get one of the lowest amounts of decently-paid maternity leave in Europe According to research by the TUC, only Ireland and Slovakia have worse entitlements. To find out more Share Radio's Joe Aldridge spoke to Kathryn Mackridge, Equality Officer at the TUC.

Sarah Pennells was joined by David Braithwaite from Citrus Financial this morning. Today on the agenda, they discussed the news that BT's been hit with a record 42 million pound fine from the telecoms regulator for a serious breach of its rules. Plus they look into why men running the biggest public companies in the UK earn almost twice what their female counterparts are paid. All these stories and more on The News Review.