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Philip Hammond has defended Boris Johnson's failed attempt to get the G7 to increase sanctions against Russia. The Chancellor also supported the UK continuing to make the case for extended sanction in response to Putin's support of the Assad regime. Share Radio's Steve Clarke was joined by Asa Bennett, Assistant Comment Editor at the Telegraph for all the latest political news.

Royal Mail has announced the closure of its its defined benefit pension scheme, sparking threats for industrial action. Plus, PZ Cussons said in a trading update that its full year results will be in line with expectations. Richard Hunter, Head of Research at Wilson King Investment Management for today's major companies stories.

Trump's latest remarks about the US dollar strength has triggered a currency drop, and in an interview he also said his administration will not label China as a 'currency manipulator', contradicting a promise made during his campaign. To discuss this and today's other major economic stories, Share Radio's Steve Clarke was joined by Adrian Lowcock, Investment director at Architas.

This week we're looking at the details of gender pay gap reporting, which comes in from this April and applies to employers with over 250 employees. And also hear about the recent Employment Appeal Tribunal case involving a nurse that was sacked because her employer (NHS trust) could not discover her true identity.

Each week, the Investment Trust Show - brought to you in association with Henderson Global Investors - explore the main features, factors and developments affecting investment trusts. Today, Share Radio is joined by Gervais Williams, Manager of the Miton UK Microcap trust and the Diverse Income Trust, to discuss investing in UK smaller companies - or smallcaps.

Our Apprentices are four members of the Share Radio team who've each been given £15,000 of virtual money to build their own share portfolios. Today's Apprentices were Alex Clark and Olivia Demetriades, and they were joined by Share Radio's Senior Analyst Ed Bowsher.

Today on the agenda, Juliette Foster and Russell Quirk of Emoov discussed Britain's "stagnant" housing market showing the number of properties for sale hitting new record lows. Plus they look into vinyl music is enjoying a major revival as music buffs shun digital downloads and dust off their old-fashioned turntables instead. All these stories and more on The News Review.

Its been a bad week for the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson after his failure to have further sanctions imposed on Russia - was he out of his depth? How will Johnson's failure reflect on Theresa May? She appointed him into a job that some claim he wasn't capable of carrying out. To answer more on this, Juliette Foster spoke to Josh Lowe of Newsweek.

Joining Juliette Foster to discuss the latest market headlines was Nigel Cassidy, starting with Imperial Leather soap firm PZ Cussons and Hays - the leading British company providing recruitment and human resources services - announcing their results. Plus Nigel touches on the latest RICS Residential Market Survey this morning, revealing what the survey found.

Shares in manufacturers Bombardier and Siemens have jumped on reports they are in talks about merging their train-making businesses. Bombardier's shares rose nearly 7% while Siemens' shares hit a record high before easing back. Talks between Bombardier, a major supplier of London Underground trains, and Siemens started earlier this year, according to media reports.