Podcasts

Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen has insisted she will serve her full term until 2018, despite criticism of her and Fed policy by president-elect Donald Trump. However, while Ms Yellen may be staying put, Fed-watchers fear the next President could still remake the organisation in his own image with vacancies on the FOMC board waiting to be filled. Robert Van Egghen spoke to editorial fellow at the Peterson Institute and former Federal Reserve correspondent at the Wall Street Journal, Pedro da Costa, to find out how much of a threat Trump poses to the Fed's independence.

It’s been ten days since US voters went to the polls. And it certainly turned the financial world upside down. We've already heard about the perils of kneejerk reactions among investors, and it’s also an opportunity for some in the market to drive product sales by devising investment "themes". But which should be followed? To help cut through the noise at the end of another eventful financial week, David Miller, Executive Director of Quilter Cheviot, joined Share Radio Breakfast.

There's life left on the UK High Street. UK retail sales rose at their fastest annual rate in 14 years in October. But retailers really can’t afford to have a bad Christmas as it’s the time of year when most of their money is made. Richard Perks is a Retail analyst at Mintel, and he joined Share Radio Breakfast to discuss those strong figures, whilst also looking ahead to Black Friday and Christmas trading.

With ‘European Week for Waste Reduction’ approaching, questions are being asked about where Britain stands among the other 27 member states, especially now Brexit has thrown volatility into the mix regarding our rules and regulations. To speak about all things waste, and how the UK needs to move onto a more sustainable path, Matt Cox spoke to Professor Margaret Bates, President of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management.

A US interest rate rise could come "relatively soon" according to Federal Reserve Chair, Janet Yellen. Speaking to the Joint Economic Committee, Yellen signalled she was confident that jobs data and inflation would continue to support plans for a rate rise, with some analysts expecting one as soon as December. But is this the right time, so soon after the US election and with President-elect Trump's policies still uncertain? Matt Cox spoke to Colin Cieszynski, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets Toronto, to find out more.

Gross mortgage lending in October remained steady, at an estimated £20.6bn. This is according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The figures represent a fall of £1.2bn compared with October last year, however it closely matches September's total of £20.5bn. To discuss the figures in more detail, Simon was joined by Bernard Clarke of the CML.

UK Retail sales rose at their fastest annual rate in 14 years last month. This is according to the Office for National Statistics, which found that they were boosted by the cold weather and Halloween. Volumes for the month rose 7.4% from last October. Simon spoke to Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics to discuss the figures in more detail.

The Investment Trust Show - brought to you in association with Henderson Global Investors - provides insight into one of the most interesting and misunderstood asset classes. Share Radio's Ed Bowsher pits trusts against ETFs, comparing and contrasting the merits of each type of investment fund. To do so, he's joined by Dice McCairn, Editor of WhichInvestmentTrust.com, and Townsend Lansing, Head of ETCs at ETF Securities.

Over the last six weeks, there's been an interesting trend in the bond market. Bond yields are rising, and bond prices are falling. To put that another way, interest rates are rising. And if you can get a bigger income from bonds, maybe investing in income shares is becoming less attractive. So to find out more about the prospects for income investing in Europe, Share Radio's Ed Bowsher spoke to Will James, Manager of the Standard Life European Equity Income Fund.

Plenty of people are arguing that Donald Trump's presidential election win provides an opportunity for Britain's trading relationship with the United States; in fact, Theresa May said just that in Parliament earlier this week. But is the Prime Minister right? Is a Trump administration good for trade with the UK? To discuss this some more, Patrick Minford, Professor of Applied Economics at the Cardiff Business School joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher.