Podcasts

If all goes according to plan in Westminster, Theresa May will soon have her finger on the Brexit trigger. Once the Prime Minister fires the starting shot, a clock of two years begins ticking for Britain to negotiate its exit from the European Union. With May seeking controls on immigration alongside special access to the single market and customs union, the core pillars of the European project will be put to the test. Brexit negotiations alone will be a sizeable workout for EU leaders, but Europe must proceed against an uncertain backdrop. Donald Trump’s ascendancy in the United States has not only cast the post-war bedrocks like NATO in doubt, but has emboldened Eurosceptic populists on the continent. A series of electoral trials awaits in 2017: the French presidential election in the Spring; a German parliamentary election in the Autumn. Regardless of what the final British-EU relationship will look like, it remains an open question as to whether the EU itself will be recognisable in a year. Share Radio's Simon Rose was joined by László Andor, a former European Commissioner for Employment Social Affairs and Inclusion, and our regular economic commentator Professor John Weeks.

Share Radio's Simon Rose brings you Market Wrap, a roundup of what's been happening in the businesses of Britain and the world. To help put the day's events in context I'm joined by Ed Bowsher, Share Radio's senior analyst. They discussed the Bank of England's prediction that the UK economy will grow by 2% in 2017, Reckitt Benckiser's plan to buy Mead Johnson Nutrition in a $16.7bn deal, worth £13.2bn that would boost its Asian business, and Sports Direct being identified as the ultimate owner of an 11% stake in French Connection.

The Federal Reserve, the US equivelant of the Bank of England has left interest rates unchanged in its first meeting since President Trump took office. However for watchers of US monetary policy, the real interest of the meeting lay in the committee's statement. For more on this Share Radio's Michael Considine spoke to Kully Samra, Managing Director, Charles Schwab UK and got his thoughts on the decision.

Regular listeners to the show will know that our Apprentices are four members of the Share Radio team who've each been given fifteen thousand pounds of virtual money to build their own share portfolios. They have a minimum of eight stocks, which they've been buying and selling through The Share Centre. Share Radio's Simon Rose was joined by Apprentices Matt Cox and Valsa De Winter. Standing by with advice and useful observations is Share Radio's Senior Analyst Ed Bowsher.

Time for our regular weekly programme "The Investment Trust Show" brought to you in association with Henderson Global Investors. Each week we explore the main features, factors and developments affecting investment trusts. This week we took a look inside the portfolio's of investment trust specialist John Baron. Share Radio's Simon Rose was joined in the studio by John Baron and Share Radio's Senior Analyst Ed Bowsher.

British consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser, which makes Nurofen amongst many other brands, is in advanced talks to buy baby formula company, Mead Johnson. Plus results from Shell, AstraZeneca and Vodafone - who's doing well and who's struggling? Share Radio's Ed Bowsher spoke with Richard Hunter, Head of Research at Wilson King Investment Management, for his take on the day's big company news.

It's time for our weekly catch up with MoneyWeek magazine, not with Merryn Somerset Webb this week, instead with John Stepek, Executive Editor of the magazine. John joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher on the line to preview articles from this week's issue.

The Bank of England has raised its forecast of economic growth to 2% this year, up from the previous forecast of 1.4%, with an increase from 1.5% to 1.6% for next year. The base rate is unchanged at 0.25% and the bank's quantitative easing or money-printing programme will also continue as planned. The Bank's announcement has triggered a 0.8% fall in the pound at $1.26. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to cover the big economic news of the day, including the government White Paper, Reckitt Benckiser's deal and more.

How important is imagination? And is there a science to it? Georgie was joined by Jerry Rhodes, author of a book that tackles this very subject... his book " I Wonder: The Science of Imagination" tackles the mysterious subject of imagination through a scientific lens.

Tempted to go self-employed but worried about the costs? You're not alone? According to research whilst two fifths of us want to be our own boss less than five percent actually plan to go it alone in the future. Going self-employed can offer many advantages, not least flexibility and more family time, however many are put off by financial uncertainty. To find out more about what's holding us back Share Radio's Tom Hill spoke to Jackie Leiper from the Centre for the Modern Family.