Podcasts

This is a brand new edition of The Apprentice Investor. Regular listeners to the programme will know that our Apprentices are five members of the Share Radio team who've each been given fifteen thousand pounds of virtual money to build their own share portfolios. They're allowed a minimum of eight stocks from different sectors which they've been buying and selling through the Share Centre. Our Apprentices under the spotlight today are Alexi Phillips and Valsa de Winter. Want to start investing yourself? Check out The Investment Trust Show: https://audioboom.com/channel/shareradio-investmenttrustshow

Storms, heavy rain, wind, ice and snow will all impact on your roof, and the cost of the damage caused by a leak will almost certainly exceed the cost of fixing the issue quickly. Darren Searles, general manager at JJ Roofing joins Sue Dougan in the studio to explain how to prepare your roof for the winter, how to check the loft and how to spot issues on top of your home.

Personal finance writer Sam McFaul talks us through the suffering of students - as graduates are overpaying their loan. We find out how they can claims it back or even prevent it from happening in the first place. Plus, if you have a Nectar Card, you are in luck as their are some pretty sweet deals out their. And as ever we'll have a roundup of the latest and best deals the team have come across this week.

The state pension triple-lock should be scrapped, according to some MPs. The 'triple lock' guaranteeing the elderly an annual state pension increase of at least 2.5 per cent is under threat. The annual rises in the state pension are decided by whatever is the highest of price inflation, average earnings growth or 2.5 per cent. But now MPs on the Work and Pensions Committee say it’s too expensive. For more information, Sue Dougan spoke to former pension minister and Director of Policy at Royal London, Steve Webb

Now, how do you show you care? Cook someone their favourite meal? Make them a cup of tea? or perhaps a demonstration of affection like a spontaneous hug? However, new research published today reveals it is women who are more likely to be genuine - 37% - but its half of men who are scoring brownie points with heir partner, friends or relatives. Life coach Carole Ann Rice and Dietician Dr Sarah Schenker join Sue Dougan on the line.

How many bank accounts now beat inflation? On Tuesday, we heard UK inflation registered a surprise fall in October, - 0.9%, from 1% in September according to the Office for National Statistics, although there were signs that the pressure on consumer prices is starting to build. And rate reductions in the savings market have now outweighed rate rises for 13 consecutive months. To find out what is wrong with the latest figures, Sue Dougan was joined on the line by Charlotte Nelson from Moneyfacts.

All this week is 'Financial Capability week' we are looking at how to make the most of your money. Yesterday we focused on young people. But now, new research from Pay-m, the UK's mobile to mobile payment service, has found that sharing a sort code and account number is a scary prospect for three out of four of us, with almost three quarters saying it makes us feel anxious. Well, to find out more about this aspect, our reporter Melanie Wray spoke to Pay-M's spokesman Shane Mckenna.

Sue Dougan is joined in the studio by Share Radio's senior analyst Ed Bowsher. On the agenda today, they discuss the big story - that UK unemployment fell by 37,000 to 1.6 million in the three months to September. Eslewhere, the NHS has been criticised for a lack of spending on cyber-security putting sensitive medical data at risk. Plus more than half of UK firms are worried about a lack of nationwide productivity. All these stories and more on The News Review.

Energy suppliers are allegedly making larger profits than they admit. The Sun Newspaper claimed they could be making a 24% profit margin, almost six times higher than figures provided by regulator Ofgem. The newspaper based its claims on a PwC report commissioned by Energy UK. Energy UK rejects the claims saying they were "a misrepresentation of facts". But now Business Secretary Greg Clark has started an investigation. To get a clearer grasp on the situation and the upcoming investigation, Matt Cox spoke to Senior Analyst at NRG Expert, Edgar van der Meer.

Scottish Widows has launched its annual Women & Retirement report. The findings suggest that whilst more women than ever are saving for their retirement, the gap between men and women is widening. Jackie Leiper is a retirement expert at Scottish Widows, and she discussed the factors behind a widening gender gap.