Podcasts

As part of our series with financial journalist and author Rodney Hobson, we look at ponzi schemes.

A quarter of us have fallen victim to a scam. This is according to new research released by Santander, showing that 13 million of us have been targeted, losing on average £438 - amounting to losses of almost £11 billion to the UK economy. So why are so many of us falling victim? Olivia Demetriades spoke to Paul Wilson, TV presenter and star of The Real Hustle.

Recently prpl Foundation unveiled its global study on the use of smart devices- the first research of its kind. "The prpl Foundation Smart Home Security Report" found that while there was more adoption of smart devices people were failing to secure their smart home. To find out more about this Jinan Rahma spoke to Cesare Garlati, chief security strategist for the prpl Foundation and began by asking whether the smart home was a thing of the future.

Simon Rose is joined live in the studio by Rishi Patel of FTI Consulting to discuss: Hammond calls for transitional and soft Brexit arrangement. Would a hard Brexit lead to economic hardship? With the rail strike and Post Office strikes are we entering a new Winter of Discontent? The Government is looking at increasing council tax to help pay for social care. Will this be sufficient and will it lead to inequality? Oxford students trying to get rid of "he" and "she" and replace it with the gender neutral "ze". Political correctness gone mad?

Every week on the AIM Show we meet interesting people behind companies listed on the junior stock market. This week, Glen Goodman spoke to Russ Singleton, the CEO of 21st Century Technology - a provider of tailored solutions to the transport community.

Many consumer-facing businesses will be hoping for a bumper festive season as the annual spending frenzy builds towards Christmas Day and the Boxing Day sales. The UK has the highest level of household spending in Europe, with an annual expenditure of £50,000. This compares to £41,000 in Ireland and £35,000 in France. And, most importantly for retailers, discretionary spending - money spent on non-essentials - is also the highest in Europe. Simon was joined by Barret Kupelain, senior economist at PwC.

Inflation has hit its highest level for more than 2 years, driven by a sharp rise in the cost of clothes. The latest monthly figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the main measure of inflation, the consumer prices index, hit 1.2% in November, up from 0.9% in October. The retail prices index, which includes the cost of housing, rose to 2.2% in November, up from 2% the previous month. Simon spoke to Pete Comley, inflation expert and author of Inflation Matters.

The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, says he thinks a period of adjustment would be beneficial to the UK as it prepares to leave the European Union. Share Radio's Ed Bowsher spoke to Sir Vince Cable, former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for his reaction to Philip Hammond's comments on the next steps of Brexit.

Have the good times gone for good? Economists are increasingly concerned about the so-called productivity puzzle - the mysterious drop-off in output per head witnessed across the globe. Casting an eye back to rates immediately after World War Two, it's hard not to be envious: economies boomed in the postwar reconstruction, pulling living standards in their wake. Now, growth is anaemic, wages stagnant, and the resulting discontent is using populism as an outlet. So, what went wrong? And can we turn things around? Share Radio's Juliette Foster was joined in the studio by Marc Levinson, former finance and economics editor at The Economist, to talk about his book 'An Extraordinary Time'.

It's been almost three weeks since the death of the Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and with official mourning now at an end it's business as usual for the government. Cuban officials have signed a deal with the technology giant Google to install servers on the island, while an agreement covering trade, human rights and migration has been brokered with the EU. These are further steps aimed at bringing the Caribbean nation back in from the diplomatic cold after Castro's 1959 Socialist revolution sealed Cuba's position as a pariah state. Can the revolution survive without him, and what do Cubans themselves want? Joining Share Radio's Juliette Foster and our economics correspondent Professor John Weeks is Professor Elizabeth Dore of Southampton University.