Podcasts

Has virtual and augmented reality come of age? Nintendo's Pokemon Go is the talk of the town, and developers are pushing VR platforms. But virtual reality has a difficult job on its hands. How is it going to widen its appeal to a wider age-range of people who aren't much interested in gaming or even strapping a gadget to their heads? Unity Technologies is a leader in creating the platforms used to create interactive 2D, 3D, VR and AR experiences, with almost a half market share, and used by over 5.5 million registered developers. Marcos Sanchez, Head of Global Communications at Unity, and joined the team to discuss further.

A study Bottomline Technologies has revealed that over a third of financial decision makers feel that at least 10% of their business' revenue has been lost to financial fraud. Richard Ransom, payments expert at Bottomline Technologies joined the team to talk them through the findings.

A look at the world of European smaller companies, as I'm joined in the studio by a leading European fund manager, Francesco Conte of JPMorgan. Francesco manages three funds that invest in European smaller companies including the JP Morgan European smaller companies fund.

Investment Perspectives turned to the UK's future trading relationship with the EU. You often hear people talking about a 'Switzerland-style' relationship or a 'Canada-style' relationship between the UK and the EU, but some are not entirely sure what those terms mean? So to find out more, Ed Bowsher was joined by John Springford, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.

We've known for a while that law firm, Mishcon de Reya, was planning to launch a legal action challenging the legal process behind the UK's departure from the EU. But we've learned this week that the lead case here is being brought by Gina MIller, founder of the True and Fair Campaign and investment firm SCM Direct. Ed was joined by Gina Miller for more info.

A brand new edition of Crowdfunders, with Share Radio’s Senior Analyst, Ed Bowsher. In today’s show: Ed looks at a new development in crowdfunding where you can potentially bid for grant money via a crowdfunding platform. But he started with Crowdcube, the equity crowdfunding platform that is currently raising money for its own business via a share issue – he spoke to Luke Lang, the co-founder.

This is must listen, new look edition to our regular show, with added features, bringing their magazine to your ears. On this week's episode, Moira O'Neill and Tom Wilson join Georgie Frost in the studio. On the agenda, we talk all things gap years, how common they are, costs, what to consider and more. Plus we settle the argument, about which is the best way to invest, actively or passively. We also see the new, fun and quirky features like stats of the week, and their regular polls from the magazine. All this plus much more so do not miss.

Walking onto a firing range, falling off a cliff, or walking into a lamppost are the more obvious risks to the latest Pokémon Go craze, which is bringing augmented reality onto the streets of the globe. But there are the hidden mobile gaming threats associated with not just Pokemon, but Minecraft, and other games: business attacks, social engineering, and accessing valuable data. Chris Boyd, a researcher at internet and PC security firm Malwarebytes explained further.

The European Union has hit five truck makers with its highest-ever cartel fine of £2.46bn, for colluding on the factory prices of medium and heavy trucks, and coordinating on when to implement new emissions technologies. Daimler, DAF, Iveco, MAN and Volvo/Renault were said to have conspired over 14 years to fix prices, but VW-owned MAN escaped a penalty after it blew the whistle on the cartel. Joe Aldridge has been speaking to Paul Henty, Partner at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, to find out more.

Time once again for the Consuming Issues news review, with Georgie Frost and is joined by Share Radio's senior analyst, Ed Bowsher. And today, they look at how Brexit has caused the growth forecast to be lowered. And why fuel and air fares have pushed consumer inflation up. Plus, a charity claims the cost of summer holiday childcare is unaffordable. All this and more, on Consuming Issues, every day from 9am to Midday, right here on Share Radio.