Podcasts

A lack of skilled workers is increasingly forcing many employers to offer higher wages and lower requirements for candidates. That's according to research from The Recruitment & Employment Confederation which found nearly half of employers struggling to recruit for permanent roles. To find out more about what's causing this Share Radio's Tom Hill spoke to REC Director of Policy and Professional Services Tom Hadley.

SIPPs have become much more popular in recent years - partly because their charges have fallen. But what exactly are they and who are they suitable for?

It seems that in this day and age, no one is immune from their finances and personal information being stolen. Research from Verizon shows that 89% of breaches last year had a financial or espionage motive. Anviksha Patel has been finding out more.

Today on the agenda, Sarah Pennells and David Braithwaite from Citrus Financial Management discussed the cap on household energy bills set to be included in the Conservative manifesto. Plus they look into the new 12-sided pound coin only came into circulation last month, but it has already been forged. All these stories and more on The News Review.

Walking into a car dealership without securing finance first could be costing drivers thousands of pounds. An undercover report by Confused.com has found that car finance interest rates at dealerships are three times more expensive than rates found when shopping online. Sarah speaks to Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com.

The next French president will be either National Front leader Marine Le Pen or the centrist Emmanuel Macron after the first round of election voting. Meanwhile over here, Jeremy Corbyn is going to repeat a promise to scrap the Conservatives' trade union legislation if he gets into Downing Street after the general election. To discuss all these political stories, Sarah spoke to Natasha Clark, Digital Westminster Correspondent at The Sun.

Facebook says it is working on technology to allow us to control computers directly with our brains. It is developing “silent speech” software to allow people to type at a rate of 100 words per minute, it says. The project, in its early stages, will require new technology to detect brainwaves without needing invasive surgery.

UK consumer confidence fell by one percentage point in the first quarter of 2017, according to the latest Consumer Tracker report from Deloitte. So, what's contributing to the negative movements in consumer confidence? Joining Nigel Cassidy was Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte to discuss further...

So, France's National Front leader Marine Le Pen and newcomer Emmanuel Macron will fight it out to become the new president. They've both made it to the second round of voting - a week on Sunday. Mr Macron is 39-and only decided to form his own party last year. So what happens after the first vote?

Simon Rose is joined by the Share Centre's Investment Research Analyst Helal Miah to take a look at the corporate week ahead, including news from Lloyds, GSK, and RBS.