Podcasts

We've had the last PMQ's before the general election. And away from the general election, Theresa May has met the EU's chief negotiator for talks. Zac Goldsmith has been selected as the Conservative candidate for Richmond Park. He was the area's MP from 2010 until December last year when he lost to Lib Dem Sarah Olney after a massive swing in a by-election.

Georgie Frost was joined by Nigel Cassidy to discuss the latest market headlines, starting with Lloyds. And housebuilders out in force this morning. We've heard from both Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon. Plus Donald Trump’s administration has unveiled plans for a drastic overhaul of the country’s tax system, including reducing corporate tax to 15%.

A mixed bag for Twitter: The number of people using the social network has risen 14% and the firm's losses narrowed in the first three months of this year. But ad revenue fell by almost 8% from a year earlier. And now a row's brewing with the government about the decision to withdraw access to user data used to investigate potential terrorist plots.

GlaxoSmithKline has beaten analyst expectations by increasing its sales 19pc in the first quarter under new boss Emma Walmsley. Sales at the pharmaceutical giant hit £7.4bn in the three months to March 31, up from £6.2bn a year previously and higher than the £7.25bn pencilled in by analysts. But what about the pharmaceutical industry worldwide?

Officials at Saudi Arabian Oil Co, or Saudi Aramco. have told their superiors there is a hitch in the plans to take the state-owned oil company public next year. It is likely worth at least $500 billion less than the government previously suggested - roughly the value of Amazon and Netflix combined.

They're already billing it as "the biggest tax cut" in history. The White House wants taxes to go down, but for whom? And how will it be paid for?

The Prime Minister has refused to guarantee the triple lock on pensions. It's understood that Mrs May is coming under increasing pressure to drop the pledge, which means pensions always rise by 2.5%, from the Conservative manifesto. But with no guarantees on pensions, how can we fund our retirement?

It's time to talk politics. Today: Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have faced off in the final PMQs before the snap election in June.

On today's Wrap: Santander has reported quarterly profits 1 per cent lower at 525 million pounds; shares in Twitter have risen by 12 per cent after it posted better than expected first-quarter results; online fashion retailer boohoo.com has seen pre-tax profits almost double.

On Company Casebook this week we're listening in to the top secret world of secure communications and encryption - visiting Becrypt who provide secure IT solutions for just about every government department, the police and various local authorities. We'll be meeting the CEO Bernard Parsons and his team, and finding out about the hoops companies have to go through to be an approved government supplier.