Share Sounds from Share Radio Afternoon

What would a Marine Le Pen victory in the French presidential election mean for markets? Panmure Gordon's chief economist Simon French says the right-wing candidate could win and, given a possible exit from the Euro, the impact would be more immediate than Brexit and 'strike at the heart of an economic system'. He joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to talk through this and the day's big economic stories including possible US rate increases, gold price rise and more.

Latest minutes from the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) came out yesterday. Apparently committee members want an interest rate rise sooner rather than later. Gregory Daco, Head of US Macroeconomics at Oxford Economics, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to discuss.

In the first round of the French presidential election, polls see support for far-right candidate Marine Le Pen growing. Aarti Shankar, Policy Analyst at Open Europe joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to give her on take on this.

Could an eco-friendly loan from the US have global implications? In "The Problem With PACE", a special report on Share Radio, Matt Cox investigates so-called PACE loans. He speaks to those who've had first-hand experience of the loans; finding out where the product came from, how it hurt homeowners in California and other states, and why some believe that it could trigger a new subprime-style lending crisis.

The Euro is at its lowest against a selection of currencies since last November - is this just down to increasing support for Marine Le Pen's French Presidency bid? And could we see more falls in the Euro? Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher for more.

Could an eco-friendly loan from California have global implications? In the second part of Share Radio's Special Report into so-called PACE loans, Matt Cox investigates why some of those familiar with the product believe it's set to trigger a new subprime lending crisis.

The Labour Party is on shaky ground ahead of two crucial by-elections tomorrow - both seats were held by Labour but at least Copeland, in Cumbria, is now favoured to go to the Conservatives. What would a loss mean for Labour's future? Share Radio's senior analyst Ed Bowsher spoke with John Ashmore, chief reporter at Politics Home for the latest, including analysis of today's Prime Minister's Questions.

Lloyds Bank is firmly on the recovery track as it announced the biggest profit since the financial crisis - shares are up and the bank is paying a special dividend. And Hotel Chocolat's in 'retail nirvana' while challenger bank Metro Bank is on track to make its first annual profit. Share Radio's Ed Bowsher covered the day's top company news with Chris Bailey, founder of Financial Orbit.

The latest UK GDP figures shown a slight improvement in the fourth quarter but overall growth has softened to 1.8 percent. But will growth slow as Brexit negotiations kick off this year? And Lloyds Bank posts strong results. Chris Justham, Relationship Manager at Seven Investment Management, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher for analysis of the day's key economic news.

The FTSE 100 has hit record highs since the start of the year, dumbfounding many analysts who had expected the UK's flagship index to endure some rocky times in the lead up to Brexit. However, the overall view of the stock market doesn't necessarily tell the tale of the companies within it. For more on this, Share Radio's Ed Bowsher is joined by Trevor Green, Head of UK Equities at Aviva Investors.