Share Sounds from Share Radio Afternoon

Royal Bank of Scotland has set aside a further £3.1 billion to cover potential fines in the US and the shares have risen today. But Whitbread's share price has fallen 5%, after the owner of Costa Coffee shops and Premier Inn issued a disappointing trading statement, while Unilever's Q4 sales disappointed the market. Richard Hunter, Head of Research at Wilson King Investment Management, spoke to Share Radio's Ed Bowsher about the day's top company stories.

French presidential candidate François Fillon has come under scrutiny for employing his wife as a parliamentary aide. A French newspaper claims the centre right Fillon's Welsh-born wife Penelope earned a total of €500,000 over eight years of employment, but did little work. Share Radio's Ed Bowsher spoke to Vincenzo Scarpetta, Senior Policy Analyst at Open Europe, about the issue.

Donald Trump's tweets today have confirmed he will 'build the wall' with Mexico and investigate alleged voter fraud. Does this mean action soon or is it just self-promotion? Sanford Henry, US political commentator, spoke to Ed Bowsher on the Trump presidency to date.

Theresa May faced her first Question Time grilling following the Brexit ruling and she confirmed there will be a white paper on negotiation priorities. The move comes despite May's insistence her initial speech was enough. John Ashmore, chief reporter at Politics Home covered this and today's Question Time with Share Radio's Ed Bowsher.

WH Smith shares were up on a good trading update with sales of funny 'spoof books' helping the stationer. Shares in Restaurant Group, the company behind chains Frankie and Benny's and Garfunkel's, were down as it reported lower like-for-like sales last year. Tesco faces new lawsuit from US Investment firm, Manning & Napier, which is suing the supermarket over an earlier accounting irregularities. And miners BHP Billiton and Antofagasta reported on good results today. Chris Bailey, founder of Financial Orbit, joined Ed Bowsher, Share Radio's senior analyst to discuss these and more.

Britain's manufacturers are 'firing on all cylinders' - that's what the Confederation of British Industry says in its latest report - but will it last? Three of the five biggest shareholders in FTSE 350 firms have vowed to get tough on executive pay. And in the US, Donald Trump has approved two oil pipelines, is the Trump bump back? Ben Kumar from 7 Investment Management analyses the latest economic news with Share Radio's Ed Bowsher.

For an update on the Supreme Court ruling Share Radio's Ed Bowsher spoke to one of the key plaintiffs Gina Miller --founding partner for the firm SCM Private

Oil prices rose this week on evidence on news that production from OPEC is falling, but an increase in drilling in the United States could keep a lid on prices. Fergus Marcroft, Senior Advisor to investment bank Hannam & Partners, joined Share Radio's Ed Bowsher to explain.

BT shares slumped as the telecoms giant warned again on profits following the Italian accounting scandal, Easyjet results softer on weak pound but strong Christmas sales for Dixons Carphone and posh tonic water company Fever-Tree bubbles along. All the big company news of the day with Financial Times deputy companies editor Daniel Thomas and Share Radio's senior analyst Ed Bowsher.

Parliament must have a vote ahead of Brexit, according to the Supreme Court ruling, but is there anything that can block it? And why did the government appeal the initial ruling? John Rentoul, chief political commentator at The Independent, talks through the political ramifications of the decision with Share Radio's Ed Bowsher.