Podcasts from Share Radio Breakfast

The Scottish Retail Consortium in conjunction with KPMG has released its latest retail sales monitor today. It seems the retail sector in Scotland has got off to a somewhat sluggish start with the figures suggesting Scottish consumers are beginning to tighten their belts. However, with Spring just around the corner perhaps the high-street will become more appealing? Joining Nigel Cassidy to discuss further was Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Head of Policy at the Scottish Retail Consortium.

New figures just out show that the number of companies in the UK has reached a record high - breaking the four million threshold for the first time. The boom is fuelled in a large part by the formation of new companies, with roughly 665 thousand started in the UK last year. But is this symptomatic of a flexible, dynamic workforce - or are there just no more full time jobs? Nigel Cassidy was joined by Jonathan Richards, CEO at breatheHR, a firm that provides software to SMEs.

The UK economy's expected to grow more than initially thought this year, partly because of the strength of household spending. The British Chambers of Commerce has upgraded its outlook from 1-point-1 to 1-point-4 percent. But its growth forecast for 2018 has downgraded slightly, because of inflation. However, it has downgraded its expectations slightly for 2018. So what factors are contributing to this upgrade? And what can we expect in the following years? Nigel Cassidy spoke to Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the BCC and started by asking about the figures...

Bango, the mobile payment company which enables app store customers to click and buy apps or in-app content and place the charge directly onto their mobile phone bill, has released full year results today. So how is the company doing? Joining Nigel Cassidy to reveal all is Ray Anderson, CEO of Bango.

The Gym Group plc, the fast-growing, nationwide operator of over 80 high-quality low-cost gyms, has announced its full year results today. So how is the company doing? John Treharne, Chief Executive Officer of The Gym Group joined Nigel Cassidy to tell more about what the company's up to.

Today, Alcohol duty is on the increase, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that duty on alcohol would rise in line with inflation during the Spring Budget speech much to the dismay of many hospitality businesses. So what does this mean politically, for the consumer and the industry? Nigel spoke to Larry Nelson, Publisher & Editor of BrewersGuardian.com to discuss further...

H&T Group, the UK pawnbrokers, who offer loans, pawn services and cash for gold, has released its full year results. So how is the company doing? Steve Fenerty, Finance Director at H&T, joined Nigel Cassidy on Share Radio Breakfast to discuss the numbers.

Paul Sedgwick, Head of Investments at Frank Investments joined Nigel Cassidy and Rachel Winter from Killik & Co to discuss all the top business and finance stories from the weekend and today. First up, they analysed why Bovis homes have been seeing significantly lower share prices than its counterparts as of late.

The boss of Samsung, Lee Jae-yong, is engulfed in a massive bribery scandal that's threatening to put him in jail. The case is also linked to the huge scandal that led to the impeachment of South Korea's President Park Geun-hye. Shares in South Korea rose 0.4% in Friday's session after the country's Constitutional Court upheld parliament's impeachment of the President. James Brydges reports.

New research conducted by Halifax has found that 'homeowners in one in three UK areas earn more from bricks and mortar than the day job'. Halifax suggests that average house prices have increased by more than the total average of employees' net earnings. So what impact does this have on homeowners and potential buyers? Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax joined Nigel Cassidy to give his analysis.