Podcasts

It's time to talk politics. Today: MPs have overwhelmingly backed the Prime Minister's call for a fresh election - but Theresa May refuses to consider a TV debate.

The first round of the French Presidential election is rapidly approaching, taking place on Sunday. The two candidates with the most votes will then fight out a final round two weeks later. Still in the race are Emmanuel Macron, Francois Fillon, Marine Le Pen, and Jean-Luc Melenchon. Who will make the final ballot? To discuss the runners and riders, Ed Bowsher spoke to James Shields, Professor of French Politics at Aston University.

Following the announcement by Theresa May calling for a snap General Election on June 8th, the Prime Minister has urged Britons to trust her and that a vote now will help the UK make a success of Brexit. Others suggest that she could be using the election to consolidate Tory power through a landslide victory. To get more on the unfolding political events, Ed Bowsher was joined by John Ashmore, chief reporter of Politics Home.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has for the first time admitted the UK Government’s stake in RBS may be sold at a loss for the taxpayer. He told MPs that “We have to live in the real world.” The Treasury bailed out the bank by buying a 72% stake in 2008 during the Financial Crisis. For more on this and the other latest company news, Ed Bowsher spoke to Chris Bailey, founder of Financial Orbit.com

The strong pound has pushed the FTSE 100 down negative for the year, Sterling having been buoyed up by the calls for a General Election by Theresa May. For this and more of the day’s big macro news, Ben Kumar, Investment Manager at Seven Investment Management joined Share Radio’s Ed Bowsher.

Today: British luxury fashion house Burberry has endured its sharpest one-day fall in six months after it announced slowing sales growth, despite an "exceptional" performance in the UK; the owner of Dulux paint has reported a record profit for the first three months of the year; and the owner of Primark has today reported a jump in its first half profits, driven primarily by a recovery at its sugar businesses as well as continued growth in the fashion retailer.

For this week's In My Experience, City grandee Brian Tora joins Simon in the studio to discuss his life in the markets.

The Moneywise team with over a quarter of a century of financial journalism under their belt joins us in the studio for their weekly catch up. This week Georgie was joined by the product researcher Adam Williams and Editor Moira O'Neill. We'll be looking at how to make money out of your old motor, and getting a guide to indemnity insurance.

Time to check-in with our friends over at Money Saving Expert. This week Georgie was joined by consumer writer, Megan French. We're looking at buying stolen goods (legally of course); your rights when it comes to sale shopping, and of course we'll have a roundup of the best deals the eagle-eyed team have come across this week.

Next month is Financial Planning Week, a week in which we're all urged to book a session with a financial planner for a check-up on our finances. It's organised by the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, or CISI, which is offering the FREE one-hour consultations. To hear more, Share Radio reporter Sara Macham was joined by Jacqueline Lockie, deputy head of financial planning at the CISI.