Podcasts

This week we're looking at the details of gender pay gap reporting, which comes in from this April and applies to employers with over 250 employees. And also hear about the recent Employment Appeal Tribunal case involving a nurse that was sacked because her employer (NHS trust) could not discover her true identity.

Each week, the Investment Trust Show - brought to you in association with Henderson Global Investors - explore the main features, factors and developments affecting investment trusts. Today, Share Radio is joined by Gervais Williams, Manager of the Miton UK Microcap trust and the Diverse Income Trust, to discuss investing in UK smaller companies - or smallcaps.

Our Apprentices are four members of the Share Radio team who've each been given £15,000 of virtual money to build their own share portfolios. Today's Apprentices were Alex Clark and Olivia Demetriades, and they were joined by Share Radio's Senior Analyst Ed Bowsher.

Today on the agenda, Juliette Foster and Russell Quirk of Emoov discussed Britain's "stagnant" housing market showing the number of properties for sale hitting new record lows. Plus they look into vinyl music is enjoying a major revival as music buffs shun digital downloads and dust off their old-fashioned turntables instead. All these stories and more on The News Review.

Its been a bad week for the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson after his failure to have further sanctions imposed on Russia - was he out of his depth? How will Johnson's failure reflect on Theresa May? She appointed him into a job that some claim he wasn't capable of carrying out. To answer more on this, Juliette Foster spoke to Josh Lowe of Newsweek.

Joining Juliette Foster to discuss the latest market headlines was Nigel Cassidy, starting with Imperial Leather soap firm PZ Cussons and Hays - the leading British company providing recruitment and human resources services - announcing their results. Plus Nigel touches on the latest RICS Residential Market Survey this morning, revealing what the survey found.

Shares in manufacturers Bombardier and Siemens have jumped on reports they are in talks about merging their train-making businesses. Bombardier's shares rose nearly 7% while Siemens' shares hit a record high before easing back. Talks between Bombardier, a major supplier of London Underground trains, and Siemens started earlier this year, according to media reports.

According to RICS, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, residential sales in the UK are lacking 'impetus'. Their latest residential market survey suggests that new buyer enquiries and sales have remained flat in the March and stock levels hit a record low as the number of properties coming to market continues to decline.

Costs are the biggest threat to growth, BCC says. According to the British Chambers of Commerce's latest economic survey, the manufacturing sector is performing strongly so far this year. However, the rising cost of overheads and raw materials are presenting a risk to growth in the medium term. So what can businesses expect in the next quarter?

The supermarkets are full of chocolate bunnies and the daffodils are in full bloom - it can only mean one thing: the Easter holidays are just around the corner. It also means investors can forget about jittery markets for a while, as European stock exchanges will close for a four-day spring break.