Podcasts

To go through all the political headlines this morning with Sarah Pennells was Share Radio's Political Correspondent, Colin Bloom. They started by discussing the Prime Minister insisting she wants every part of the UK to benefit from leaving the European Union. Theresa May will go to Wales later to meet first minister Carwyn Jones. Last week the PM dismissed calls for a second independence referendum for Scotland before the Brexit deal's finalised. Plus a police team has been set up to investigate crimes against MPs looked into more than 50 complaints in the six months after the murder of Jo Cox.

Joining Sarah Pennells to discuss the latest market headlines was Share Radio's very own Nigel Cassidy, starting with the tumultuous period that Uber has been going through. In an otherwise quiet morning for company announcements, we've heard from Vodafone - they're planning a merger in India. Plus Carillion, the British multinational facilities management and construction services company have been awarded a £90 million contract by UK defence.

Since the 2014 vote, there have been sweeping changes in both the North Sea industry and to the UK's political landscape, the two most critical being the oil price plunge and last year's Brexit vote. Companies operating in the UKCS have faced a turbulent few years as they sought to survive the downturn by cutting costs to ensure cash flow. The offshore industry has been a cornerstone of the UK economy, and will play a vital role in a second referendum campaign. Nigel Cassidy was joined by Fiona Legate, senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie to discuss how, despite the oil price crash, (pre-tax) £44 billion is still attributed to fields in Scottish waters.

With the final details of the impact of Brexit on UK firms still up to two years away, British businesses are already looking to expand new markets internationally. New research by Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), the largest and fastest growing Free Trade Zone in the UAE, with a community of over 87,500 people, reveals that just under half (42%) of UK businesses have more appetite for overseas expansion in the post-Brexit and Trump administration era. The CEO of DMCC Gautam Sashittal is in the UK to discuss how Dubai can help British businesses looking to expand international trade post-Brexit.

The average property asking price in England and Wales is close to hitting a new all-time high. It was £310,108 this month, according to Rightmove - only £363 below last June's record high. Prices are up 2.3% from a year earlier due to strong demand and a shortage of supply. Russell Quirk, Founder and CEO of eMoov spoke to Nigel Cassidy on Rightmove's latest house price index.

According to a leading industry thinktank, retailers will struggle in 2017 as rising food price inflation leaves shoppers with less disposable income for discretionary items such as clothing and homeware. Joining to discuss with Nigel Cassidy is Diane Wehrle, Marketing and Insights Director at Springboard, specialists in Customer Counting, Footfall and Performance Measurement in the UK within the retail sector to discuss the latest BRC/Springboard Footfall and Vacancies monitor.

The Share Centre takes you through the major trading statements of the week - as well as what's to come. Today: Prudential, Hikma Pharma, Sainsbury's, Kingfisher, Next, & Smiths Group.

On the latest Market Wrap, former Barclays Chief Executive Bob Diamond has launched a takeover bid for stockbroker and investment bank Panmure Gordon. Housebuilder Berkley Group has today signalled strong profits after signalling that the London housing market is stabilising. All this and more with Share Radio Senior Analyst Ed Bowsher.

It's time to talk politics. On today's programme: George Osborne, the former Tory Chancellor, will become Editor of the London Evening Standard; and politics makes for strange bedfellows - not least Angela Merkel and Donald Trump.

On this week's Serious Money, we talked 'pocket money' and whether parents are spoiling their children or providing them more scope to learn about money. We discussed why space is becoming the final frontier for investors, and looked at Merryn Somerset Webb's article about her love affair with Japanese stocks.