Podcasts

Former Chancellor George Osborne has just been appointed as the new Editor of the Evening Standard. Osborne is expected to take up his role in May while still remaining the MP for Tatton. Plus, Nicola Sturgeon said May's rejection of a second Scottish referendum is 'completely outrageous and unacceptable'. Asa Bennett, Assistant Comment Editor at the Telegraph, joined us to discuss the latest political news.

George Osborne has been appointed as Editor of the London Evening Standard - and says he plans to retain his seat in Tatton. But will he be able to do the job with little journalistic experience? Ian Murray, ex-president of the Society of Editors and former Editor in Chief of the Southern Daily Echo, gave us his take.

Joining Georgie Frost to discuss the latest market headlines was Share Radio's very own Nigel Cassidy, starting with the possible takeover of Panmure Gordon, one of the City's oldest stockbrokers, by former Barclays boss Bob Diamond. Plus, how housebuilder the Berkeley Group hit its profit target despite Brexit fears.

Culture secretary Karen Bradley's referred the Fox/ Sky bid to Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority. 21st Century Fox is offering £11.7bn for the 61% stake in Sky it does not already own. The company said it was "confident" the takeover would be approved. Critics of the merger fear it will mean Rupert Murdoch has too much control of the UK media. So can the takeover succeed after failing in 2011? James Brydges recaps the issues the regulators will be looking into.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting US President Donald Trump for the first time. So, can they establish a solid working relationship? Last year, Trump accused Merkel of 'going off the reservation' during the refugee crisis and characterised her policies as a 'total disgrace'. However, this could be water under the bridge as it will be strictly business for Merkel who is expected to raise issues including the Nato contributions, the fight against ISIS, and trade. Graham Lanktree, Foreign Reporter with the International Business Times, joined Share Radio Breakfast to look ahead to the meeting.

Research released by the ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) suggests that long-term business investment is set to shrink on the back of Brexit uncertainty. The long wait to see Theresa May trigger Article 50 and start Brexit negotiations has created much uncertainty among businesses, meaning they've put on the brakes when it comes to investment. Simon Thompson, ICAEW Business and Economic Spokesperson, joined Nigel Cassidy on Share Radio Breakfast to discuss the key points from the forecast.

It’s been a mixed week for the job market. The surveyor’s organisation, RICS, bemoaned the potential loss of 200,000 essential EU workers in the construction industry if Brexit bites. And on Thursday, Morgan Mckinley's London employment monitor picked up a fall in the number of jobs on offer, blaming Brexit uncertainty. To assess the mood of the market, Becky Barr of Adzuna, joined Nigel Cassidy on Share Radio Breakfast.

It's time to talk politics: Today: the Dutch have crushed the hopes of Europe's next top populist; Trump's unveiled his first budget as his revised travel ban gets into trouble; and the Conservatives have been fined a record £70,000 for campaign spending failures.

On the latest Market Wrap, mining company Anglo American's shares jumped almost 9% after Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal said he would buy a 12% stake in the company. The Bank of England voted to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.25%, but one of the Monetary Policy Committee members expressed concerns over inflation. Finally, sales have fallen at Sainsbury's during the first nine weeks of the year, but the newly-acquired Argos reported a strong growth.

Our Apprentices are four members of the Share Radio team who've each been given fifteen thousand pounds of virtual money to build their own share portfolios. Today's Apprentices were Matt Cox and Olivia Demetriades, and they were joined by Share Radio's Senior Analyst Ed Bowsher.