Podcasts

Many of us are beginning to decorate our homes in preparation for the big Christmas holiday. Tens of thousands of Christmas trees from the British Isles are currently being sold from garden centres, but what should we look out for? Georgie Frost speaks to David Mitchell, the UK's leading Christmas tree expert for tips when picking the perfect Christmas tree.

With Christmas now just a few weeks away - now's the time many are stocking up on festive food. With such a wide range on offer choosing a decent spread can be tricky...especially if you want to stick to a budget. The team at Moneywise have taken the Christmas hit and done the hard work for us - trying a range of mince pies, and prosecco. Plus do kids need more toys and games or would the money be better spent setting up saving or investment plans? It will probably be more valuable in the long term - especially when you consider over a third of Christmas toys don't make it past January. £1.2 billion is wasted each year by family and friends buying gifts that get broken or discarded.

For most, Christmas is a fun and exciting time of year. But for many it can also bring a lot of anxiety and stress who have got the money. We know that financial troubles often go hand-in-hand with mental health issues. Help is at hand though, as Georgie Frost is joined in the studio with Money Advice Expert Jane Clack.

Russell Quirk, CEO of eMoov, joined Share Radio Breakfast to offer immediate reaction to Halifax's latest House Price Index. The findings reveal that confidence in the UK housing market has fallen to its lowest point in three years, yet the majority still expect house prices to go up. So, what to make of the numbers, and how relevant is the index? Russell explains.

Dan Hodges, Political commentator at the Mail on Sunday, joined Share Radio Breakfast to give his weekly politics round-up. Dan gives a timetable for Brexit, and looks at how the Supreme Court case will affect proceedings.

Economists are warning that Brexit and the election of Donald Trump could cause a return to 70s style inflation. But if inflation is so bad why did central banks spend the past few years trying to get it to occur? Robert Van Egghen reports on whether we are headed back to the future.

The Financial Conduct Authority has announced a set of new rules to protect investors using CFD's, after it was revealed 82% of investors lost money. According to research by Financial Orbit, there are 125,000 active CFD accounts in the UK and the average loss is £2200. So, what's in store for companies offering financial spread betting and other risky investment instruments? Matt Cox spoke to Dice McCairn, Editor and Analyst at WhichInvestmentTrust, to find out more.

It’s day three of the politically sensitive appeal that will decide whether the government or parliament has legitimate authority to trigger Brexit. On Tuesday, Lord Pannick QC opened the argument on behalf of the lead claimant, Gina Miller, labelling the government’s assertion that it was entitled to use its prerogative powers to trigger Article 50 as “inherently implausible”. So, what might we expect from day three? David Mundy, Partner and Parliamentary Agent at Westminster based law firm Bircham Dyson Bell, joined Share Radio Breakfast to discuss.

Seijiro Takeshita, Professor of Management and Information at the University of Shizuoka in Japan, joined Share Radio Breakfast to discuss the biggest stories coming out of East Asia. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is to become the first serving Japanese PM to visit Pearl Harbor - the US Naval base in Hawaii that was attacked by Japan on this day in 1941. What's the purpose of the visit? And the CEO of Japanese technology firm, Softbank, has said the company will invest £39.3bn ($50bn) in US businesses.

As part of our series with financial journalist and author Rodney Hobson, we look at identity theft.