Podcasts

The European Commission has fined Credit Agricole, HSBC and JP Morgan Chase a total of 485 million euros ($520 million) for their alleged participation in a cartel to manipulate the price of the Euribor financial benchmark. The Commission said on Wednesday they were part of a seven-bank cartel that colluded between September 2005 and May 2008 to distort the Euribor interest rate which was set using quotes submitted by a panel of banks and is widely used in international money markets. Ben Kumar, Investment Manager at Seven Investment Management, joined Share Radio to discuss.

Tata Steel has made a commitment to secure jobs and production at Port Talbot and other steelworks across the UK, unions have said. It could bring an end to eight months of uncertainty for thousands of workers who faced losing their jobs when Tata's UK business was put up for sale. Community Union made the announcement following talks with Tata and other unions Unite and GMB on Wednesday. But workers still have to agree to it and will be balloted in the new year. Councillor Anthony Taylor, former worker at the Port Talbot steel plant, joined Share Radio to discuss the deal.

Vicky Brock, CEO of industry consultant Clear Returns, joined Share Radio to talk about UK retailers being asked to brace themselves for a surge of returned goods, as shoppers regret their Black Friday purchases.

MPs have voted to back the government's timetable to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and formally start the withdrawal from the European Union by the end of March 2017 by a majority of 461 votes to 89. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court appeal on whether the Government can start Brexit by means of the royal prerogative alone has reached its final day. To discuss this, Professor Ian Cram, Constitutional Law Expert from Leeds University, joined Share Radio.

China's foreign exchange reserves fell far more than expected in November to the lowest level in nearly six years, as authorities struggled to stem capital outflows and shore up a sliding currency. And yet China has just reported pretty upbeat trade figures, with exports and imports both beating forecasts. David Kuo, CEO of the Motley Fool in Singapore, joined Share Radio to discuss China trade data.

Movies and Money: film critic James Cameron Wilson discusses the history of animated films.

John O'Connell, Chief Executive at Tax Payers Alliance, joined Simon live in the studio to discuss: -Working for the taxman -Carney's "threat to capitalism" speech -Sugar Tax -Network Rail and the plan to ensure track and train lines come together a bit more

The number of workers living in poverty has reached a record high - at more than 7 million people. According to a report commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the UK's housing crisis is fuelling growing insecurity. 3.8 million workers, or one in eight, are in poverty after an increase since the economy started recovering six years ago and a total of 7.4 million people, including 2.6 million children, are living in poverty despite being part of working households. To discuss the research in more detail, Simon was joined by Kate Bell, head of economics at the TUC.

Two issues which dominated the UK's Brexit referendum debate were immigration and the economy. But sharp falls in migration post Brexit could shrink GDP per capita by more than 3 percent. That's according to a report by NIESR fellow Jonathan Portes and NIESR research assistant Giuseppe Forte. The report, titled "The Economic Impact of Brexit-induced Reductions in Migration," found that a fall in total immigration of 91,000, would mean that GDP per capita would be 3.4% lower by 2030 than it would otherwise have been. To find out more about the report, Simon spoke to Jonathan Portes Senior Fellow at NIESR and co-author of the report.

UK industrial production unexpectedly fell in October. That's according to the latest figures from the ONS that show that industrial output was down 1.3% month on month, rather than the 0.2% increase forecast. It was the worst month on month decline since 2012. To find out more about this Simon spoke to Scott Bowman UK Economist at Capital Economics