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Welcome to the Share Radio News Hour with Ed Bowsher. It's been a bumpy ride for Sterling again today; we're seeing increased volatility as the market awaits May's next big Brexit speech on Tuesday. Right now the pound is pretty much flat at $1.22. The FTSE has also been fairly volatile today, but right now, it's firmly up at 27 points at 7319, and is on track to continue its winning streak for 14 consecutive days. China's phenomenal export machine has hit a snag on fears of a US trade war. In just a minute, Ed will discuss all three stories and more with Jeremy Stretch, Head of G10 FX Strategy at CIBC. On the companies side of things, ITV's share price has been boosted by a positive note from goldman Sachs. Shares in pub group, Mitchells and Butler, are also on the up after a positive first quarter. Ed will be getting comment from Craig Erlam at OANDa in about 15 minutes. In politics, leading Blairite Tristram Hunt has said he's going to stand down from Parliament. Ed will speak to John Rentoul from the independent for his take. And finally, Fiat is the latest manufacturer to face emissions cheating allegations. Industry expert, professor David Bailey, will explain what this means for the car industry. All that and more on today's edition of the Share Radio News Hour.

Jeremy Stretch, Head of G10 FX Strategy, CIBC, joined Share Radio to talk about today's macro stories: sterling volatility reached its highest level since October, ahead of May's Brexit speech on Tuesday, and the FTSE set another record high. We discussed Chinese 2016 falling by 7.7 percent, and whether Trump's proposed tax cuts could threaten America’s triple-A rating. Finally a view on ministers proposing new corporate criminal laws and Spanish inflation jumping to 1.4 percent.

There's only one week to go before President-elect trump's inauguration and once again he's been making headlines. To find out more about Donald Trump's week Georgie Frost was joined on the line by Colin Bloom, Share Radio's political correspondent and former Chief Exec of the Conservative Christian Fellowship.

Finally, there's some good news for first time buyers. Reports show record numbers are getting on the property ladder. There is a downside though - deposits are also up, quite substantially.To find out more about this increase Georgie Frost spoke to Martin Ellis, Housing Economist at Halifax.

The Share Radio Travel Guide, with travel journalist and author Sarah Tucker. This week, we delve into the world's most extreme adventures and there's an insider's guide to Melbourne with Patricia Scales, a guide from Tours By Locals. Those concerned about the environment don't have to be an eco-warrior or a world leader to join the fight to preserve the environment. Simply giving time and/or money and making small, simple lifestyle changes can help protect the planet. One woman who's travelled far and wide and understands the importance of genuinely giving back is Fiona Jeffery, the CEO of Just a Drop - a global, charitable organization helping to provide clean water and sanitation in the poor countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America - and previous head of the World Travel Market.

Robin Dwyer was joined by Mike Indian to discuss the latest political news, including Theresa May's Brexit speech next week, Jeremy Corbyn's policy announcements, and the NHS under pressure this winter.

Regular listeners to the show will know that our Apprentices are five members of the Share Radio team who've each been given fifteen thousand pounds of virtual money to build their own share portfolios. They have a minimum of eight stocks, which they've been buying and selling through The Share Centre. Apprentices Matt Cox and Alexi Phillips have joined me in the studio and standing by with advice and useful observations is Share Radio's Senior Analyst Ed Bowsher.

Robyn Dwyer stands in for Share Radio's Simon Rose and brings you Market Wrap, a roundup of what's been happening in the bourses and businesses of Britain and the world. To help contextualise the day's events, Robyn was joined by Share Radio's senior analyst Ed Bowsher - they tackled the FTSE's drop, retailers exceeding their trading expectations, and Fiat Chrysler shares taking a hit after being accused of taking part in the Diesel Emissions Scandal.

Time now for our regular weekly programme "The Investment Trust Show" brought to you in association with Henderson Global Investors. Each week we explore the main features, factors and developments affecting investment trusts at the moment. This week we'll be looking at new years investment resolutions and we'll also look at research which shows that investment trusts generated growth of 57% over the last three and a half years. Share Radio's Ed Bowsher was joined by two great guests today: Dice McCairn, Editor of WhichInvestmentTrust.com and Ian Sayers, Chief Executive, Association of Investment Companies.

There are fears the government could have to step in to bailout RBS, again. The Department of Justice in America is considering fining the bank for mis-selling risky mortgages during financial crisis of 2008. The financial penalty could run as high as 13 billion dollars, roughly 9.6 billion pounds. The DoJ is expected to make a decision over the next few weeks. Share Radio's James Brydges has been finding out more from Ian Fraser, author of Shredded: Inside RBS, The Bank That Broke Britain.