Podcasts

The Harry Potter franchise has become the gift that keeps on giving for Bloomsbury Publishing, with the recent launch of a new illustrated range helping to drive book sales. And elsewhere, Bloomsbury is expanding in the digital publishing space to deliver long-term growth. Nigel Newton, CEO of Bloomsbury Publishing, joined Share Radio upon the release of the company's full year results.

The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) has teamed up with Royal Mail to create an initiative called CommonwealthFirst, which aims to support SME trade to the Commonwealth. Oliver Everett, CEO of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, talked about the initiative and what it offers.

Time now to catch up with our man in Hong Kong, Finbarr Bermingham, Asia Editor of the Global Trade Review. He has been speaking to Share Radio's Michael Considine about the visit of Zhang Dejiang, the Chinese leader responsible for Hong Kong affairs, who has arrived there amid discontent with alleged interference in the territory's affairs by Beijing. Michael began by asking him what the mood has been like in Hong Kong.

This is our regular small-cap investor slot, and this week we're talking to David Stredder, director of the Share Soc and keen private investor.

This is 'crowdfunders' the show that covers the fastest growing sector in finance. This week, host Ed Bowsher talks to a company called Positiveitea, we have a platform profile of crowdcube, major news about LendingClub & also Ed is joined by a co-founder of Zopa, Bruce Davis. Zopa is the world's first peer-to-peer marketplace lending site.

The price of education in the UK continues to make headlines. Students are having to pay extortionate prices for university. They are leaving with a mountain of debt. And with prices looking likely to increase in the autumn of 2017, under new Tory legislation, is there a cheaper way to learn new skills without paying over the odds? Well, one-way people are doing it is by turning to digital tools, and apps rather than pay for expert advice or services. In fact, over 40% have done this, according to Halifax Insurance. Georgie Frost was joined by Dr Kairen Cullen, and Educational Psychologist.

Do you consider yourself to be an ethical consumer? Do you always check where something has come from and who made it? But who are the most ethical shoppers? The young? Well, no. Is there gap between genders? No. It's those in middle age according to a new study who are more likely to buy Fairtrade and organic goods at supermarkets too. Georgie Frost speaks to Professor Kevin Morrell, of the Warwick Business School.

Do you have money worries? Is it affecting your state of mind? Personal debt for many is spiralling out of control with the levels topping £180bn in Britain. That's more than the annual budget for the NHS. Well one organisation is looking to help those who are in trouble by offering free debt advice and management plans. Jane Clack from PayPlan speak to Georgie Frost about how serious the debt in this country is, and how to overcome these issues.

Joanna Faith, editor of YourMoney.com joins Georgie Frost in the studio to discuss the biggest finance stories of the last 24 hours. On the agenda today, unemployment figures have dropped by two thousand, are pensions safe after the BHS crash, people not knowing the price of their mortgages and much more. Consuming Issues goes out with Georgie Frost every day from 9 to 12 on Share Radio.

Are you a serial returner? Research from Barclaycard has highlighted the rise of shoppers who deliberately over-order goods before returning them. Otherwise known as 'serial returners', it’s beginning to hurt retailers' bottom line. Sharon Manikon, Director of Customer Solutions at Barclaycard Global Payment Acceptance, talked about this with Sarah Lowther and Chris Bailey.