Share Radio Breakfast

Ahead of two big interest rate decisions in the UK and US, Ranko Berich, Head of Market Analysis at Monex Europe, joined Share Radio Breakfast to give his take on what to expect, whilst also discussing how it will affect the currencies.

Barclays has agreed to sell its French retail banking operations to European private equity firm, AnaCap Financial Partners. This follows the UK bank’s decision to sell its credit arms in Spain and Portugal. The bank says it's going to focus on its core markets in the UK and US. So is this the Barclays equivalent of Brexit? Share Radio’s Matt Cox spoke to Jeremy Cook, Chief Economist from World First, to find out more about the decision and what it will mean.

India's monetary credibility took a hit following the government's decision to remove large denomination notes from circulation one month ago. Prices in the country have reportedly collapsed and consumer sales fell by as much as 30% in November. Now, rating agency Fitch has cut its growth forecast for the country from 7.4% to 6.9% and some economists believe the damage could be even worse. Robert Van Egghen reports.

A new report by KPMG for the Department of Transport suggests privatising the Ship Register would help attract more shipping companies to Britain. UK shipping accounts for less than 1% of global tonnage and the UK-registered fleet has shrunk by 18% in the past five years. The report claims a part-privatisation would give British shipping greater commercial freedom and could help the country compete on the global stage after Brexit. Share Radio's Robert Van Egghen reports on Britain's return to the open waves.

Alexandra Russell-Oliver, Analyst at Caxton FX, joined Share Radio to bring the latest currency market news.

Head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde is appearing in court today charged with negligence and misuse of public funds. Lagarde is under fire for a massive government payout to tycoon Bernard Tapie from her time as French finance minister. Share Radio's James Brydges has been finding out more.

Bermuda is considered the world’s worst corporate tax haven, according to a report released by Oxfam. The report also names and shames three other territories, which, like Bermuda, are under UK sovereignty: Cayman Islands, Jersey and the British Virgin Islands. Timon Molloy, Managing Editor of Money Laundering Bulletin, joined Share Radio to discuss this. We started by asking him if we have learnt anything new from this report.

There are only eleven shopping days left until Christmas and it's already apparent who some of the winners and losers might be on our high streets. But if the queues around their stores are anything to do by, one of the festive winners may be Flying Tiger Copenhagen, until recently known as Tiger. Flying Tiger stores sell everyday home and kitchenware, stationery and toys, often with a Scandinavian design twist. The first UK store was in Basingstoke, and now the company counts 80 stores in the country, 600 stores across 29 countries. What can we learn from how they trade? Philip Bier heads Tiger’s business in the south-east of England, and he joined Share Radio to discuss.

New figures show that the arm sales industry in the UK last year increased 2.8%. BAE Systems, the biggest manufacturer here in the UK and third biggest worldwide saw sales rise to 25.5 billion dollars, in part from Typhoon combat aircraft exported to Saudi Arabia. Share Radio's James Brydges has been speaking to Aude Fleurant, from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, that compiled the figures.

Concerns have been raised after the National Grid decided to sell a majority stake in its gas division. A consortium led by Australian bank Macquarie will buy a 61% stake in the UK's gas infrastructure network, that values the business at about £13.8bn. But public services union, Unison, says that their tax structure is an area for concern, and that profits will take precedence over maintaining the pipelines. James Brydges spoke to Matthew Lay from Unison, but first heard from Dr Jonathan Marshall from the Energy Intelligence unit.