The retail landscape is changing, with us having relied more on deliveries and click and collect during the COVID crisis. Susannah Street from Hargreaves Lansdown tells Phil Dobbie how Sainsbury’s, who reported their annual earnings yesterday,

EU Votes on Brexit Shambles

Apr 28th, 2021 34m 50s

The European Commission voted yesterday on the trade agreement that has been in operation since the start of January. Their President Ursula von der Leyen warned, in the European parliament yesterday, that they were prepared to use unilateral a

A very cloudy summer for tourism

Apr 27th, 2021 34m 2s

The Independent’s Travel Editor Simon Calder joins phil Dobbie on today’s podcast to talk about the state of the travel industry in what is likely to be a very disappointing summer all round. Even though Ursula Von der Leyen has said the EU wil

The magic 700

Apr 26th, 2021 32m 25s

Shares advisor Rodney Hobson is on It’s the Business today to discuss where the markets will go now? The FTSE100 lost one percent last week, which may not be a lot in the scheme of things, but it is hovering around the psychological 7000 barrie

Will anything come out of Biden’s Climate Fest?

Apr 22nd, 2021 40m 45s

Politicians the world over have been scurrying around for climate pledges in preparation for today’s Climate Summit, called by President Biden. Today Phil Dobbie talks to environment journalist Lucy Siegle about what, if anything, will be achie

Hello Housing Bubble, Goodbye Super League

Apr 21st, 2021 39m 13s

This week Rishi Sunak launched support for banks to offers 95% mortgages. Why? House prices are out or near record highs, so is this a sector that needs government intervention. What’s worse, won’t it simply inflate prices even higher. Property

US v UK – who has the right idea on recovery (and football)?

Apr 20th, 2021 28m 19s

Three stories on today’s podcast. First, the latest employment data from the ONS, just out this morning. Phil Dobbie dissects it hot off the press.Secondly, all the newspapers are filled with shock and awe over the Super League plans for six En

Side hustles, Bitcoin tumbles and Brexit stumbles

Apr 19th, 2021 36m 34s

Bitcoin lost 15% yesterday. We know it’ll bounce back, but for how long. Maybe its worth considering what American billionaire Ray Dalio predicted last month, that Bitcoin would eventually be outlawed. We look at reasons why he might be right.

Computing on the Edge, Crypto on the NASDAQ

Apr 15th, 2021 31m 37s

Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase listed on the NASDAQ yesterday. Almost immediately it pulled the value of tech stocks down, whilst the value of Bitcoin also dropped. Today Phil Dobbie asks whether Coinbase will become the defacto share

Will COVID-19 breed more surveillance?

Apr 14th, 2021 33m 21s

You’d have to be the most optimistic optimist to assume that in a few months COVID-19 will be all but a memory. It will still be around and we could still be spreading it, with or without a vaccine. It’s not over until everyone is vaccinated, w

The Fast Track for China

Apr 13th, 2021 29m 33s

China saw its economy expand last year, whilst the rest of us saw significant declines. This year they are expected to outgrow the rest of the developed world even more so. to Vicky Pryce says China was expected to eclipse thew US economy by 20

Cyclical Thinking

Apr 12th, 2021 32m 21s

Today, Rodney Hobson talks about cyclical stocks – shares that might bounce back after a recession. But how different is it this time? And what of counter-cyclical stock, those that have done well during the downturn but will lose ground as the

Eating out (in the cold) and Biden’s World Tax Plans

Apr 9th, 2021 32m 28s

Will you be heading out to eat out at a restaurant on Monday? Under the easing of lockdown rules you can from Monday, but you have to sit outside. And it’s going to be cold and wet on Monday. No matter people will put on a warm coat and embrace

Why we need to save our steel

Apr 8th, 2021 31m 25s

The UK is a bit player when it comes to steel production. China, for example, produces at least 150 times more than us. But if we want to be assured of quality, and if we want to ensure that it is produced with the least environmental damage, t

Managing the Cost of Money

Apr 7th, 2021 33m 16s

Economies are already bouncing back from the worst of the COVID-19 crisis. Yesterday the IMF forecast that the UK economy would grow by 5.3% this year, helped by the fast vaccine rollout. The forecast for the US has also been upgraded, from 3.1

The end of the high street estate agent?

Apr 6th, 2021 31m 25s

Estate agency businesses are moving online and have been for many years. Yet, estate agents still occupy expensive real estate in many of our towns and cities. Today industry commentator Russel Quirk says those days are numbered. So, what is th

How Green is Your Pension?

Apr 1st, 2021 33m 47s

Joe Biden has unleashed another couple of billion dollars of spending on the US economy, focusing largely on infrastructure. It’s aimed to create jobs for the middle class, and build growth from the middle out, not from the top down. Boris John

Royal Mail Delivers, Deliveroo More Doubtful

Mar 31st, 2021 33m 55s

Royal Mail announced the return of dividends yesterday and reaffirmed an expected operating profit of £700 million for the 2020-21 financial year. Susannah Street, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, joins phil to talk

Websites by numbers

Mar 30th, 2021 32m 5s

You can make some quick wins on your website to fix obstacles that might be stopping customers buying from you. But when you’ve been through the low hanging fruit, what do you do next? Do you go for a complete site rebuild to fix more fundament

If you gamble, you lose

Mar 29th, 2021 35m 19s

The FCA is worried that many new investors are gambling on shares for all the wrong reasons. Today on the podcast Rodney Hobson says he isn’t too concerned, it’ll reach a valuable lesson to those who lose out. A bigger concern, he says, is when

Savings will slow the bounce back

Mar 26th, 2021 35m 23s

The Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane famously said the UK economy will bounce back this year, like a coiled spring. There could be two reasons why he is wrong. First, vaccine nationalism continues, with the EU’s Ursula von der Ley

How the Ad Industry Caught COVID

Mar 25th, 2021 34m 11s

The ad industry was hit as hard as most other industries during the ACOVID crisis. Some sectors, like cinema advertising, had to shut down completely. So how quickly will it bounce back? Phil puts that question to Gideon Spanier, editor in chie

Real jobs data and lockdown legacies

Mar 24th, 2021 35m 23s

As we head out of lockdown, soonish, what habits adopted in the last 12 wil stay with us. Futurologist Tom Cheesewright has been looking at our spending habits, using data from Barclaycard, and suggests that some of these behaviours will carry-

Eight Ways We Can Win at AI

Mar 23rd, 2021 37m 20s

It’s one year ago today that Britain first went into lockdown. Today we look ahead at one industry that could help lead the UK into a brave new world, creating jobs and boosting our GDP – artificial intelligence. But are we a contender to be on

Save money by beating the bots

Mar 22nd, 2021 35m 54s

Personal finance export Jasmine Birtles from Money Magpie joins Phil today to look at money saving ideas, including taking in the online bots that push you to buy more. She also looks at how to prepare for the end of the tax year and discusses