Wake Up to Money

Felicity Hannah previews the Bank of England's decision on Interest Rates due today

And we'll look into the role played by a growing anti-datacentre movement in the US Midterm elections and what could happen to infrastructure here.

Elsewhere, design platforms Canva and Squarespace make cuts because of AI - we'll dig into how this is impacting graphic designers.

Will Bain has the latest results and reaction to US midterm elections, which could reshape the balance of power in Washington. We're joined by an expert panel of guests from across the States and also here in the UK who can explain what's important for voters, and why these elections matter for us in Britain. Plus, hanging in the balance is the future of British retailer Poundland - we hear from one of the store's founders about where it could be headed.

After fridges across Europe are hacked, Will Bain asks whether our tech is safe. In the USA, it is the day of crucial midterm elections that could define the second half of Donald Trump's second term as President. And as Apple beats expectations in its first set of results since John Ternus replaced Tim Cook as CEO, Will asks whether the company's AI strategy is paying off.

Virgin Media O2 is set to announce plans to cut thousands of jobs. Across the pond, the US midterm elections are one day away. And who was your favourite signing on Championship Manager back in the day? Now known as Football Manager, Will Bain hears from one of the main people behind the cult video game.

With Halloween approaching, Felicity Hannah reflects on whether businesses or markets were spooked by the Chancellor's Budget. Elsewhere, new employment rights legislation comes into effect, and a pumpkin farmer adapts his trade following Storm Boelo. We all know about pumpkin picking, but what about pumpkin smashing?

Sean Farrington hears from economists, experts, and businesses for their Budget reaction. Elsewhere, he asks what earnings from Alphabet and Microsoft tell us about investor sentiment around tech and AI.

On the day of John Healey's first budget as Chancellor, we hear from businesses, economists, and listeners on what might be inside this afternoon's red box.

And Harry Kane is the winner of this year's Ballon d'Or, awarded to the world's best football player. What does his achievement mean for the brands who sponsor him?

The government has just announced a range of 'everyday fixes' designed with the hard-up consumer in mind. But is extending parental pay, offering higher mileage rates and potentially lowering the price of a tin of baked beans a serious measure to counter the cost of living - or a sweetener ahead of harder news in the budget? And we speak to a business rates expert and a hotelier to find out what the budget has in store for the hard-pressed hospitality sector. And everybody needs good Neighbours. But do they really need AI-generated one-minute-long 'microdramas' of the Australian soap saga? Sean Farrington takes a very brief trip to Ramsay Street to find out.

With the budget only days away, Will Bain speaks to experts about what's likely to happen in two of the most talked about sectors of the economy: banking and the defence industry, with the former anticipating tax rises, the latter a spending boost. And Europe's busiest shopping street goes car-free this week. Oxford Street's shopping champion tells us why he thinks pedestrianising a kilometre stretch of London's top retail destination will help it win back some of its glamour.

Will Bain asks what next for electric car sales in the UK as a consultation on the ZEV mandate ends.

Elsewhere, ticket sales for a documentary on Elizabeth Holmes are already selling quickly ahead of the release in the UK.

And in our weekly panel, we round up a big week for business news including the latest economic data and rising AI spending.

Sean Farrington explores what scrapping standing charges on gas bills could mean for households. We also look at why websites worldwide were taken down to address critical cyber-security vulnerabilities in in a crucial programming language. And, over in the US, Meta has received millions of sign-ups for its AI agent. We get the lowdown on how these digital assistants actually work.

Sean Farrington hears from both sides of the Jackdaw gas field debate as a decision is expected to finally be made. We'll be hearing perspectives from both local voices on the potential impact on local jobs and industry, as well as the investors who want the government to keep its messaging clear on the environment.

Also the home entertainment giant Netflix reveals its worst revenues in three years, as it also lowers its forecast for next quarter. We find out what could the streaming service do to turn it around?

And Cambridge is seeing huge growth in investment in its early-stage companies. We speak to one company that made it to a billion-dollar valuation earlier this year.

Private car park operators will have less scope to charge drivers for certain mistakes under new government measures announced this morning - Sean Farrington speaks to the AA's head of roads policy on whether the new changes go far enough.

Less than 18 months after the discount supermarket Poundland was sold for one pound, talks are ongoing for it to be sold again. What could this mean for the jobs and future of the retailer?

And proposals to charge the TV licence fee to people who use streaming platforms like YouTube and Netflix are reportedly under consideration. The manager behind one of YouTube's biggest successes speaks to Wake Up to Money.

As France rues a weekend of peaceful protests that turned ugly, we talk to an economist in Paris about the cost of living concerns that have driven people out on to the streets. And we'll be asking if a contract for the UK's space defence programme is in the best interests of the industry. Also, the Manchester tech firm which is bringing football pundits closer to the action than ever before.

Apple opens pre-orders for its iPhone Duo and announces a move into the smart home tech market. But will the company's new direction bear fruit? Also, as the Environment Agency declares severe drought for areas of southern England, we speak to a farmer about what continuing water shortages mean for his business. And we find out what's behind the slump in AI stock and all the week's business stories with our regular panel of experts.

Sean Farrington finds out what the consequences of dropping oil flows though the Strait of Hormuz are, after an increase in attacks on shipping.

As the real Living Wage increases, we'll hear why business should pay it from the group that comes up with the figure as well as the business who say they'd love to pay it, but can't.

And, London's oldest restaurant - Rules - has a new landlord: the National Trust. We'll find out what that means for one of Covent Garden's institutions.

Sean Farrington looks at English football after the regulator says clubs are existing on a financial cliff-edge.

Elsewhere, the steel industry calls on the government to relax import tariffs and quotas as they're facing huge bills for buying specialist products form overseas.

And, as Winnie the Pooh turns 100 - we'll look at what has made Hundred Acre Wood's most famous resident such a strong IP.

Sean Farrington delves into the latest IMF outlook for the UK economy which says growth is set to be higher than previously expected this year,

Elsewhere, just hours after yesterday's interview with Brad Smith, the UK's AI minister Kanishka Naryan confirmed the UK will now be able to test leading artificial intelligence models before they are released to the public - we'll find out what that means in practice.

And - what makes a film flop? We'll look at Digger - the new Tom Cruise film - is tipped to be one of the biggest loss making films of all time.

Will Bain examines the financial predicament facing the chancellor ahead of the budget

And "AI is moving forward faster than the speed of safety" - so says the President of Microsoft, Brad Smith .. we'll find out why he thinks the UK is best placed to deal with the challenge

Elsewhere, we'll look at the latest view of the markets ahead of an important data release from the government later this week.

As the EU and China make a deal to reduce imports of electric cars into the trading bloc, Will looks at what means from the boss of Europe's biggest carmakers

Felicity Hannah looks at the week's biggest business stories with her expert panel.

We'll also hear from the body that represents independent musicians about what the impact of AI could be on the creative industries.

As the price of oil rises once again, we'll see what that means for markets and find out why questions are asked about Open AI's projected profits.

And, we'll hear from the boss of the UK's biggest bingo chain about the difficulty businesses like theirs are facing.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham tells Wake Up to Money that the increase to national insurance has "added pressure" to businesses and tells Felicity Hannah his announcements aimed at tackling the cost of living are not enough on their own and hinted at further support.

On Wake Up To Money, we talk a lot about jobs, wages and the labour market. And we often hear from the bosses of some of our biggest recruitment firms.

One of those is the Reed Group.

Sir Alec Reed started the company 65 years ago and made it into one of the UK's biggest private businesses. He was knighted for his services to business and charity in 2011.

He'd long stepped down as Chief Executive of Reed by then, handing over the reins to his son, James, in 1997.

Sean Farrington sat down with James to look back on the life of his Dad - and how they navigated being part of the same team at work as well as at home... something that will sound familiar to so many across the country.

Sean Farrington has a look at the money behind sport - this week: mass-participation events.

It's big business - from the thousands of competitors that sign up to take part, to managing the event itself, to the fundraising.

Sean hears from Paul Foster, the Chief Executive of The Great Run Company - the company behind the Great North Run and many other events across the country. He'll also speak to Nick Tuppen, Chief Executive of Threshold Sports, one of the UK's fastest-growing active events agencies who coordinate more than 50 mass participation events per year.

Producers: Stefan Jajecznyk & Olivia Baron

Sean Farrington speaks to Andrew Georgiou, President & Managing Director of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and Paul Barber, Chief Executive of Premier League club Brighton and Hove Albion FC

Sean Farrington speaks to owner of Worcester City Women FC Nicole Allison and former Head of Women’s Football at The Football Association of Wales Lowri Roberts

Sean speaks to chief executive of British cycling brand Rapha, Fran Millar, and former World Cycling Road Race Champion and four-time British Road Race Champion Lizzie Deignan.

Sean takes a look at the rise of the use in technology in sport. From automated line-calling, VAR & AI data analytics - we ask how tech is shaping the future of sport.

Sean spoke to Padel boss Sam Kemp from R3 Sports, Women's football consultant Andrea Ekblad and sportswear company MandM Chairman Mike Tomkins

Will Bain presents a review of the business year with some of our best interviews from 2024, featuring the biggest stories in money and business this year.

Sean Farrington sits down with Superdry boss Julian Dunkerton, who doesn't hold back on Shein. Plus The Friedkin Group has agreed a deal to buy Premier League club Everton.

What do a football club, a media mogul and a social media giant all have in common?

Fresh from another victory, Manchester City faces the start of hearings into its 115 alleged financial fair play charges today - Sean Farrington finds out what's in play.

An American court will hear arguments on whether the US government can ban the Chinese social media giant TikTok from the country.

And the children of an ageing media mogul fight for their stake in his news empire - no, it's not a smash-hit TV drama, but a court case involving Rupert Murdoch that gets under way on Monday. We hear what it could mean for the future of News Corp.

Felicity Hannah finds out if the private sector should fund a new rail link. And, after the success of the first spacewalk, is the sky the limit when it comes to space tourism?

it’s just 8 weeks till the American Election and Trump and Harris go head to head in their first live TV debate. Plus the skills Olympics finally gets underway in Lyon, France.

Sean Farrington takes a look how Apple's latest gadgets will feature all things AI. Plus we find out why ASOS has been getting a lot of backlash online.

Will Bain looks at what has to change in construction following the Grenfell Inquiry.

Elsewhere, the Chief Executive of Mountain Warehouse speaks about the company's latest acquisition and broader plans for US expansion, and live music's contribution to the UK economy topped £6bn for the first time last year.

Will Bain looks back at some of the highlights from Wake Up To Money in 2023. There's the story of the takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft including an interview with the Microsoft President Brad Smith which made headlines around the world. Former England and Manchester United footballer Gary Neville explained why he's investing in property and the UK boss of Google Debbie Weinstein told us how AI is changing the world.

He's most famous for his football career and more recently, his punditry, but Gary Neville is also hugely successful in the worlds of business and property developing.

In this interview, he tells Sean Farrington about his plans for a new £400 million project in the centre of Manchester.

They discuss how rising interest rates are affecting the building trade, why Gary feels the hospitality industry is paying the best wages it can afford to, and Gary’s new role on Dragons’ Den.

This is an extended version of an interview first broadcast on Wake Up To Money on July 6th, 2023.

The BBC's North America Technology Correspondent James Clayton talks exclusively to Elon Musk about Twitter. They discuss why he bought the social media site, controversy around tackling disinformation and the future for blue ticks.

Sir Ian Livingstone talks to Rahul Tandon about founding Games Workshop and the popularity of Dungeons and Dragons. He reveals his collection of hundreds of board games as well as discussing the development of Tomb Raider.

Timothy Armoo talks to Sean Farrington about his decision to sell the business he founded in a multi-million pound deal. He discusses why he decided to sell, what he's learnt and his plans for what he's going to do next.

Rahul Tandon looks at the money behind The Ashes. He discusses how important sponsorship is in cricket, how to grow the fanbase and get more people involved in the game. Rahul also speaks to Manoj Badale, one of the owners of the IPL team the Rajasthan Royal.

One of the biggest names in the world in private equity, Guy Hands, talks candidly about what he calls 'going from hero to zero'. Speaking with Felicity Hannah he shares his experience of growing his business Terra Firma Capital Partners which became one of the largest investment companies in the world. He discusses the controversy around his ownership of record label EMI and losing control of the care home company Four Seasons. He also talks about being dyslexic and how it's affected his life as well as the challenge of making business greener.

John Lyttle, chief executive of Boohoo, tells Sean Farrington about the company's massive growth and future expansion plans. He says the company doesn't make throwaway fashion and is taking measures to tackle climate change. He also discusses the recent controversy around allegations of mistreatment of staff at some of its suppliers in Leicester.

Felicity Hannah looks at how the Olympic games are financed and the competitors are funded.

She's joined by Sir Keith Mills, former Deputy Chair of London 2012 organising committee; Nigel Walker who's National Director of the English Institute of Sport; Marie Oldham, Executive chair of the advertising agency VCCP Media and Danny Downs of online sports retailer Fanatics.

Joe Foster, founder of Reebok talks with Sean Farrington and Reggie Nelson about creating one of the world's biggest brands. From the origins of a family business to breaking America and making trainers a must-have fashion item.

Roei Samuel talks to Sean Farrington about setting up e-sports business Real Sport which he sold in a multi-million pound deal and about how having ADHD affected his education and career choices.

Tom and Phil Beahon set up their sportswear brand Castore in Liverpool after their professional sporting careers came to an end. They chat with Sean about growing the brand, how their parents re-mortgaged their house to give them the money to get it off the ground and working with Sir Andy Murray and football clubs Rangers and Wolves.

CC Clarke talks to Sean Farrington talks about growing her fanbase to more than two million followers and setting up her make-up business. She discusses how she's carried on with her singing career and dealing with social media trolls.

After the collapse of plans for a European Super League, Sean Farrington discusses the future of football with current and former club bosses, fans and sport business experts.

Sean Farrington chats with Grace Beverley about how she built up a million followers on Instagram before going on to launch her own fitness brand Shreddy and sustainable style brand TALA. Photo courtesy: Andy Cuthbert

Sean Farrington chats with Chester Mojay-Sinclare who first got his business off the ground by launching a potato into space. Eleven years later, he has raised over £100 million for charities through his company Enthuse.

How Jenna Brown turned her passion for start-ups into a multi-million backed business.

Sean Farrington chats with Alex Lovén, who started selling cricket bats when he was 13 to his mates at school, graduated to selling the bats on eBay and made £1m in sales by 22 and now, aged 33, his sports equipment business makes £50m in turnover.

Kofi McCalla, a menswear fashion YouTuber, on how he hit over 100 million views. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this podcast please visit the BBC Action Line website https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline/

Sean Farrington interviews Liberty Foreman, who started up a cancer screening tech company DynamX Medical by spinning it out from her PhD. Since then she’s raised millions in investment all before the company has even turned a profit. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this podcast please visit the BBC Action Line website https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline/

Sean Farrington interviews Maciek Kacprzyk and Karina Sudenyte, the founders of Flawsome!, a food waste company that saves wonky fruit from landfill and makes them into cold pressed juice and sparkling fruit juice waters.

The story of how 26-year-old Timothy Armoo built a million-pound marketing business.

Sean Farrington chats with Adnan Ebrahim who sold his first website before he was 18. He then founded Car Throttle, which quickly reached millions of followers around the world. He sold it in his mid-20's and has since embarked on a new venture

Sean Farrington looks at the money behind the Rugby World Cup in Japan including how can smaller countries break into the top tier of the game.

It's a year until the Tokyo Olympics will be getting underway. The British Olympics Association has told us it could be one of the most expensive yet.

A number of sports will be making their debut at the games - one of them is competitive climbing. But who sponsors a brand new sport, and how do they get funding?

Sean and Mickey look at how sport is being reported off the pitch, from long reads to podcasts to social media.

The industry is worth over $1bn globally. Is it time to take gaming as a competitive activity a bit more seriously?

Danni Hewson talks with Sanjeev Gupta, boss of one of the world's largest steel producers Liberty Steel.

Chief Executive of the Co-Operative Group, Steve Murrells talks with Danni Hewson about supermarkets; funerals and schools and how it's recovered from a difficult period.

Lovehoney co-founders Neal Slateford and Richard Longhurst talk about developing their online sex toy company, meeting the Queen and adapting their business for international markets.

Wake Up To Money's Sean Farrington meets Paul Pomroy, the Chief Executive of McDonald's for the UK and Ireland to discuss the High Street crisis; plastic straws; Brexit; zero hours contracts and waste.

Linda Jackson, Chief Executive of Citroen talks about women in the car industry, electric cars and whether the 2CV could ever make a comeback.

Working with David Bowie on one of pop’s best kept secrets and how he won George Michael back after the star’s bitter split from Sony.

Humphrey Cobbold, boss of Pure Gym talks to Sean Farrington about how the chain has gone from zero to a million members in less than a decade.

Plus how the treadmill is falling out of fashion as workouts change with the times.

The boss of the company which owns some of the UK’s biggest shopping centres tells Wake Up To Money’s Mickey Clarke that retail is alive and kicking.

Marston's Chief Executive Ralph Findlay, Quality not quantity: How drinkers’ tastes have changed and why so many restaurants are struggling at the moment.

Terrorism, cyber crime, luxury cars and diamonds. Who says insurance is boring? Bronek Masojada boss of Hiscox talks insurance with Wake Up To Money’s Louise Cooper.

Why banks need more branches and "it was a miserable place to be”: Life at RBS during the bailout.

Domino's Pizza CEO David Wild on executive pay, The Simpsons and chanting.

David Duffy, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks boss, talks Open Banking, drones and the rise of the robots.