Wake Up to Money

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 budgetAnd "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 challengeElsewhere, 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.

The London Stock Exchange boss tells us that gloom has had an impact on London listings. Dame Julia Hoggett also names supplements maker Applied Nutrition as one of the bourse's recent success stories. Will Bain gets the reaction of founder Tom Ryder. Elsewhere, the International Energy Agency agrees to accelerate the release of barrels of oil, but doesn't expand plans announced in the Spring. Also Boots is is sold for nearly £7 billion. And, as hundreds of new hardbacks hit the shelves ahead of the Christmas shopping season, we find out why 'Super Thursday' is getting a bit less super.

Sean Farrington shares the latest developments on the apparent cyber attack on ASOS, we find out how the retailer may respond.Also we learn about the new all-electric era that's arrived for Jaguar and what it means for the carmaker.Elsewhere why the new Sense & Sensibility is the latest period drama driving more of us to the historic properties used as filming locations.

Sean Farrington speaks to the owners of Wakefield Trinity after it became the unlikely club to win the Rugby Super League title - we hear how it's turned its fate around.We also hear what the boss of BT had to say on its takeover of TalkTalk.And Sean will be joined by the founder of the Yoto audio player who tell us why revenues are up.Elsewhere Spain has called a snap general election a year earlier than intended, we'll hear about the housing crisis that's caused it.

Will Bain finds out more about the fate of one of the UK's biggest broadcast providers Talk Talk as BT appears set to rescue the company. We'll take a look at what that might mean for customers, and the other bidders throwing their hat in the ring.As the budget edges closer, we hear from the defence sector about what it wants from the Chancellor.And will the price of diesel continue to rise after it hit record highs last week?Elsewhere we find out just how open people are with friends and family when it comes to their salaries.