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Sue Dougan is joined in the studio by web editor at MoneySuperMarket.com Kevin Pratt. On the agenda today they look at the state of Britain's aging railways as well as our spending trends from 2016. Plus what to do with any unwanted Christmas gifts. All these stories and more on The News Review.

Welcome to the This is Money and Share Radio podcast, brought to you in partnership with NS&I. It’s the last episode of the year and we’re looking back on the biggest financial stories we’ve seen in 2016- the year of the unexpected. In June in a poll defying result Britain voted by 52% to leave the EU. Since then Brexit has been a nearly constant presence in the headlines being blamed for everything from disappearing marmite to an abandoned sequel to the Mrs Brown’s Boys film. The surprises didn’t stop with Brexit though. Across the pond billionaire TV personality Donald Trump beat the odds to win the US Presidential Election. Looking back on the year Georgie Frost is joined by Editor Simon Lambert and Consumer Affairs Editor Lee Boyce. Also on the agenda they look at the ongoing woes of Britain’s housing market, the never ending story of the new plastic fiver and the third big surprise of 2016, Leicester City winning the Premier League.

Welcome to the This is Money and Share Radio podcast, brought to you in partnership with NS&I. This week we’re getting festive with our annual Christmas taste test. Four retailers will be competing on cost and quality as we sample a full range of festive fare. Will last year’s champion Lidl hold its top place? Or will it fall victim to a resurgent Tesco? Also on trial this week we’ll have the upmarket option, Waitrose, and a mystery wildcard. Georgie Frost is joined by taste testers Editor Simon Lambert, Consumer Affairs editor Lee Boyce and special guest Development Editor Rich Browning. It’s not all eating though and as we delve into the financial stories of the day we’ll be serving up a starter of inflation forecasts, digging into a main course of mortgages and for pudding we’ll be rounding things off with a look at how the supermarkets have fared this year. This is Money is presented by Georgie Frost in partnership with NS&I.

Helen Thomas, Managing Director of BlondeMoney, joined Share Radio Breakfast to offer her regular market round-up. This week, Helen discussed the Fed after the decision to raise interest rates. This before a Trump presidency, so how will the Fed operate once The Donald is in power? And do we need to get used to higher interest rates from here onwards?

Iran's state airline says it's signed a $16.6 billion deal with US aircraft maker Boeing. Iran Air will buy 80 passenger planes as part of a 10-year deal, in the biggest business agreement between the US and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. So is this the first big sign of a thawing relationship, or will matters be complicated by President-Elect Trump's indication of anti-Iranian policies? Matt Cox spoke to Howard Wheeldon, Founder of Wheeldon Strategic Advisory, to find out more.

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.

Welcome to the This is Money and Share Radio podcast, brought to you in partnership with NS&I. Are we seeing the end of an era for ultra cheap mortgages? HSBC is withdrawing its record low 0.99% deal which could usher in a new wave of price hikes. It’s not just mortgages undergoing price hikes though. Rail fares are set to rise 2.3% whilst growing commuter dissatisfaction with poor service has prompted Transport Secretary Chris Grayling to devise a new plan for better management. In the end though train times might be the last of our problems as we hear about one financial expert predicting major financial Armageddon just around the corner. Could we be in for the worst crisis yet? And what can people do to prepare? Gold is being tipped as a favourite but certainly not spread betting which is currently undergoing a crackdown. Georgie Frost is joined by Personal Finance Editor Rachel Rickard Straus and Consumer Affairs Editor Lee Boyce to find out more about this potential money meltdown. Also this week we take a look at Money Mail’s annual Wooden Spoon Awards and see which of Britain’s shambolic businesses have made it onto the shortlist.

Helen Thomas, Managing Director of BlondeMoney, joined Share Radio Breakfast for the first instalment of her new slot each Friday. She's a blogger, worked in the city for George Osborne, and loves policy, politics and finance. This week, Helen discusses Mario Draghi and the ECB meeting on Thursday. The ECB president warned of a year of 'big uncertainty' for the Eurozone as voters go to the polls in Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Analysts say that Glencore could add an extra £63m a year to profits after buying a 19.5% stake in Russian energy giant Rosneft for £8.6bn. One of the key conditions was Glencore agreeing to sell 220,000 barrels of Rosneft’s oil a day over the next five years. It comes as Russian president Vladimir Putin tries to plug a budget deficit by privatising state assets. James Brydges spoke to Michael Moynihan, Research Director for Russia at Wood Mackenzie, to find out more.

Almost a year late, investors in Hong Kong can now buy stocks on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. HK has long been a traditional gateway to the rest of mainland China. This Hong Kong-Shenzhen Connect, is an important milestone in further opening up the Chinese market. Shenzhen is Asia's busiest exchange with a monthly turnover of more than a trillion dollars. To look into this further, Paul Lynch, of Itarle, which is active on exchanges in the region, joined Share Radio Breakfast.