Each Friday, Punchline-Gloucester.com editor Mark Owen is joined by leading Gloucestershire business figures from a range of backgrounds to review Fridays national & regional newspapers, discuss what is happening in their own business sector and in their own individual businesses.

Finally, they round off by picking the stories that have caught their eye in this week's Punchline-Gloucester.com.

Taking their places on the business briefing panel this week were:

• Simon Ford, CEO at Allstone & Speedy Skips.
• Sam Holliday, development manager for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Gloucestershire and West of England. Also, ex-editor of the Bath Chronicle, Bath Star and Somerset Guardian and Standard.
• David Owen, CEO at GFirst LEP.
• Ian Mean, Gloucestershire director of Business West. Ex-editor of Gloucester Citizen, Cheltenham Echo and Western Daily Mail.

This week, the panel covered the Boris crisis and took a vote on whether he should stay or go. UCAS demands the end to snobbery of degree apprenticeships. The cost of interest rates going up - Simon believes that the government should lower income tax and had a dire warning about the cost of red diesel going up adding over £600,000 to the cost of running his business.

The panel also discussed the cyber attack and a crisp shortage plus the overall rising cost of living. Also in the mix, the proposed Nuclear fusion project in Berkeley, covid load schemes, GFirst LEP being saved, the state of play for SME's and the rising number of companies that are going bust.

It is a lively informative chat with the panel working their way through the national papers before getting behind the nitty gritty of their own businesses and market place.

The panel fire through lots of subjects, with news and views and there is something to learn for everyone who is interested in business from the people who are at the sharp end of running their companies.

It is well worth the investment of time to listen to four top experts - in business you never stop learning.