Stephen Beard

SHORT BIO

Based in London, Stephen Beard is Marketplace's former London Bureau Chief. He reported for the entire Marketplace portfolio providing daily coverage of Europe’s business and economic developments.

When asked what he most enjoys about his work, he answers simply, “travel.” Stephen produced a series of features on the European debt crisis, reported from the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the World Economic Forum in Davos, and various locations in Greece, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

Stephen has spent four decades in radio. Before joining Marketplace in 1993, he worked for 20 years as a BBC staffer and freelance reporter, in addition to time with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and with commercial broadcasting stations in Manchester, England, and Victoria, British Columbia. His reporting has taken him throughout North America and Europe, as well as the Middle East, China, Australia, Malaysia and India.

Stephen holds a prestigious Clarion Award for his report on the death of U.S. politician Ron Brown; a National Federation of Community Broadcasters Golden Reel award for a series on modern-day slavery; and a New York Festivals Silver World Medal for his series on the changing face of Eastern Europe.

Stephen is a graduate of the University of Leeds, with an honors degree in Law. When Stephen isn’t working, he enjoys reading biographies and tending his small farm outside London, which includes 110 ewes, one very noisy cockerel and an elderly, non-laying hen. In addition to his impressive journalism CV, he has also worked as a deep-sea fisherman and a bingo caller.

Latest Stories (38)

Was the Bank of England largely to blame for the UK’s inflation?

Aug 1, 2023
A new British pressure group is calling for the UK’s central bank to “lose the power to create unlimited amounts of money out of thin air.”
A new pressure group blames Britain’s central bank and its quantitative easing program for much of the problem in the United Kingdom.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Has the crackdown on global tax dodging failed?

Jul 25, 2023
A British campaign group calls for a different approach to curbing tax avoidance and evasion.
While the Cayman Islands are known for their reputation as tax havens, parts of the U.S. are also destinations for tax avoidance.
David Rogers/Getty Images

Thames Water, the UK’s biggest water company, struggles to plug a hole in its finances

Jul 6, 2023
Huge debts and raw sewage threaten the future of a major British utility.
Joan Fennelly, left, and Jo Robb of the Henley Mermaids swimming in the Thames — in spite of the sewage. “We’ve seen it all and it’s very upsetting.”
Mimisse Beard

Would Canada and Australia be better off without a monarch?  

Jun 30, 2023
Fourteen Commonwealth countries share a head of state — Britain’s King Charles III — but calls to replace him with a republic are growing.
A recent poll finds that Canada and Australia would ditch King Charles III as their symbolic head of state if given the chance.
Daniel Leal - WPA Pool/Getty Images

As Western companies pull out of Russia, Putin allies cash in on discounted assets

Jun 28, 2023
Major American and European brands have pulled out of Russia in protest over the war in Ukraine and have lost millions in the process.
Russian rapper Timati is now co-owner of 130 Stars coffee shops across Russia — the rebranded substitute to Starbucks following the chain's exodus.
Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images

Inflation: Why is it so sticky in the UK?

Jun 13, 2023
A labor shortage and a relatively strong economy contribute to high prices. Some experts worry about inflationary expectations.
A food stall at an outdoor market in London. Food inflation recently hit a 45-year high in the U.K.
Susannah Ireland/AFP via Getty Images

What’s going wrong with post-Brexit Britain?

Jun 7, 2023
Brexit supporters blame the Conservative government for failing to exploit the benefits of leaving the European Union.
In a photo from 2017, the EU and UK flags wave outside Parliament in London. A recent survey finds that British majorities believe successive Conservative governments have mismanaged Brexit and that the initiative was a mistake.
Jack Taylor/Getty Images

New UK fiscal metric paints a rosier picture of the national debt

May 17, 2023
The U.K. has adopted an additional fiscal statistic that suggests public finances are not in such a bad shape after all.
The U.K.'s new “public sector net worth” measure offsets debt by including government-owned infrastructure, such as railways.
Carlos Jasso/AFP via Getty Images

A tale of two British coronations — and two very different economies

May 5, 2023
70 years and huge economic changes separate the crowning of the late Queen Elizabeth and of her son King Charles.
A man erects a life size cut-out of King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort on the Mall as preparations continue for the Coronation.
Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

UK public sector workers battle for pay hikes that match inflation

Apr 25, 2023
Following a rash of strikes in the public sector, some British workers have settled their pay disputes, but more are taking further action. And the government is striking back.
Doctors striking for a 35% increase in pay.
Mimisse Beard