Why do some big successful brands go bust?

Toast is back for a new series, taking a look at the decisions that often left investors burnt.

I'm Sean Farrington, a BBC business journalist. I'll be hearing about the hype.

They're going to do the deal that makes them the most money at that point of time.

And I'm picking what went wrong, talking to owners and employees to ask, what can we learn?

It was being undercut by similar rivals. It just couldn't survive.

Toast. Listen first on BBC Sounds.

Hello, and thanks for downloading the more or less podcast.

We're the program that looks at the numbers in the news, and I'm Charlotte McDonald.

Today, we're looking at a stat that keeps cropping up in US media,

a number that gained attention across the political spectrum.

Here's left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders talking to reporter Dana Bash on CNN last month.

We are living in an economy today, Donna, where the people on top are doing phenomenally well,

while 60% of our people are living paycheck to paycheck.

And here's Republican Nikki Haley, earlier this year, also on CNN.

I mean, right now you've got 60% of American families living paycheck to paycheck.

And they're not the only ones.

60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.

And how to find some relief.

Surveys have found that up to two thirds of Americans feel their living paycheck to paycheck.

Bernie Sanders has called this oft-repeated statistic an economic reality for the U.S.

But is it?

...