Economics is a subject that most of us know is of great importance but find it rather tricky getting our heads around. So for us laymen it's very handy to have clear and articulate voices on hand to explain its vagaries on a daily basis.
Both Evan Davis and Stephanie Flanders have fulfilled this role admirably. Flanders, whose contributions to Newsnight have always been a beacon of eloquence and lucidity, has now followed Davis to become the BBC's economics editor.
Davis, also Newsnight's economics guru before his elevation back in 2001, becomes a presenter on the Today programme in April. He deserves great credit for enlivening the BBC's economics coverage over the past seven years after taking over from Peter Jay.
I enjoy his Evanomics blog and Dragons' Den, which he hosts, has done a good job of bringing an entertaining dimension to the BBC's business coverage. See here for the response to his Today appointment.
I have every expectation that Flanders will be excellent in her new job. She may not be as lively and dramatic as Davis, and her cerebral style will need some modifying for the main BBC bulletins, but she is always exceptionally clear. In one sense it is a shame that we'll lose her from Newsnight, which gave her more space for detailed reporting and sophisticated analysis than she is likely to get from now on.
How will she rate as one of BBC News' big guns, alongside the likes of political editor Nick Robinson, business editor Robert Peston and world affairs editor John Simpson?
