Author: Jordan

Remortgaging, particularly in buy-to-let, used to feel relatively straightforward. A deal came to an end, a borrower looked at what rates were available and the conversation with their broker was largely about price. That was true for much of the 2010s when the base rate sat so low, but it’s not the case today. Recent Pegasus Insight research found that 39% of landlords plan to refinance during 2026. Among landlords with four or more buy-to-let mortgages, that figure rises to 56%, compared with 24% of those with between one and three properties – that makes sense, given the…

An ever-increasing number of student loan borrowers struggle to keep up with their payments; roughly 9 million federal loan borrowers were in default as of March 2026.  Under the current rules, borrowers in default can rehabilitate their loans — returning their debt into good standing — just once. But thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), borrowers will be able to take advantage of federal student loan rehabilitation up to two times starting on July 1, 2027.  What is federal student loan rehabilitation?  Defaulting on federal loans can have steep consequences, including damaged credit, garnished wages, and even…

Asian equity markets on Friday are significantly down as price hikes announced by Apple Inc. due to memory chip shortages have prompted fears of high inflation globally and concerns on earning projections of various companies that rely on these sophisticated chips for their final products.At press time, Nikkei 225 nosedives 4.3% to near 69,169, Shanghai plummets 2% at around 4,040, Hang Sang plunges 2.2% to near 22,570, and KOSPI appears to be the biggest victim with 8.2% decline to near 8,200.On Thursday, Apple Inc. said in a statement that the company has reached at a point where it needs to…

By Aymon Bertah, live news reporter Families across the country are having their annual discussion/argument about whether it’s time to invest in air con.Less than 5% of UK homes have it, but that number is set to grow as sweltering conditions – like the ones we’ve seen this week – become more common.So, for those taking the plunge, what should you look out for when making a purchase? We spoke to experts to find out…Is it actually necessary in the UK?Ahmed Karim, a lecturer in refrigeration and air conditioning at the College of North West London, says it hasn’t traditionally been…

A view of the securities district in Yeouido, Seoul. Yonhap NewsDistress signals are emerging in high-risk overseas alternative investments such as foreign real estate and private credit held by Korean insurers, but the complexity of the investment structures makes them difficult to identify quickly, according to an analysis. The assessment found that any deterioration could weigh on profitability, even if it has little impact on capital adequacy.Korean insurers’ exposure to high-risk overseas alternative investments totaled 35 billion dollars as of the end of last year, according to S&P Global Ratings, the global credit rating agency, on Tuesday. Of this, overseas…

Good News! mortgage rates could fall very soon Estate Agent Today Source link

An Iraqi exit would remove the world’s sixth-largest crude producer from the cartel’s output discipline framework and, combined with the UAE’s departure in May, would leave Saudi Arabia increasingly isolated as the group’s enforcer. Mizuho’s Robert Yawger puts a sub-$50 floor scenario on the table if producers begin racing for market share without coordination, a level not seen since the COVID collapse. Brent has already retreated from a March peak above $115 to around $75, closer to pre-war levels, and the directional pressure from further OPEC fragmentation is clearly to the downside. Saudi Arabia’s spare capacity of 2 million barrels…

Mortgage rates stayed essentially flat this week amid mixed signals about progress in peace talks between the US and Iran.  The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.49% this week through Wednesday, according to Freddie Mac data, little changed from 6.47% a week earlier.  The latest reading follows several days of rate volatility. Mortgage rates moved lower late last week after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding and began talks to end their conflict, but then rose again after Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh emphasized the central bank’s concern about hot inflation readings, and the first round of…

WASHINGTON: Hedge funds’ growing exposure to Treasuries is primarily due to the revival of the cash-futures basis trade, according to a Federal Reserve economist.The highly leveraged trade now accounts for US$830bil of hedge funds’ Treasury long positioning as of September, about double its previous peak in early 2020, according to a report authored by principal economist Phillip Monin.That represents 35% of their total long Treasury exposure, which is dominated by arbitrage strategies including swap spreads and maturity-matched trades. The basis trade involves going short a Treasury futures contract and long a repo-financed Treasury security that is deliverable into the futures, the…

Department of Budget and Management headquarters in Manila, September 3, 2025. INQUIRER PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA MANILA, Philippines –The Marcos administration narrowed its public financial management (PFM) reform agenda to 18 of 41 measures for completion by 2028. The Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) PFM Reforms Roadmap 2024–2028 Midterm Update identifies 18 priority interventions: 14 mission-critical reforms and four quick wins. READ: ADB extends fresh $500-M loan Article continues after this advertisement “The mission-critical reforms spread across the 11 strategic focus areas constitute the core structural changes required to strengthen fiscal discipline, transparency, and operational efficiency,” the midterm…