Author: Jordan

A civil society organisation, Policy Alert, has called on the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to amend key provisions of the proposed fiscal responsibility bill, warning that some sections could weaken legislative oversight, limit public accountability and concentrate excessive powers in the executive arm of government. Alongside 11 other executive bills, the fiscal responsibility bill which seeks to repeal the existing law codified as Volume III, Cap 56 of the Laws of Akwa Ibom State 2022, was introduced to the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly on 2 June. It scaled its second reading on 9 June and was…

Travellers can now earn cashback on international spends across leading global brands As Indian travellers increasingly embrace digital and contactless payments while travelling abroad, Thomas Cook (India) Limited has launched an industry-first rewards programme for its forex card customers, offering cashback benefits on overseas spending across a range of global brands. The initiative is aimed at encouraging international travellers to use prepaid forex cards for everyday purchases such as transportation, dining, shopping and lifestyle experiences instead of relying on cash withdrawals. Under the programme, customers using Thomas Cook India’s Forex Cards can earn 10% rewards-back on eligible spends made through…

Royal Voluntary Service Platinum Champion Lord Brett McLean was the guest of honour at the film premiere of Bus 34 held in London by the Nicki Moore Media Productions group.Platinum Champion Lord Brett McLean with his leadership award | Lord Brett’s Ladybird Photography Following the Nollywood styled film screening an awards ceremony was held recognising those that have supported Nollywood films and to those who are dedicated to serving their communities.Lord Brett McLean was the recipient of the Leadership Award in recognition to his figurehead to 14 charities and Voluntary organisations and for his devotion to Hastings, Bexhill Hailsham and…

Barclays has cut buy-to-let mortgage rates across its purchase, remortgage and existing mortgage customer ranges, with reductions spanning fixed, green home and tracker products. Purchase rates For landlords looking to purchase, two-year fixed rates at 60% LTV fall from 4.95% to 4.70% on the Premier product and from 5.05% to 4.80% on the standard equivalent, both with a £899 fee. At 75% LTV, the two-year fixed drops from 5.15% to 4.92%. Five-year fixed purchase rates follow a similar pattern, moving from 5.05% to 4.69% at 60% LTV and from 5.10% to 4.89% at 75% LTV, again with a…

Against the odds, seven of the Australian sharemarket’s most-shorted stocks from a pharmaceutical group and an intellectual property company to a data centre operator have left hedge funds staring down $1 billion in potential losses.It comes as hedge funds have been ratcheting up their bets against Australian companies with aggregate short positions jumping 60 per cent since the start of the year to $61 billion, according to ShortMan, which sources its data from ASIC.Loading… Source link

ModaMortgages has removed the application fee on its limited-edition two- and five-year fixed-rate buy-to-let products, eliminating upfront costs for brokers placing cases across the range. The move follows rate reductions introduced just weeks ago, with two-year fixed rates now starting from 3.34% and five-year fixed rates from 4.94%. Free valuations are also available across the lender’s full buy-to-let range, including HMOs and MUFBs, with products open to individual and limited company landlords up to 80% LTV. “We’re always pushing to make our buy-to-let range work harder for brokers, and scrapping the application fee is a big move,” said…

As the midyear point of 2026 draws near, FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index total returns are up about 14.2% (as of June 22), outpacing the S&P 500, which has posted total returns just south of 10%. The performance has helped tighten a divergence that had emerged between the broad equity market and REIT valuation multiples. Coming into 2026, the average ratio of the S&P 500 P/E to the equity REIT P/FFO multiple stood at 1.3, whereas historically it had been 1.0. However, a second divergence—between appraisal cap rates for private real estate and the implied cap rate for REITs calculated from…

Tuesday 23rd June, 2026 04:22 PM| By Kenneth Mwenda President William Ruto signing the Finance Bill 2026 at State House on Tuesday June 23, 2026. PHOTO/Screengrab by PD Digital/@StateHouseRepublicofKenya President William Ruto has signed the Finance Bill 2026 into law at State House in Nairobi, supporting revenue measures and completing the final step in the approval of the Ksh4.8 trillion national budget for the 2026/27 financial year. Following the assent, the Finance Bill 2026 has now effectively become the Finance Act 2026. The signing of the Finance Bill 2026 was witnessed by Deputy President…

Bloomberg reports that AI-linked firms are rising to the top of Japan’s market-cap rankings, drawing growth-focused funds into a market long viewed as a bastion of value stocks (Bloomberg, June 23, 2026). Kei Takizawa, senior investment strategist at AllianceBernstein Japan, is quoted saying, “We have been raising our exposure to Japan based on the growth prospects of Japanese companies,” and he adds that Japanese firms are taking a larger role in building AI infrastructure (Bloomberg). The coverage notes that renewed global interest after 2023, including Warren Buffett adding trading-house shares and corporate governance reforms, had already shifted narratives around Japan’s…

Property prices may have eased around the country, but values in these local markets are still heading higher.While Australia’s median home value edged a little lower last month after price falls in several major cities, prices are still rising across most of the country despite headwinds in the property market.Three rate rises from the Reserve Bank have slowed price growth over the past few months, with falls concentrated predominantly in inner regions of Sydney and Melbourne, which already had some of the highest home prices in the nation.The softness has been compounded by uncertainty among investors, triggered by property tax…