Author: Jordan

Recently, Barclays made a move that few expected by adding a premium card to its Wyndham credit card lineup. With competing hotel chains like Hilton and Marriott already offering popular, well-known premium card products, Wyndham and Barclays needed to offer something truly compelling to attract attention.In my opinion, the Wyndham Rewards Earner® Premier Card has the potential to be a surprise favorite for many travelers. It offers strong benefits and a level of flexibility we don’t often see from hotel cards. Card rating*: ⭐⭐⭐½The information for the Wyndham Rewards Earner Premier has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card…

Read More

“The fact that more than three-quarters of landlords are considering refinancing across their portfolios to fund further investment demonstrates the resilience of the UK buy-to-let sector,” said Russell Anderson (pictured right), chief strategy officer at Together. “Rather than sitting on existing assets, many investors are looking to release equity and reinvest, signalling confidence in future market opportunities. They are also seeking finance across their entire existing portfolios to expand their property ambitions.” Together’s lending data also points to a regional shift in buy-to-let activity. The North West increased its share of the lender’s buy-to-let funding by 3.3 percentage points between…

Read More

In 2022, Better Society Capital (BSC) teamed up with Cardano to run a request for proposal (RFP), seeking a strategy that could help tackle the UK’s housing crisis while also generating a sustainable investment return. The two organisations aimed to put up to £195m to work through the strategy. Cardano – which was bought by Mercer in 2024 – runs the Now Pensions defined contribution (DC) master trust, and so the work with Better Society Capital directly informed the pension scheme’s first investment into a social and affordable housing fund. It also helped lay the foundations for its broader private markets strategy. Martyn…

Read More

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) opened at $66,508.87 on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, 2% higher than Tuesday’s opening price. As of 9:20 a.m. ET this morning, the price of bitcoin moved down to $65,556.99. Ethereum (ETH-USD) opened at $1,928.62 on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, up 1.3% from Tuesday’s opening price. The price of ethereum moved lower this morning to $1,918.35 as of 9:21 a.m. ET. Bitcoin and ethereum continued positive momentum Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, before moderating slightly. Bitcoin’s strength is driven in part by higher institutional demand. According to CoinGlass data, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have realized six consecutive days…

Read More

Although UK inflation has fallen to its lowest level for 15 months, the outlook for borrowing costs remains far from clear as a result of rising energy prices, renewed tensions in the Middle East and the arrival of a new Prime Minister. Inflation fell from 2.8% in May to 2.6% in June, bringing it closer to the Bank of England’s 2% target. The UK’s inflation rate is now below the European Union average, although it remains slightly above Germany’s 2.4% and France’s 2.0%. Lower transport costs were one of the main reasons for the decline. Petrol prices fell by 2.1p…

Read More

Columns Dividend-paying stocks provide cash flow, growth potential and built-in risk mitigation, making them a compelling option for long-term and retirement investors. The performances of the Kospi, Kosdaq and individual stocks are displayed at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, western Seoul, on July 8. YONHAP Kim Kyung-rokThe author is an adviser at Optus Asset Management.Ask investors why they buy dividend stocks and many will answer with a simple explanation: because they generate cash. That is true, but the real value of dividends extends far beyond periodic payments. Dividends provide investors with choice while distributing corporate earnings along two different paths.…

Read More

The platform aims to help brokers choose the best lending route before spending time on packaging, submission and underwriting.  QDEX has launched Edge, the free entry edition of its QDEX Intelligence platform, making residential and buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage sourcing free for brokers.  The platform aims to help brokers choose the best lending route before spending time on packaging, submission and underwriting.  Edge gives brokers access to fast and accurate best-buy results, serving as the entry point to the platform.  Edge+ includes everything in Edge, plus pre-submission lending intelligence, lender match, mortgage modelling and automated documentation for clients and compliance.  Edge…

Read More

The Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ 0.18%) offers a cost-efficient entry to U.S. property markets, while the FlexShares Global Quality Real Estate Index Fund (GQRE +0.45%) provides broader global diversification at a higher price point.Real estate investment trusts (REITs) offer a way to gain exposure to property without managing buildings directly. While both funds target this sector, they differ in geographic scope and cost structure, appealing to investors with distinct preferences for global versus domestic market concentration.Snapshot (cost & size)MetricGQREVNQIssuerFlexSharesVanguardShare price$65.82 (as of 2026-07-20)$99.48 (as of 2026-07-20)Expense ratio0.45%0.13%1-yr return (as of July 20, 2026)15.50%14.90%Dividend yield4.10%3.50%Beta0.900.97AUM$428.5 million$71.4 billionBeta measures price volatility…

Read More

We hear about graphics cards melting pretty often—in fact, the cause usually lies with the 12V-2×6 power connector, which causes quite a few problems. But this time, we’re dealing with a bit of a mystery, since it’s the backplate that’s melting. In fact, this is a rebuilt HPPC, and the area with the RGB lighting is affected! The backplate lighting on an RTX in an HP PC is melting!  The cause is still unknown: It’s hard to say exactly which GPU model we’re dealing with.Unfortunately, the part number isn’t marked on the card, and there’s no label on the backplate…

Read More