Author: Jordan

Specialist buy-to-let lender, Fleet Mortgages, has announced rate cuts across a number of its two and five-year 75% LTV fixed rate products, including EPC A-C options. The lender has reduced rates by 20 basis points on its two-year fixed rate HMO/MUFB products with a 3% fee. These include a drop from 4.79% to 4.59% for the non-EPC A-C variant, and a drop from 4.69% to 4.49% for the EPC A-C product. All EPC A-C products are offered to borrowers who are either purchasing or remortgaging a property which has already reached an A-C level for its Energy Performance…

Read More

Wu Qing, chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), speaks at the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, China, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesChina will crack down on technology themes designed to boost stock prices, the top securities regulator said, signaling Beijing’s growing unease with speculation on the artificial intelligence-linked stock rally.Regulators will “strictly investigate and punish” illicit activities including riding hot technology themes to hype stock concepts, as well as market manipulation and insider trading, Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said at the annual Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai on Wednesday.…

Read More

Deadline: 02-Sep-2026 The ESF+ Inclusive Incubation and Finance for More Entrepreneurs Call is a European Commission funding initiative designed to promote inclusive entrepreneurship across the European Union. The programme supports innovative incubation models, improved access to finance, and integrated support services that help under-represented groups start, sustain, and scale successful businesses. With an estimated total budget of EUR 1.5 million and an expectation to fund around two projects, the initiative aims to reduce barriers to entrepreneurship for women, young people, migrants, persons with disabilities, long-term unemployed individuals, and people with low incomes through evidence-based and scalable solutions. What is the…

Read More

The Mortgage Works is cutting rates by up to 0.26 percentage points on selected two, three and five-year fixed rate products for new and existing customers, with the changes taking effect from today, Wednesday 17 June. The rate cuts span the lender’s buy-to-let and limited company buy-to-let ranges. Among the changes, the two-year fixed rate remortgage-only buy-to-let mortgage, which comes with a free valuation and free legals, has been reduced by 0.10% to 3.49%, with a 3% fee and availability up to 65% LTV. The same rate applies to the two-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage for existing customer…

Read More

The alternative investment industry is primed to expand into 401(k)s, a multi-trillion dollar market they have been shut out of. With the alternative investment industry preparing for its push into the retirement plan market, industry-leading manager Blackstone Inc. said this week it tapped a retirement plan veteran, Michael Miller, to lead its effort. Miller’s title at Blackstone is head of retirement solutions sales in its defined contribution group. He reports to Heather von Zuben, global head of retirement solutions. According to an industry source, Miller’s new role will include growing Blackstone’s footprint in Washington through adoption of private markets by…

Read More

Sebi allows AIFs to retain liquidation proceeds beyond fund lifeNew Delhi, Markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday issued guidelines to permit Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) to retain liquidation proceeds beyond their permissible fund life under specified circumstances.The regulator also introduced an ‘Inoperative Fund’ framework for wound-up funds with residual obligations.The move follows amendments to the Sebi (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations on April 18 aimed at providing operational flexibility to AIFs during the winding-up process and surrender of registration.Under the new framework, AIFs or their schemes may retain liquidation proceeds beyond the liquidation or dissolution period if they have received litigation notices…

Read More

Summary Linux 7.2 removes support for the Hercules 1982 monochrome ISA graphics adapter. Its tech specs include a 720×348 mono display with 32KB VRAM (64KB later) — tiny specs by today’s standards. Some old Hercules cards still sell on eBay, but nobody runs modern Linux distros on them. It hasn’t been a good few months for people who want to run their four-decade-old hardware on Linux. A few days ago, we had to bid farewell to i486 support after Linux 7.1 was finally released, and it doesn’t seem like Linux 7.2 will be any more merciful. A new commit confirms…

Read More

Buy-to-let no longer offers the returns that made residential property such a successful investment for decades, according to one of Britain’s leading investment management companies. Rathbones says its appeal “appears greatly reduced” compared with investing in a diversified portfolio of financial assets. In its latest report, Don’t Bet the House, Rathbones argues that the economics of residential property investment have changed significantly since 2016 as house price growth has slowed, borrowing costs have risen, and the regulatory environment has become less favourable for landlords. The wealth manager says it sees little prospect of a return to the conditions that drove…

Read More

MORTGAGE RATES – Understanding the difference between variable and adjustable rate mortgages is becoming crucial for Airdrie residents managing monthly cash flows. Fixed or variable. It is one of the most common questions homeowners ask, and one of the most misunderstood. The answer in today’s environment is not the same answer it was two years ago, or even six months ago. For homeowners in Airdrie and surrounding communities making this decision today, the current environment is genuinely different than the one their friends or neighbours navigated in 2022 or 2023. For a long stretch, the assumption has been that variable-rate…

Read More