Author: Jordan

So the Australian argument holds in the US. It just needs a different starting point. What Harvard found The Harvard JCHS report is the most authoritative annual measure of US housing affordability, and the 2025 findings are stark. Monthly mortgage payments on the median-priced home – assuming a 30-year loan with a 3.5% down payment – hit $2,570 in 2024. That figure is 40% higher than it was in 1990, adjusted for the same loan terms. Qualifying for that mortgage requires an annual income of at least $126,700. Only six million of the nation’s nearly 46 million renters can meet…

Read More

Ranked: The Countries That Feed the World See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways Just 10 countries account for nearly half of global food exports. The U.S., Brazil, and Canada dominate global agricultural trade. China produces huge amounts of food, but consumes most of it domestically. Food exports have become one of the clearest measures of global economic power. This graphic maps the world’s 30 largest food exporters using World Trade Organization data.…

Read More

Kwame is the Head, Products, Personal and Private Banking, Stanbic Bank Ghana By Kwame OFORI-OFFEI Millions of people travel across the world each year for different reasons, but regardless of the purpose, there is always a mix of excitement and anxiety. Excitement about discovering new cultures and experiences is often paired with concerns about money. Can I pay with cash? Will my bank card work? How much will it cost? For many modern travellers, one solution has eased these concerns: the prepaid travel card. In Ghana, where the cedi’s volatility makes financial planning more complex, this is even more relevant.…

Read More

AN HISTORIC Tyrone church located just a mile from the area earmarked for the controversial goldmine in the Sperrins is to be monitored to ensure that the stonework in the 200 year-old building is not damaged by explosives blasting. St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Rouskey was constructed in 1834. But now there are concerns about the impact that blasting and vibrations from the construction and operation of the Dalradian Gold Ltd development a short distance away will have on chapel. Local people fear that the chapel is vulnerable to damage. They are warning that the stained-glass windows, stonework, a decorative…

Read More

When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard. Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences. At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000. Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040. Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:…

Read More

Uganda’s Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Henry Musasizi, has urged Members of Parliament to closely monitor how government funds are spent in their constituencies, saying effective oversight is essential for improving service delivery and maintaining public trust. Speaking during the induction of newly elected MPs at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Musasizi said Parliament’s responsibility goes beyond approving the national budget and includes ensuring that public money reaches communities and delivers tangible results. He encouraged legislators to regularly monitor projects in their districts and verify whether government programmes are benefiting the people they are intended to serve. MPs encouraged to…

Read More

Tobacco securitization bonds, or tobacco settlement revenue securitizations, have been making headlines lately, and not for good reason. The first debt service default recently occurred with Nassau County Tobacco Settlement Corporation’s failure to make a scheduled principal payment. The New York City Tobacco Settlement Asset Securitization Corporation (TSASC) was recently highlighted for its significant erosion in liquidity reserves. Processing ContentThese headlines bring to light the inherent risks of investing in this often misunderstood corner of the public finance credit ecosystem. No, these are not debt securities wrapped by the finest “Tabaco Negro Cubano”, but rather represent an investment vehicle immersed in…

Read More

Verato®, the identity intelligence company, today announced that it has been honored as a Platinum winner in the 2026 Pinnacle Awards in the Enterprise Innovation, Technology category. Verato received recognition for Verato MDM Cloud™, a cloud-native master data management solution that provides a trusted identity foundation for a comprehensive Patient 360 across healthcare organizations. Healthcare initiatives such as digital front doors, patient access transformation, CRM, analytics, and AI often fall short when identity data remains fragmented, inaccurate, and disconnected across clinical, digital, operational, and partner systems. Verato MDM Cloud™ addresses this issue by not only matching records once but also…

Read More

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell this week to its lowest level since mid-May, easing borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers.The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate fell to 6.43% from 6.49% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.67%.Despite the modest decline from last week, the average rate is now at its lowest level since May 14, when it was 6.36%.Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also declined this week. That average rate fell to 5.79% from 5.84% last week. A year ago,…

Read More