Author: Jordan

There has been a mixed response to plans for an overnight visitor levy Conflicts are looming between councils and combined authorities over the government’s plans to give mayors powers to charge a levy on overnight accommodation. Ministers face growing calls to allow greater local say over the policy – with demands including ring-fencing revenues, giving councils a veto or granting them their own tax-raising powers. The government announced the levy – sometimes referred to as a ‘tourist tax’ – in November to raise funds to support local growth and the visitor economy. A Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government…

HSBC UK has announced further mortgage rate reductions, cutting selected rates by up to 0.11% across its residential and buy to let ranges. The changes, which take effect from today, apply to products for first time buyers, home movers, remortgage customers and buy to let landlords. Among the headline changes, HSBC has reduced its two year fixed rate purchase product at 90% loan to value (LTV) with no fee by 0.11% to 5.06%. Its two year fixed rate purchase deal at 90% LTV with a £999 fee has been cut by 0.10% to 4.81%. For first time buyers,…

Thomas Cook (India) Limited has announced a significant expansion of its prepaid Forex Card portfolio to 28 currencies, with the addition of 16 new global currencies – creating one of India?s widest currency portfolios on a prepaid forex card. Thomas Cook India?s expanded prepaid Forex Card portfolio addresses this gap by enabling travellers to load and spend directly in local currencies, eliminate multiple conversions and access a secure, seamless alternative to cash. The newly added 16 currencies include: Chinese Yuan, Swedish Krona, Vietnamese Dong, Malaysian Ringgit, Indonesian Rupiah, Danish Krone, Hong Kong Dollar, Qatari Riyal, Norwegian Krone, Omani Riyal, Kuwaiti…

Shawbrook and The Mortgage Lender (TML) have announced a series of enhancements across their buy-to-let propositions, including a new limited-edition product launch and rate reductions across selected products within both ranges. TML has launched a new limited edition five-year fixed rate product, with rates starting from 4.74%. The products are available with both 2% and 5% completion fee options and include a free valuation. Several rate reductions have been made across both Shawbrook and TML buy-to-let products. TML has reduced rates by up to 15bps across selected two and five-year fixed products, with five-year fixed HMO rates now…

Oil traders barely batted an eyelid after the United States carried out a fresh wave of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, but their optimism is set to be tested as oil reserves near breaking point.Brent Crude traded near $US92 a barrel on Wednesday, having traded close to the middle of its 20-year price range for the best part of a month. It comes as oil markets wait for news of a ceasefire and a possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz even as hostilities ramp up across the region.Loading… Source link

KAREN JOY BACUDO Finance Editor Experian has reported a shift in how Australians prioritise debt repayments under financial stress, with its latest analysis finding that mortgages are no longer consistently the first repayment households protect. The data points to changing repayment patterns as household budgets come under pressure from higher borrowing costs and living expenses. Experian examined which credit products were most likely to fall behind first among consumers who held at least two different products and were up to date at the start of a 12-month observation period. It reviewed arrears at 30 and 90 days past due and…

Ascendis Pharma (NASDAQ:ASND) is one of the most profitable growth stocks to buy. On May 7, Ascendis Pharma reported strong financial results for Q1 2026, reaching a total revenue of €247 million. This growth was primarily driven by YORVIPATH, which generated €197 million, alongside €44 million from SKYTROFA. Additionally, the company announced an agreement to sell its Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher for $187.5 million, further strengthening its financial position. The company is experiencing robust commercial momentum, highlighted by over 1,000 new US patient enrollments for YORVIPATH and more than 60 enrollments for YUVIWEL following its early April launch.…

For more than a decade, sustainable finance has centred on one overarching theme: climate change. At the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) Sustainability Conference in Luxembourg, investors, businesses and regulators discussed the sector’s future drivers of growth.Green bonds, transition bonds, carbon markets, climate neutrality targets and the decarbonisation of investment portfolios have gradually transformed a niche market into an indispensable component of global finance. But as the market matures, a new question arises: what will be the next driver of growth in sustainable finance?This was the central theme of the session ‘Beyond Climate: Expanding the Sustainability Frontier’. Behind the discussions…

After several months of strong investments, inflows into equity mutual funds slowed sharply in May as investors became more cautious amid global uncertainties. Concerns around geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over a possible US-Iran peace deal appear to have weighed on sentiment, leading to lower investments across most equity fund categories.Data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) on Wednesday showed that actively managed equity mutual funds received net inflows of Rs 22,907.77 crore in May. This was 40.4% lower than the Rs 38,440.20 crore invested in April.EQUITY FUND CATEGORIES SEE BROAD-BASED DECLINEAlmost all major equity fund categories…

LAUNCESTON, Australia, – China’s trade in major commodities in May underscored that price moves are the primary driver of changes in flows in the world’s biggest buyer of natural resources. The headline-grabbing number from Monday’s customs data was the collapse in crude oil imports to an eight-year low of just 7.79 million barrels per day (bpd).The fallout from the war in Iran was blamed for the 29% slump in crude imports. In the months prior to the start of the conflict on February 28, levels of around 11 million bpd were common.The war resulted in the effective closure of the…