Author: Jordan

Accord Mortgages is cutting rates across its buy-to-let and residential ranges this week, with two-year fixed landlord products falling by up to 0.30% and residential rates reducing by as much as 0.46%. The buy-to-let changes take effect from 8am today, Friday 5 June, covering two, three and five-year fixed products. Two-year fixes are down by up to 0.30%, three-year deals by up to 0.25% and five-year fixed rates by up to 0.22%. Buy-to-let highlights include: A two-year fix for remortgage customers at 4.87% (previously 5.17%) at 60% LTV, with a £995 fee, free standard valuation and remortgage…

The annual report on the international role of the euro published by the European Central Bank (ECB) this week points to the growing fragmentation of the global financial system amid attempts to shift away from dependence on the US dollar.The most striking figure to emerge from the report was the decline in the proportion of US Treasury bonds in the reserves held by central banks and the increase in the use of gold as a reserve asset.Gold bars on display at the American Museum of Natural History. November 8, 2006 [AP Photo/Seth Wenig]Gold bullion accounted for 27 percent of all…

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate eased this week from its highest level in nine months, welcome relief for prospective homebuyers. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate fell to 6.48% from 6.53% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. The average rate remains below 6.85%, where it was a year ago. When mortgage rates decline they give homebuyers more purchasing power. Rates have been mostly trending higher since the war with Iran began, disrupting the passage of tankers ferrying crude oil from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. That’s sent oil prices sharply higher — a key driver of inflation. “This…

Sanlam Investments has repositioned itself to cash in on the boom in alternative assets, private equity and SME debt in a bid to rewrite the asset management playbook.To this end, the asset manager, owned by financial services major Sanlam, has set its growth blueprint on the following pillars: indexation, private wealth and alternative investments. The company’s businesses — Satrix, Sanlam Investments Multi-Manager, Sanlam Private Wealth and Sanlam Alternative Investments — are expected to play a key role as the asset manager enters its next growth phase after the sale of its active asset management businesses in South Africa and the…

Should the property industry spend more time and money on implementing digital ID systems which may be rendered obsolete or non-compliant by future legislation? Stuart Young is managing director of Etive, the company leading the MyIdentity scheme, a recognised industry standard for carrying out customer identity verification and anti-money laundering checks of home buyers and sellers. The MyIdentity trust framework was set up with public funding to design and develop a digital identity trust framework to support residential property transactions and has had the input of 106 organisations, including five government departments and estate agency, legal and financial services trade…

Thu, June 4, 2026 at 9:34 PM UTCYour Money: What graduates should know about credit and debit cardsAs your new graduate prepares to step into the next chapter of life — whether that’s more education or starting a career — one of the best things you can do is help them understand how to use credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards wisely.On Thursday, Edward Jones Financial Advisor Charlie Holt came by to talk through the options.Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and…

Australian bull semen is being sent to China after a five year break as demand for premium beef in the People’s Republic grows.A total of 24,000 straws of bull semen were sent in April and May this year, marking the first exports of Australian cattle genetics to China since 2021.Genetics company ABS Australia secured a major export agreement with China for Wagyu, Jersey and Holstein semen, with the potential for the inclusion of other breeds in the future.”[Australia’s] got some of the best Wagyu bulls and Angus bulls available around the world,” business operations manager Bruce Ronalds said.”[Breeders in China]…

Institutional investors sold roughly 52,500 BTC during the first quarter of 2026, bringing total professional holdings down from 313,000 BTC to 261,000 BTC. That 17% quarter-over-quarter decline, detailed in a new CoinShares analysis of 13F filings, translates to approximately $17.8 billion in remaining value, a 35% dip when factoring in the price damage. The report, published by CoinShares analyst Matt Kimmell around June 3, paints a picture of two very different institutional camps. On one side: hedge funds and brokerages running for the exits. On the other: banks quietly loading up on Bitcoin for the first time in a meaningful…

The Oregon Group, led by analyst Anthony Milewski, has grown its geopolitical commodity intelligence platform to nearly 40,000 subscribers by treating geopolitics as a structural market variable — not an occasional disruption — across critical mineral and energy supply chains.London, England, United Kingdom, June 4, 2026 — The Oregon Group, a commodity intelligence and research platform, has expanded its subscriber base to nearly 40,000 readers as demand surges for analysis that integrates geopolitical risk into commodity market research. The platform, founded and led by analyst Anthony Milewski, has built a sustained coverage model that tracks policy shifts, trade agreement changes,…

Investors may be wondering whether Alexandria Real Estate Equities is priced attractively today, or if the recent share price action has already reflected the value story. The stock last closed at US$53.12, with a 6.1% gain over the past week and a 21.3% gain over the past month, although the share price is still down 18.6% over the past year and 48.4% over three years. Recent headlines have focused on Alexandria Real Estate Equities as a specialised REIT in the life sciences and health care segment, and that context has kept investor attention on how its portfolio and funding profile…