Author: Jordan

The survey, carried out as part of Kensington Mortgages’ BTL Barometer, found 84% of landlords anticipate higher yields over the coming year, alongside broadly positive sentiment towards the wider rental market. Overall, 89% of respondents said they feel confident about the outlook for the sector, while 80% expect rental demand to increase and 77% predict property prices will rise. Despite this, landlords continue to report pressure from rising costs and regulation. More than three-quarters (77%) expect mortgage costs to increase, while 81% say their operating costs—including repairs, insurance, utilities and maintenance—have risen over the past year. In addition, 79% believe the…

Following last year’s US-China trade truce, China has resumed purchases of US grains and soybeans, a development welcomed by Washington after years of steadily declining volumes. Yet even as Beijing honours its commitments to American farmers, it is simultaneously casting its net wider. This month, Chinese trader COFCO lifted the first Argentinian corn cargo bound for China in 15 years, a move that underscores how food security, rather than trade diplomacy, is driving Beijing’s agricultural strategy. The urgency of that strategy has only sharpened in recent months, as conflict in the Middle East has forced the near total closure of…

Rep Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigns from Congress after criminal charges BBC Source link

Platinum Properties is joining the Forbes Global Properties network — and getting a new name and new digs to match. As part of the partnership, the New York City brokerage is rebranding as Platinum Forbes Global Properties and will serve as Forbes’ only representative in New York City, the firm announced on Tuesday. The company is also upgrading its office to a bigger space in the same building at 100 Wall Street. “This is a big elevation for our firm,” said Platinum’s CEO and co-founder, Dezireh Eyn. “This is Platinum really stepping up to the stage.”Eyn said that joining the Forbes network…

Key PointsAlphabet is the ultimate AI play, with both a top-tier large language model and world-class custom chips.Amazon is the cloud computing leader and has its own custom chip business.The “Great Rotation” out of growth and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks and into value stocks has proved to be short-lived, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index is once again leading the market’s charge upward. There has been some nervousness around the conflict with Iran and AI infrastructure spending, but the technology looks like it is still in its early stages. AI models are only getting better, and agentic AI is still…

Market Harborough Building Society has cut rates across its fixed-rate mortgage range by up to 0.36% and launched a new ‘Discount Now, Fix Later’ option.  The new fixed rates are available on both residential and let mortgages, with 2-year fixed rates down by 0.36%, 3-year by 0.32%, and 5-year by 0.28%. The new ‘Discount Now, Fix Later’ feature lets clients choose a discounted rate and then switch to a fixed rate before completion, without paying the £299 product fee for the switch.  Discounted rates start from 4.20%. Iain Smith (pictured), head of mortgage distribution at Market Harborough, said: “Waiving the…

SOME CARD INFO MAY BE OUTDATED This page includes information about these cards, currently unavailable on NerdWallet. The information has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been provided or reviewed by the card issuer. The Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card offers you a simple way to earn valuable rewards on a travel credit card with a $0 annual fee. This is a good card to consider if you don’t like the restrictions of airline and hotel loyalty programs but want straightforward earning and easy redemption options. NerdWallet rating NerdWallet’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The…

As non-traded private credit BDCs are paying record amounts in redemptions this quarter, both alternative asset managers running these funds and financial advisors are trying to reassure investors that the current redemption rush does not reflect an underlying problem with their loan portfolios. With private investors spooked by the idea that private credit might be faced with rising loan defaults, private placement BDCs reached $1.2 billion in paid quarterly redemptions, and publicly-traded BDCs paid $7.4 billion in quarterly redemptions as of early April. According to London-based research firm Preqin, which examined the loans included in these vehicles’ asset portfolios, there is…

The divergence highlights how market weakness outweighed investor contributions during the month. “Despite continued positive net sales in March, both mutual fund and ETF assets declined as market weakness more than offset new investor inflows,” SIMA’s report states. Balanced funds once again played a central role in mutual fund sales, bringing in $634 million during March. Specialty funds led all categories with $1.5 billion in net sales, while bond funds added $140 million. Equity funds were the only segment to post outflows, with redemptions of $1.3 billion. Money market funds also contributed to overall inflows, generating $684 million in net…

Aneisha Beveridge Rising mortgage rates are forcing landlords to rethink how they finance their portfolios, with a growing shift towards interest-only borrowing, cash injections and shorter fixed-rate deals, according to the latest lettings index from Hamptons. The share of new buy-to-let mortgages agreed at rates of 5% or above surged to 43% in early April, up from just 8% in January, as borrowing costs returned to levels last seen in December 2023. In response, 78.4% of new buy-to-let lending on purchases is now on an interest-only basis, up from 71.1% at the start of the year. On a typical landlord…