Author: Jordan

Foundation has expanded its buy-to-let product range with new green, HMO, MUFB, holiday let and expat options. Foundation has launched a new green standard HMO product with a rate of 5.59% and a 4% fee. This comes with the added incentive of £500 cashback and no application fee for properties with an A-C EPC rating. In addition, the lender is introducing two new five-year fixed rate product options for more specialist cases covering both multi-unit freehold blocks (MUFB) and holiday lets. Both feature a flat fee of £4,995. The MUFB product comes with a rate of 6.24% and the…

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Three converging pressures are weighing on crypto prices: a deteriorating Iran situation, hawkish FOMC rhetoric, and declining legislative odds for the CLARITY Act. Despite this, digital assets have demonstrated notable resilience relative to other asset classes, according to CoinShares’ Research Department.  Digital asset ETPs recorded US$605M of outflows this week, breaking four consecutive weeks of inflows. Yet beneath the headline, a more constructive signal is emerging: Bitcoin and blockchain equity products attracted US$624M over the past four weeks — double any historical inflow run over the same window. Institutional capital is not retreating; it is rotating. Blockchain equity inflows reached…

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In early March this year, global markets were fixated on one thing: the U.S. and Israel launched military strikes against Iran’s leadership, Brent crude shot above 80 dollars, and equities shuddered. Then came news of a cease-fire, oil prices pulled back slightly, markets exhaled, and headlines quickly moved on to the next story.Many people assumed that was the end of it.But there is one development that almost no one has been seriously tracking: the Strait of Hormuz has still not returned to truly normal traffic.This strait, less than fifty kilometers across at its narrowest point, is the world’s most critical…

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Chase Tower Forbright Bank has acquired Chase Tower, the office building housing its headquarters at 4445 Willard Avenue in Chevy Chase, Maryland, securing long-term control of its corporate base as the institution continues to expand as a digital bank and nationwide middle-market lender. The purchase gives the bank ownership of the 12-story property where it has been headquartered since 2020. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Located in Montgomery County near Washington, D.C., the acquisition strengthens Forbright’s presence in one of the region’s most established business corridors while giving the company flexibility to grow into additional space over…

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Gold (GC=F) June futures opened at $4,636.90 per troy ounce on Friday, up 0.2% from Thursday’s closing price of $4,629.60. The gold price moved lower in early trading. At 6:32 a.m. ET, the price of gold was $4,581.20. Silver (SI=F) May futures opened at $74.42 per ounce on Friday, up 1.2% from Thursday’s closing price of $73.53. The price of silver continued to slide in early trading, falling to $73.80 by 6:32 a.m. ET. As the stalemate over reopening the Strait of Hormuz remains firmly in place, the global price of oil remains elevated, further increasing the likelihood that central…

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Found in the eastern bank of the River Itchen, south of the Northam Bridge, is Chessel Bay, a small but crucial oasis which lays claim to being the last stretch of natural shore line on the lower reaches of the river. While the bay might feel ancient, its current name is a remnant of Southampton’s Georgian beauty.  The bay was named after Chessel House, a Georgian mansion built in 1796 that once sat prominently on the hillside above. The house was built for David Lance, a rich businessman, who made his money with the East India Company. Lance was important…

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“Brash newcomer” is not a description usually associated with stalwart, if stodgy, development financial institutions. The quasi-public investors of rich countries anchor many of the private equity, private debt and bank lenders in emerging markets but have been criticized for being slow, risk-averse and opaque.  Known in the trade as DFIs, many have started to shake off decades of risk-aversion, to carve out catalytic mandates and to learn to collaborate better with their peers to reduce the maddening compliance and reporting requirements that can exhaust and exclude many fund managers and other intermediaries trying to move capital to where it’s…

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