Author: Jordan

The Uttarakhand High Court has clarified that a father’s statutory obligation to maintain his minor child remains absolute and cannot be avoided by pointing to the mother’s independent income or his own financial liabilities, such as loan repayments. Justice Ashish Naithani upheld a Roorkee family court order that directed a man, currently serving in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), to pay ₹8,000 as monthly interim maintenance to his child. The court dismissed the man’s review petition, which challenged the lower court’s directive issued under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The case involved a dispute where…

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The FMA is raising public awareness of the risks of engaging with financial influencers. Photo: 123rf Fourteen financial influencers, or finfluencers, have been contacted by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) as part of a global effort to crack down on dodgy online behaviour. The regulator has joined others around the world in a global week of action against unlawful finfluencing. Regulators are running campaigns, undertaking enforcement action and regulatory measures as well as offering educational programmes for financial influencers. In New Zealand, the FMA is focused on raising public awareness of the risks of engaging with financial influencers, as well…

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HSBC is also reducing rates on remortgage products, with changes spanning two- and five-year fixed deals across fee-saver, standard and premier exclusive ranges. The lender said the repricing also applies to selected products offering cashback and to its energy-efficient mortgage options for homes with EPC ratings of ‘A’ or ‘B’. Existing borrowers will see lower pricing for borrowing more and for product switches, including reductions on 10-year fixed options. Buy-to-let customers will also benefit from lower rates on purchase and remortgage products, including energy-efficient variants. HSBC added that international residential and international buy-to-let products are included in the changes, with…

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Welcome to this week’s edition of 401(k) Real Talk, where Fred Barstein, contributing editor for Wealth Management’s RPA channel, reviews all of last week’s industry news and selects the five most important/interesting stories.Worth Reading:Related:401(k) Real Talk Episode 188: April 15, 2026Read the full raw transcript below:Greetings & a warm welcome to this week’s edition of 401k Real Talk. This is Fred Barstein contributing editor at WealthManagement’s RPA omnichannel and CEO at TRAU, TPSU & 401kTV – I review all of this week’s stories and select the most important and interesting ones providing open honest and candid discussion you will not…

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The Supreme Court held that ‘equitable mortgages’ are very much recognized in India under the nomenclature of ‘charge’ in terms of Section 100 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (TPA),The Court said that they will be enforceable as far as possible in terms of the procedure and provisions application to a simple mortgage except those without notice of such charge.The Court held thus in a Civil Appeal preferred against the Judgment of the Bombay High Court by which a Writ Petition challenging the Order of the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT) was rejected. The two-Judge Bench comprising Justice J.B.…

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MARKET MOVEMENTS: –Brent crude oil is up 2.9% at $101.36 a barrel. –European benchmark gas is up 4.2% to 43.70 euros a megawatt-hour. –Copper futures rise 2% to $13,424.50 a metric ton. –Gold futures are up 0.6% to $4,750.10 a troy ounce. TOP STORY: Secretive Shipments of Iranian Oil to China Are Under Threat by U.S. Iran, China and an array of middlemen have evaded U.S. sanctions for years by shipping oil on aging tankers with opaque records and transferring cargoes between ships at sea, all to avoid scrutiny and legal liability. U.S. forces boarded one such sanctioned tanker that…

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Santander will cut rates across its higher loan-to-value (LTV) first-time buyer (FTB) and home mover products from 24th April.  Rates on FTB, home mover and remortgage fixed rates will reduce by up to 0.25%. The 98% LTV My First Mortgage product will drop by 0.25% to 5.60%.  Santander will also launch new products for FTBs, including a 95% loan-to-value (LTV) 3-year fixed at 5.55% with no fee and £250 cashback, an 85% LTV 2-year fixed at 4.80% with a £999 fee and £250 cashback, and an 85% LTV 5-year fixed at 4.98% with no fee and £250 cashback. The new…

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Mortgage borrowers are cautious about their next steps due to geopolitical, cost-of-living and affordability issues, brokers say. The Family Building Society’s six-monthly Intermediary Business Outlook Survey found that most brokers (51%) said they had seen a rise in remortgage applications, but the same percentage had experienced a drop in applications for home moves. Alistair Nimmo, director of marketing at Family Building Society, said: “It is clear the longer geopolitical tensions persist, the more likely homeowners are going to put on hold any plans to move on, while first-time buyers are as reliant on family support as in the past.”…

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