Author: Jordan

Interest in becoming a buy-to-let landlord has fallen across almost every major UK city over the past year, with new research from estate agency emoov finding that searches dropped in all but one location studied. Cambridge was the sole exception, recording a 23.5% rise in buy-to-let landlord searches year-on-year, from an average of 2,380 monthly searches in the June 2024 to May 2025 period to 2,940 in the following 12 months. Every other city in the analysis saw demand fall. Plymouth came closest to holding steady, with searches slipping just 2.9% to 8,470. Poole and Southampton also remained…

By Steven Krueger, Long-Term & Business Model desk. Reviewed on July 5, 2026 at 7:32 a.m. ET.Apollo Global Management (ISIN US0376123065) is positioning itself as a long-term beneficiary of rising demand for alternative assets, with a focus on growing fee-based revenues and permanent capital across its credit, equity and real assets platforms. The company continues to target institutional clients such as pension funds and insurance companies, alongside a growing base of individual investors accessing alternatives through structured products and funds. For investors, the stability of fee-related earnings and the scalability of Apollo’s platform are central themes.Alternative assets take a bigger…

Swiss private bank Lombard Odier outlines its 10 investment convictions for the second half of 2026. Its outlook is broadly constructive, favouring emerging market equities, while noting that volatility is likely to continue. Despite a difficult geopolitical backdrop and economic environment, macroeconomic and market conditions support risk assets. This is the view of Dr Nannette Hechler-Fayd’herbe, head of investment strategy, sustainability and research, CIO EMEA, and Dr Luca Bindelli, head of investment strategy at Lombard Odier. Similar to a number of wealth managers, they keep an overweight stance in global equities, driven by emerging markets, where valuations are more…

Folarin Balogun will be available to play the USMNT’s World Cup round-of-16 match against Belgium after his one-game red-card ban was suspended, FIFA has confirmed.The 25-year-old striker received a straight red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday for a foul on defender Tarik Muharemovic, a sanction which is automatically accompanied by a one-game suspension under Article 10.5 of FIFA’s rules for the tournament.Multiple FIFA officials told The Athletic after the game that a team is not able to appeal against a red card or the subsequent suspension.However, Balogun is set to be available for the game at Lumen Field…

With geopolitical tensions riding high, Valerie Genin, head of investments Monaco at Barclays Private Bank, shares her insights with this news service on mid-year outlook trends in Monaco among her clients. Last week, this news service sat down with Valerie Genin (pictured), head of investments Monaco at Barclays Private Bank to draw on her insights on the investment landscape for this year. She said she is constructive on US and emerging market equities, driven by tech, and cautious on European ones. She is also constructive on fixed income and private markets. Despite the Middle East conflict, which caused oil price to…

Rates have been cut on YBS Commercial Mortgages’ fast-track buy-to-let (BTL), multi-unit freehold block (MUFB), and owner-occupied, commercial investment and semi-commercial products. The commercial lender is reducing rates by 0.15% on its fast-track BTL range, and rates have also been reduced by up to 0.20% on its specialist range for large MUFBs. Further, a 0.15% cut has been applied across its owner-occupied, commercial investment and semi-commercial products designed for part-residential, part-commercial assets. The five-year fixed rate for investors looking for a semi-commercial product has been cut from 5.95% to 5.8%, up to 65% loan-to-value (LTV) with a 2% fee.…

Key PointsArista sells networking switching hardware and software to leading AI companies.The company’s sales and earnings are growing fast, and customers are happy with Arista’s tech.While gross margins are declining slightly due to memory costs, it’s not a reason to overlook the company’s unique position in the AI space.There are plenty of artificial intelligence (AI) stocks grabbing investors’ attention these days, and many of them are semiconductor designers and manufacturers. But while the AI data center boom is driving many chip stocks higher, there are other ways to play the artificial intelligence supercycle.Arista Networks(NYSE: ANET) is a prime example. The…

I walked away from the Global Islamic Finance Forum (GIFF) with two quotes that I can’t get out of my head. The first: “a rising tide lifts all boats” from John F. Kennedy, 1963. The second: it is “better to live one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep” by Tipu Sultan in the 1700s. Both quotes touched me deeply, as they are sayings that should stay with you for life. The first, from JFK, is about making sure that everyone is alright. It is the opposite of what actually happens in America but, in Islamic…

Veteran trader Peter Brandt is eyeing a move from Bitcoin into gold, citing a technical breakout in the XAU/BTC ratio. His call has reignited the store-of-value debate, drawing sharp pushback from analysts.Here is what his chart shows, why the timing matters, and how other analysts read the same setup. I am contemplating selling some of my Bitcoin and going to Gold with the money.Looks to me that Gold is going to gain substantially on Bitcoin $XAUBTC pic.twitter.com/m4EUqkbh5j— The Factor Report (@PeterLBrandt) July 5, 2026 What the XAU/BTC Ratio Breakout Actually MeansThe XAU/BTC ratio measures how many BTC one ounce of…

Users are carrying more cash and withdrawing from forex cards abroad, reducing reliance on digital instruments.A weaker rupee and higher crude prices are pushing up airfares, insurance costs and overall travel expenses.Remittance flows are slowing despite rupee weakness due to job and business disruptions in West Asia.Cross-border payments face delays, longer settlement cycles and higher rejection rates, straining fintech operations.Indian travel and foreign exchange-focused fintechs are facing a dual impact from the West Asia conflict and a weakening rupee, with declines in forex usage, remittances and cross-border transactions.Discretionary travel to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) destinations has sharply slowed, with demand…