Capital’s schools hardest hit in England and Wales by rising housing costs and falling birthrate, with further falls predicted in coming years Schools in London continue to be hardest hit by housing costs and the falling birthrate. Further closures and mergers of primary schools are expected after a sharp fall in the number of children entering reception classes in the capital. London’s boroughs w...
Capital’s schools hardest hit in England and Wales by rising housing costs and falling birthrate, with further falls predicted in coming years Schools in London continue to be hardest hit by housing costs and the falling birthrate. Further closures and mergers of primary schools are expected after a sharp fall in the number of children entering reception classes in the capital. London’s boroughs will have nearly 3,000 fewer infants aged four enrolling at the start of the next school year in September, according to school place offers announced by local authorities across England. Continue reading...
John Gosden’s three-year-old was among those catching the eye at the Craven meeting, which has been attracting dreamers and optimists since 1771 Captain Cook was a few months away from landfall after his first circumnavigation of the earth when the first Craven meeting was held on Newmarket heath in the spring of 1771. It is older than any of the Classics, and old enough too to have the great Poto...
John Gosden’s three-year-old was among those catching the eye at the Craven meeting, which has been attracting dreamers and optimists since 1771 Captain Cook was a few months away from landfall after his first circumnavigation of the earth when the first Craven meeting was held on Newmarket heath in the spring of 1771. It is older than any of the Classics, and old enough too to have the great Potoooooooo – who got his name when a stable lad was unsure how to spell potatoes – on the Craven Stakes’s roll of honour in 1782. For a quarter of a millennium, the first meeting of the year on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket has been Flat racing’s first rite of spring. “It’s what keeps everybody going,” Jason Singh, the marketing director of the famous bloodstock auction house Tattersalls said here on Thursday, “and I speak as a breeder and racehorse owner myself as well as a sales company employee. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Opinions split on ‘unprecedented’ release of files, despite demand for ‘all papers’ related to ex-US ambassador’s appointment Revealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision Five key questions: who overruled decision to deny Mandelson security clearance? Senior government officials have been considering whether to withhold from parliament sensitive documents tha...
Exclusive: Opinions split on ‘unprecedented’ release of files, despite demand for ‘all papers’ related to ex-US ambassador’s appointment Revealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision Five key questions: who overruled decision to deny Mandelson security clearance? Senior government officials have been considering whether to withhold from parliament sensitive documents that show Peter Mandelson failed security vetting before he assumed the role of US ambassador, the Guardian can reveal. Any such decision could amount to an extraordinary breach of a parliamentary vote, known as a humble address, that ordered the release of “all papers” relevant to Mandelson’s appointment. Continue reading...
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine speaks during a briefing on the Iran war, with a map in the background showing a blockade line on the Strait of Hormuz, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 16, 2026. Nathan Howard | Reuters Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was at a near standstill Thursday, as tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain high. Just tw...
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine speaks during a briefing on the Iran war, with a map in the background showing a blockade line on the Strait of Hormuz, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 16, 2026. Nathan Howard | Reuters Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was at a near standstill Thursday, as tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain high. Just two vessels were observed transiting the sea lane, according to data from LSEG. The tanker Race exited the strait into the Gulf of Oman bound for India, the data showed. The cargo ship Neshat crossed the strait and appeared destined for Iran. The U.S. blockade of Iran's ports began Monday. As it enters its fourth day, the Navy has forced 14 vessels to reverse course so far, according to U.S. Central Command. Iran, meanwhile, has threatened to shut down traffic in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea in retaliation. At least two very large crude carriers , the RHN and the Alicia, crossed the strait into the Persian Gulf earlier this week. VLCCs are huge tankers that can carry about 2 million barrels of oil. Tanker traffic through the strait has plunged during the war, triggering the largest oil supply disruption in history. About 20% of global oil supplies passed through the sea lane before the war. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
Developing countries will be given extra time to meet debt payments when hit by natural or economic disasters under plans drawn up by the UK government and a group of international bondholders. The arrangements, first floated last October, are designed to prevent emerging markets sinking into a debt spiral when disaster strikes. Under the proposals by the London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign ...
Developing countries will be given extra time to meet debt payments when hit by natural or economic disasters under plans drawn up by the UK government and a group of international bondholders. The arrangements, first floated last October, are designed to prevent emerging markets sinking into a debt spiral when disaster strikes. Under the proposals by the London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt and driven by the UK government, developing countries will be able to trigger a “pause clause” to defer debt payments in a crisis such as an armed conflict, hurricane or pandemic. The parties involved, including private sector creditors like T Rowe Price and Aberdeen Asset Management, hope the arrangement will improve restructuring outcomes for emerging markets and provide continued access to debt finance. Bondholders in return will have more clarity during the negotiations and better transparency to price risk under an “implementation guide for restructuring private sector sovereign loans” that accompanies the “pause clause.” The UK government said the proposals reflected Chancellor Rachel Reeves ’ “securonomics” principles by building a more resilient global economy. “We’re tackling the increasing number of worldwide economic shocks by strengthening the global financial system, safeguarding development gains, and protecting British business,” said Lucy Rigby , economic secretary to the Treasury . The London Coalition was formed last year to bring together banking representatives, lawyers, asset managers and organizations like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the African Union. Jose Vinals, the former chairman of Standard Chartered and a former IMF financial counselor, is leading the group with Rigby. The arrangement builds on the Bridgetown Initiative developed by Barbados in 2021 and the debt pause used by Grenada in the Caribbean in 2015 after the country was devastated by storms. Last year, Barbados became the first country to sell bonds that give t...
Chris Sutton takes on boxer Molly McCann and The Boo Radley's frontman Sice Rowbottom plus the BBC readers and AI with his predictions for this weekend's Premier League fixtures.
Chris Sutton takes on boxer Molly McCann and The Boo Radley's frontman Sice Rowbottom plus the BBC readers and AI with his predictions for this weekend's Premier League fixtures.
Leapmotor T03. Value oriented model that could provide base for Opel or other European brands owned by Stellantis. Emirhan Karamuk/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Stellantis N.V., following a dreadful 2025 that included a $26.3 billion annual net loss, faces a long, steep and difficult recovery to remain viable in the face of rising competition from the Chinese automotive industry and uncertaint...
Leapmotor T03. Value oriented model that could provide base for Opel or other European brands owned by Stellantis. Emirhan Karamuk/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Stellantis N.V., following a dreadful 2025 that included a $26.3 billion annual net loss, faces a long, steep and difficult recovery to remain viable in the face of rising competition from the Chinese automotive industry and uncertainty over regulation governing electrification in major markets. The automaker’s guidance for 2026, issued in late February, is relatively vague: “a mid-single-digit percent increase in net revenues, a low-single-digit AOI margin, and improved industrial free cash flow generation year over year. Sequential improvement is also expected from the first half to the second half of the year.” Data by YCharts An early green shoot – not yet indicative of too much – is Stellantis’ 4% first-quarter increase in its U.S. unit sales against the backdrop of a domestic industry that reported an approximate 6% market decline. Following a business reset in the U.S. with new leadership and a pivot favoring the company’s strongest nameplates, sales were boosted by the Ram pickup truck and the Jeep division. Production bump On April 15, Stellantis announced a 12% YOY global shipment increase of vehicles to dealers, a total of about 1.36 million units. Shipments were up significantly across all major regions. In the U.S., the increase was driven by demand for Ram 1500 Hemi V8, refreshed Jeep Grand Wagoneer and the all-new Jeep Cherokee, Stellantis said. General Motors Company ( GM ) and Ford Motor Company ( F ), which had invested heavily into battery electric vehicles (BEVs), both saw significant unit declines for the quarter in the U.S., evidence that Stellantis has the ability to claw back lost market share against its domestic rivals. Stellantis had been developing BEVs at a slower pace than its U.S. rivals. Following the exit of previous CEO Carlos Tavares and promotion of Antonio Filosa to t...
lcva2/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Microsoft ( MSFT ) continued its multi-day rally on Thursday as CEO Satya Nadella revealed their Fairweather data center in Wisconsin has gone online ahead of schedule. Shares were up nearly 2% by early afternoon trading. "Our Fairwater datacenter in Wisconsin is going live, ahead of schedule," Nadella said in a post on X on Thursday morning. "As the world's...
lcva2/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Microsoft ( MSFT ) continued its multi-day rally on Thursday as CEO Satya Nadella revealed their Fairweather data center in Wisconsin has gone online ahead of schedule. Shares were up nearly 2% by early afternoon trading. "Our Fairwater datacenter in Wisconsin is going live, ahead of schedule," Nadella said in a post on X on Thursday morning. "As the world's most powerful AI datacenter, it will bring together hundreds of thousands of GB200s into a single seamless cluster. Congrats to all the teams who made this possible!" The Fairweather data center is located on more than 300 acres in Mt. Pleasant, Wisc. It is projected to reach 3.3 GW of capacity by late 2027. Last October, Microsoft brought its Fairweather data center in Atlanta online. These sites are directly connected to each other and eventually to others under construction throughout the US. They operate under a new type of dedicated network, allowing for faster data flows between them. Microsoft shares have gained 12.5% over the past five trading sessions, which marks its strongest streak since 2020. More on Microsoft Microsoft: Cheap For All The Wrong Reasons Microsoft: Claude Just Threatened Copilot Adoption Microsoft: The New Standard Oil - Why 'Intelligence Refinery' Is Future Of Global Profit Microsoft stock climbs in historic multi-day rally Snapshot of Quant and Wall St. ratings for quantum computing stocks after Nvidia's latest push
Nkarta ( NKTX ) added ~13% on Thursday after the cell therapy developer said that the company reached an agreement with the U.S. FDA to change the protocol of a clinical program that allows outpatient dosing of its lead asset, NKX019. The ongoing Ntrust-1 and Ntrust-2 clinical trials are designed to evaluate NKX019 in patients living with autoimmune diseases such as lupus nephritis and primary mem...
Nkarta ( NKTX ) added ~13% on Thursday after the cell therapy developer said that the company reached an agreement with the U.S. FDA to change the protocol of a clinical program that allows outpatient dosing of its lead asset, NKX019. The ongoing Ntrust-1 and Ntrust-2 clinical trials are designed to evaluate NKX019 in patients living with autoimmune diseases such as lupus nephritis and primary membranous nephropathy. As part of the amended trial protocol, a requirement for overnight stays will no longer be in force, the South San Francisco, California-based biotech said. It will also reduce the overall treatment burden on trial subjects, as community research centers and rheumatologists will be allowed to administer NKX019 in outpatient settings. “Reaching agreement with the FDA on outpatient dosing—reducing the need for patient monitoring from 24 hours to 2 hours—will reduce patient burden and expand access,” CEO Paul Hastings remarked. The company is on track to present initial data from Ntrust-1 and Ntrust-2 at a medical conference this year. More on Nkarta Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Nkarta Historical earnings data for Nkarta Financial information for Nkarta
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said on Thursday night that a key suspect in a corruption scandal that has sparked public outrage in the Philippines has been arrested in the Czech Republic and that efforts were under way to repatriate the former lawmaker. Zaldy Co, who resigned from the House of Representatives in September after being implicated in financial anomalies involving flood co...
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said on Thursday night that a key suspect in a corruption scandal that has sparked public outrage in the Philippines has been arrested in the Czech Republic and that efforts were under way to repatriate the former lawmaker. Zaldy Co, who resigned from the House of Representatives in September after being implicated in financial anomalies involving flood control projects, was detained by authorities in Prague after crossing into the Central European...
The lack of a unified digital repository for patients and healthcare workers means that key medical changes are often missed. But the NHS can learn from US intelligence sharing Will Parman is the winner of the The Guardian Foundation’s 2026 Emerging Voices award (19-25 age category), recognising young talent in political opinion writing As she battles cancer, my mum fears that she will forget to t...
The lack of a unified digital repository for patients and healthcare workers means that key medical changes are often missed. But the NHS can learn from US intelligence sharing Will Parman is the winner of the The Guardian Foundation’s 2026 Emerging Voices award (19-25 age category), recognising young talent in political opinion writing As she battles cancer, my mum fears that she will forget to tell her consultant something important. Like many people with complex and chronic health needs, she clutches a Post-it note with 10 bullet-pointed symptoms, such as “cannot stand” and “spasms”. It is her companion during stressful appointments. We rehearse her list before we enter, and worry that we deviated too much when we leave. Even then, her peer-reviewed lists, sometimes on the back of envelopes, are inadequate when her condition may change day to day. Each list, too, must be tailored for each of her consultants – many lists get lost in her tall pile of notes and letters. I hate those car rides home when we’re upset that we didn’t say something important, fearing the consequences of this omission. In a health system in which people can wait more than a year for an appointment, you wonder how meticulous these Post-it notes need to be to convey every change in their medical condition since the initial referral letter. It raises the question of how many people have experienced this unsettling ride home. Will Parman is the winner of the The Guardian Foundation’s 2026 Emerging Voices award (19-25 age category), recognising young talent in political opinion writing Continue reading...
Pavel Herasimau/iStock via Getty Images By Elior Manier The US dollar is under some complex dynamics, still moving along with crude oil prices, and both are just stuck in the mud. The talks, supposed to begin today in Islamabad, haven't made it to the news yet, so it seems that there are some delays – the US is still eager to reach a deal, but Pete Hegseth, Head of the Department of War, just issu...
Pavel Herasimau/iStock via Getty Images By Elior Manier The US dollar is under some complex dynamics, still moving along with crude oil prices, and both are just stuck in the mud. The talks, supposed to begin today in Islamabad, haven't made it to the news yet, so it seems that there are some delays – the US is still eager to reach a deal, but Pete Hegseth, Head of the Department of War, just issued an address to reaffirm that the most powerful army is "to restart combat if Iran doesn't agree to a deal". Amid the borderline-insane price action in the stock markets, with two of the three major indexes reaching all-time highs (Nasdaq just set a new record in overnight trading) , participants are taking a break to await clearer developments. After all, at current levels, whether for the USD, stocks, or WTI, risks to the upside and downside are both extreme. WTI Crude and Dollar Index (DXY) Correlation since April 5 – Source:TradingView For now, crude has stopped its move to the downside and is even moving higher, keeping the broader market awaiting – you can see how significant the WTI-dollar correlation has remained throughout the entire Ceasefire. Hence, tracking oil is almost more important than the headlines themselves for Forex trading. Stock markets, on the other hand, did own heavy lifting, having relatively decoupled from Black Gold, but will be looking at the commodity for the next phase. In terms of pure geopolitics, the Israel-Lebanon talks under US supervision seem to be progressing smoothly, with a potential ceasefire in the coming hours/days. Hezbollah will have to be put on the side, and they are reportedly exerting heavy pressure to not enter into deals with Israel. The terrorist organization has prevented deals ever since 1993, the year when Jordan and Israel reached a peace deal that has held since. There have been reports that there are no more deadlocks in the US-Iran mediated negotiations – but these headlines haven't been as decisive to provide fu...
Getty Images The Invesco Variable Rate Preferred ETF ( VRP ) invests its assets primarily in floating and variable rate investment grade and below investment grade U.S. dollar-denominated preferred stock and hybrid debt securities issued by corporations in the U.S. domestic market. VRP has proven to be a fairly good allocation in rising interest rate environments. When other long-duration funds we...
Getty Images The Invesco Variable Rate Preferred ETF ( VRP ) invests its assets primarily in floating and variable rate investment grade and below investment grade U.S. dollar-denominated preferred stock and hybrid debt securities issued by corporations in the U.S. domestic market. VRP has proven to be a fairly good allocation in rising interest rate environments. When other long-duration funds were suffering significant capital losses, VRP provided investors not just with relative capital protection but also with increasing income. Fund Facts (Public Info and Authors Compiled) Recent Performance Over the last five years, VRP has provided a total return CAGR of ~4.45% for investors. At present, the SEC yield stands at ~5.39% . While the above ~4.45% return CAGR might not look very strong on an absolute basis when the general stock market saw a tremendous run, the assessment is correct. However, when we moved to the fixed income trajectory, the situation was different. On a relative basis, the current return of ~4.45% exceeded the return of virtually every long-duration fixed income category with a high duration having an identical credit profile. Data by YCharts Interest rates saw a significant upcycle from the lower levels of late 2020 and have remained elevated since. The trajectory, however, has changed now in terms of forward expectations. The U.S. 10-year Treasury is hovering a little over ~4% for quite some time, and at the same time, expectations for potential rate cuts have been building. US10Y treasury rates ( Seeking Alpha ) In case of potential rate cuts, there would be a two-way disadvantage for an investor allocated to the Invesco Variable Rate Preferred ETF. Firstly, the rates in many of the fund’s underlying holdings would tend to be adjusted downward, which would impact the distributions for the unitholders. Secondly, the fund, by virtue of its low duration and variable rate features, would not be able to participate in any capital appreciation, unli...
The United States market has shown robust performance, rising 3.4% over the last week and an impressive 35% over the past year, with earnings expected to grow by 16% annually. In such a thriving environment, growth companies with high insider ownership can be particularly appealing as they often indicate strong confidence from those closest to the business.
The United States market has shown robust performance, rising 3.4% over the last week and an impressive 35% over the past year, with earnings expected to grow by 16% annually. In such a thriving environment, growth companies with high insider ownership can be particularly appealing as they often indicate strong confidence from those closest to the business.
(RTTNews) - European stocks closed on a mixed note on Thursday with investors mostly making cautious moves, digesting corporate earnings updates and regional economic data, while continuing to focus on geopolitical news.
(RTTNews) - European stocks closed on a mixed note on Thursday with investors mostly making cautious moves, digesting corporate earnings updates and regional economic data, while continuing to focus on geopolitical news.