Many retirees today would not be able to make ends meet without Social Security. And once you retire, you may become pretty reliant on those monthly benefits as well. That's why even small errors in how those benefits are calculated could have a meaningful impact on your retirement finances over time. Your Social Security benefits are based on two factors -- your personal wage history and your fil...
Many retirees today would not be able to make ends meet without Social Security. And once you retire, you may become pretty reliant on those monthly benefits as well. That's why even small errors in how those benefits are calculated could have a meaningful impact on your retirement finances over time. Your Social Security benefits are based on two factors -- your personal wage history and your filing age. If you claim Social Security at full retirement age , which is 67 for anyone born during or after 1960, you'll get your monthly benefits without a reduction. Filing early will result in smaller checks, while a delayed claim gives you boosted benefits. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Robert Hayward predicts Reform will be big winner, taking seats from both Labour and the Conservatives Good morning. We are now into the final week of campaigning for the Scottish parliament, Welsh Senedd and English local elections. Keir Starmer had been planning a big speech today, but he, and other political leaders, are today focusing on their response to the Golders Green stabbing and the ant...
Robert Hayward predicts Reform will be big winner, taking seats from both Labour and the Conservatives Good morning. We are now into the final week of campaigning for the Scottish parliament, Welsh Senedd and English local elections. Keir Starmer had been planning a big speech today, but he, and other political leaders, are today focusing on their response to the Golders Green stabbing and the antisemitism threat facing Britain’s Jewish community – described as a “national security emergency” by Jonathan Hall KC, the government’s independent reviewer of terror legislation. Here is our overnight story . And here is our live blog by Taz Ali . Taz will be covering most of the political reaction to that story, and so that won’t be something I will be covering here. (And because criminal proceedings are active, comments relating to the attack won’t be allowed below the line, I’m afraid.) Continue reading...
Predicting what may or may not happen in the cannabis market isn't for the faint of heart. The industry continues to face several challenges. A quick look at the charts of some of the largest marijuana stocks over the last couple of years proves it. However, my heart is feeling quite stout these days, so I'll step out on a limb with a prediction. I think Green Thumb Industries (OTC: GTBIF) stock w...
Predicting what may or may not happen in the cannabis market isn't for the faint of heart. The industry continues to face several challenges. A quick look at the charts of some of the largest marijuana stocks over the last couple of years proves it. However, my heart is feeling quite stout these days, so I'll step out on a limb with a prediction. I think Green Thumb Industries (OTC: GTBIF) stock will double over the next three years. Ridiculous? Not really. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
What Does The End Of OPEC Mean For The Iran War And Global Energy Prices? Did the UAE just trigger a once in a century shift in global energy markets? The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday said it was quitting OPEC by May 1st after 60 years as a member, dealing a blow to the cartel as the Iran war exposes discord among Gulf nations and Iran. The exit of the UAE, one of the group's biggest producers...
What Does The End Of OPEC Mean For The Iran War And Global Energy Prices? Did the UAE just trigger a once in a century shift in global energy markets? The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday said it was quitting OPEC by May 1st after 60 years as a member, dealing a blow to the cartel as the Iran war exposes discord among Gulf nations and Iran. The exit of the UAE, one of the group's biggest producers with 15% of total exports, weakens OPEC's control over global oil supplies and widens a rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the dissolution of OPEC greatly hinders Iran's ability to wield oil exports as economic leverage in the future. The name of the game for OPEC is zero competition and artificial supply scarcity. OPEC was formed in the 1960s as a trade consortium of oil producers but it became an economic weapon in the 1970s to maintain pressure on the US and any other nations providing aid to Israel. This led to a stranglehold on 40% of the global oil supply and an initial explosion in gas inflation. Prices quadrupling at the pump, feeding into a decade long stagflation event. Restricted exports became the status quo, and higher prices the norm in the decades since (with brief moments of relief). Iran, by extension, has long benefited from this bottleneck as an OPEC member. But the world of energy just changed dramatically. An independent UAE no longer constrained by OPEC limits now has the ability to increase production from 3 million barrels a day to over 5 million barrels per day. The introduction of renewed competition is likely to inspire higher production rates in Saudi Arabia as well. In his first public comments since the announcement, UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei told Reuters in a telephone interview that the decision was taken after examining the country's energy strategies. He said the UAE had not discussed the issue with any other country. "This is a policy decision, it has been done after a careful look at current and f...
(RTTNews) - EBOS Group Limited (EBO.AX), which markets and distributes healthcare, medical, pharmaceutical and animal care products in Australia, on Thursday outlined its strategy, growth plans and capital priorities at an Investor Day in Sydney.
(RTTNews) - EBOS Group Limited (EBO.AX), which markets and distributes healthcare, medical, pharmaceutical and animal care products in Australia, on Thursday outlined its strategy, growth plans and capital priorities at an Investor Day in Sydney.
Reinhard Krull Germany’s GDP rose 0.3% in Q1 2026, above market expectations of a 0.2% growth and following a downwardly revised 0.2% increase at the end of 2025. Germany’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 6.4% in April 2026, unchanged from the previous revised figure, holding at its highest level since July 2020. More on Germany CEF Insights: New Germany Fund For European Growth Opp...
Reinhard Krull Germany’s GDP rose 0.3% in Q1 2026, above market expectations of a 0.2% growth and following a downwardly revised 0.2% increase at the end of 2025. Germany’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 6.4% in April 2026, unchanged from the previous revised figure, holding at its highest level since July 2020. More on Germany CEF Insights: New Germany Fund For European Growth Opportunities U.S. Tariffs: A New Trade War? EWG: Amid Fracturing Global Order, Germany Must Rise To The Occasion Europe markets slide with yields at multi-year highs HSBC upgrades U.S. equities to overweight, cuts Europe to neutral
The last few decades have been marked by a number of megatrends in finance including the extraordinary growth of asset managers, the rising importance of technology, and the ascent of private markets. BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, is emblematic of all these developments. On this episode, we talk to BlackRock COO Rob Goldstein about the company's early technological history, the dev...
The last few decades have been marked by a number of megatrends in finance including the extraordinary growth of asset managers, the rising importance of technology, and the ascent of private markets. BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, is emblematic of all these developments. On this episode, we talk to BlackRock COO Rob Goldstein about the company's early technological history, the development of its famous risk management technology Aladdin, and how BlackRock is navigating being both a user and major provider of AI. We discuss his view of the “SaaSpocalypse,” how BlackRock is thinking about token consumption and compute constraints, as well as the future of private markets. (Source: Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg) -- A frenzied day of earnings reports offered a glimpse at how some of the world’s biggest tech companies are doing in artificial intelligence. The upshot: Alphabet Inc.’s Google is seeing a clear payoff from its AI spending, while Meta Platforms Inc. is lagging behind.Most Read from BloombergNorth Korea Confirms Suicide Rule for Soldiers Ukraine CapturesUAE Quits OPEC as War Upends Oi...
(Bloomberg) -- A frenzied day of earnings reports offered a glimpse at how some of the world’s biggest tech companies are doing in artificial intelligence. The upshot: Alphabet Inc.’s Google is seeing a clear payoff from its AI spending, while Meta Platforms Inc. is lagging behind.Most Read from BloombergNorth Korea Confirms Suicide Rule for Soldiers Ukraine CapturesUAE Quits OPEC as War Upends Oil Markets and Gulf Tensions RiseJunior Bankers Sick of Grunt Work Build $2 Billion AI Tool to Do the
Getty Images/Getty Images News The Trump administration is asking other countries to join a new international coalition to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an internal State Department cable. The cable, sent to U.S. embassies detailing the effort titled "Maritime Freedom Construct," called on diplomats to press foreign governments to s...
Getty Images/Getty Images News The Trump administration is asking other countries to join a new international coalition to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an internal State Department cable. The cable, sent to U.S. embassies detailing the effort titled "Maritime Freedom Construct," called on diplomats to press foreign governments to sign up for the coalition. The State Department "will serve as the diplomatic operations hub," while the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) "will provide real-time maritime domain awareness" for commercial shipping and coordinate data sharing between partner militaries. "Your participation will strengthen our collective ability to restore freedom of navigation and protect the global economy," the cable stated , adding that the effort is "a critical first step in the establishment of a post-conflict maritime security architecture for the Middle East." U.S. officials have been instructed to ask foreign counterparts whether they would like to be a "diplomatic and/or military partner." "The MFC would be complementary to other security maritime task forces, including the maritime planning effort the U.K. and France are leading," the cable said, referring to the countries' plan for a multinational mission to safeguard shipping through the strait. A senior administration official confirmed to WSJ that the plan was one of the many diplomatic and policy resources at the president's disposal. Separately, CENTCOM has prepared a plan for a "short and powerful" wave of strikes on Iran, which would likely include infrastructure targets, three sources told Axios . After the strikes, the U.S. would press the Iranian leadership to return to the negotiating table and show more flexibility, according to the plan . More on Iran war Iran: The Economic Damage Is Cumulative Oil Forecasts Raised As Prolonged Strait Of Hormuz Disruption Continues Oil surges nearly $7 as Trump signals prolonged U.S. blo...