Author: Admin

Mortgage rates are down today as Treasury yields eased ahead of Friday’s inflation report — but don’t expect that to indicate a larger downward trend. The average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 6.65% APR this morning, according to rates provided to NerdWallet by Zillow. This is 17 basis points lower than yesterday and 13 basis points lower than a week ago. (See our chart below for more specifics.) A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point.That sounds like a big drop, but honestly, lenders’ rates are kind of all over the place today. (Yes,…

Olly ultimately agreed to pay an extorter $50 in cryptocurrency to restore his account, which had been temporarily taken down by Instagram. Law enforcement organisations tell extortion victims not to pay ransoms as it fuels the criminal ecosystem.Olly said he paid as a “last resort” because it was quicker than going through Meta, which could take weeks.But he was hit by more copyright strikes immediately after he paid.”That’s the worst part,” he said. “Having to pay the person who’s actively put you through all of that anguish only for it to happen straight away again.”As a result of the number…

Departures from a number of UK airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, have been affected by a technical problem affecting the air traffic control provider Nats. At Heathrow, departures were initially paused around lunchtime. Traffic then resumed, before facing further stop-start disruption in the afternoon. Incoming flights have been landing as normal. Gatwick said it was currently being affected by the issue, along with other airports. East Midlands has also been affected by the issue, while Manchester Airport warned that some departing flights could be delayed. Passengers have been advised to contact their airlines to check the status of their…

The Argentine government has said that it will file criminal charges against oil company Navitas Petroleum for operating in seas off the Falkland Islands.The move came just days after Argentine President Javier Milei said he would sanction oil companies drilling in the British overseas territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean.Reacting to the news, Foreign Office Minister Kirsty McNeill insisted that there could be “no doubt” about the British government’s commitment to the Falkland Islanders.Sovereignty of the archipelago remains disputed between the UK and Argentina more than 40 years after a British military task force ejected Argentine forces which had invaded…

While tariffs can end up hitting consumers in the pocket, there are other impacts on households.Import taxes can complicate trade for businesses that have cross-border supply. As well as the higher costs, the uncertainty created by the trade war could put off investment plans and stunt job creation. Saunders suggests the biggest impact on households may not just be through prices, but job losses instead.”If you’re, let’s say, a bespoke furniture producer in BC [British Columbia], you’re now facing a 50% tariff on your exports to the US – that could really shut the business down. I think that would…

Aaron Strutt, of broker Trinity Financial, said: “Hopefully this will be the end of the rate rises for a while, but there are certainly no guarantees. “Multiple small mortgage price rises add up and ultimately deter people from buying homes.”Potential buyers and borrowers are being urged to seek advice and plan early.Latest data from the Bank of England, external shows that more buyers are taking loans with smaller deposits, leaving them more exposed to rate changes.The proportion of mortgages where the loan is more than 90% of the value of the home has reached its highest level in 18 years.The…

Two German companies have signed launch agreements with the spaceport.Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) is working towards its first vertical orbital test flight from UK soil. In August, SaxaVord paused plans for a test launch after RFA said it had “encountered an issue”.A five-week “launch window” had been due to begin, with temporary traffic restrictions introduced in the event of a flight attempt. A second company, HyImpulse Technologies GmbH (HyImpulse), plans the second flight of its SR75 suborbital launch vehicle from Shetland this year.The German firm recently secured investment of more than €50m (£43m).Derek Harris, head of programmes at Space Scotland,…

Dental implants in Albania are typically around €600 ($700; £516) per tooth, similar in price to what is charged in Turkey, which has long been the main overseas destination for people in western Europe who are seeking much cheaper dental work than they can get at home.The same treatment in the UK, France or German can easily cost four times as much.For Hook the appeal was irresistible. He made his first visit to Tirana to watch England’s footballers play Albania last year – but then found himself intrigued by all the signs for dentists. That nudged him into doing something…

A hedge-fund billionaire and one of the UK’s richest taxpayers has decided to leave the UK for Greece, the BBC understands.Chris Rokos plans to open an office in Athens, according to reports. Greece has generous tax rules for wealthy foreigners earning overseas income.Rokos was ranked third in The Sunday Times list of Britain’s top taxpayers, having paid £330m last year, and in March said he would donate £190m to Cambridge University.Rokos’s representatives declined to comment. A government spokesperson said: “The UK remains an attractive destination for talent and investment”.”The chancellor has made wealth creation one of his top priorities,” the…

Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on a range of US goods came into effect on Tuesday, with no sign of a trade deal on the horizon. The counter-tariffs will apply to nearly C$28bn ($20bn; £15bn) worth of American products, from steel to furniture to cotton T-shirts, and will be as high as 50%. Fresh fish and lobster were also on the list, but Canada later omitted them after pushback from its seafood industry – a sign of the tricky balance it has to strike as it retaliates against its largest trading partner.Both US and Canadian officials have said they would like to…