Question-and-Answer SessionRight. So let's start on the macro front. How are you thinking about rates, inflation, the broader economic outlook and what are you seeing lately in realizations and transaction activity? Will activity continue to accelerate in 2026?Robert LewinChief Financial Officer Yes. It's probably as nuanced a moment we've had the broader macro space in a long, long time. If you think about what's going on, from a macro perspective, you layer on to that geopolitics, both domestically in the ...

The new year is here, meaning a potentially new approach for your money! Personal finance guru, bestselling author and podcaster Suze Orman has some advice for you if you want to make 2026 your best financial year yet. In fact, she’s created a roadmap for the start of 2026. Here’s what you need to know. What To Expect in 2026 Orman said there are a few things you can expect to see happen in early 2026, and what you should do if and when they do. Stay invested in the stock market. Orman is optimistic an ...

U.S. stock futures dropped on Monday following Friday’s sharp rebound. Futures of major benchmark indices were lower.The decline follows a positive close across indices in Asia, with the Nikkei 225 breaking the 57,000-point barrier for the first time, fueled by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi‘s landslide election victory and a high-profile endorsement from President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.22%, and the two-year bond was at 3.50%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections ...

U.S. stock futures dropped on Monday following Friday’s sharp rebound. Futures of major benchmark indices were lower.The decline follows a positive close across indices in Asia, with the Nikkei 225 breaking the 57,000-point barrier for the first time, fueled by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi‘s landslide election victory and a high-profile endorsement from President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.22%, and the two-year bond was at 3.50%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections ...

Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, on Friday laid out what investors should be paying attention to on Wall Street in the week. I don’t usually start the game plan on Wednesday, but that’s when we get the employment report this time, and it’s kind of screwed up because of the government shutdown. From the various job inputs we’ve seen, it looks like we’ll have some real weakness. I like to take my cue from the stocks and the endless rallies in recession-proof names like PepsiCo or Procter & Gamble, or J&J, [ ...

A Yahoo Finance analysis reveals Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Walsh never desented while he was a governor on the central bank. Federal Reserve correspondent Jennifer Shawnberger joins me now with a closer look. Interesting here discovery, Jen.Thank you, Julie. Good morning to you. A look back at Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Worsh's speeches during his time as Fed Governor and transcripts of policy meetings revealed that he routinely raised concerns about inflation and protecting central bank ...

Core Viewpoint - The interim management statement for Hargreave Hale AIM VCT PLC highlights contrasting economic conditions in the US and UK, with the US showing strong growth while the UK faces challenges including weak economic growth and rising unemployment [3][5]. Economic Overview - The US economy reported a robust growth rate of 4.3% in Q3 2025, despite political pressures [3]. - The UK is projected to have a growth rate of 1.5% for 2025 and 1.4% for 2026, with an unemployment rate rising to 5.1% [5]. - Consumer sentiment in the UK has improved post-Autumn Budget, although business confidence remains fragile [4]. Inflation and Monetary Policy - UK inflation, as measured by CPI, increased by 3.4% year-on-year as of December 2025, down from 3.8% in September 2025 [6]. - The Bank of England reduced interest rates to 3.75% during the quarter, with expectations for further cuts in 2026 [6]. Investment Performance - The unaudited NAV per share decreased by 1.25 pence to 35.21 pence, resulting in a total return of -3.43% for shareholders [9]. - The AIM index returned -0.97% in the three months to December 31, 2025, reflecting a challenging market environment [8]. Qualifying Investments - Hardide saw a significant increase of 157.1% in value, returning to profitability and reporting a 40% year-on-year revenue increase [10]. - Skillcast and Tortilla Mexican Grill also reported positive performance, with increases of 11.7% and 34.3% respectively [11]. - Negative contributors included Cohort, which declined by 36.7% despite solid revenue growth, and Diaceutics, which fell by 23.3% without specific news [12][13]. Portfolio Structure - The company maintained a strong investment position, ending the period with 84.11% invested according to HMRC VCT investment tests [16]. - The weighting to qualifying investments increased from 54.0% to 54.9% by market value [16]. Share Buybacks and Market Activity - The company repurchased 2.6 million shares at an average price of 34.14 pence, with the share price trading at a discount of 4.30% to the last published NAV [21]. - Post-period, the NAV per share increased to 36.33 pence, reflecting a 3.18% rise, while AIM increased by 6.54% [22].

Bitcoin’s turbulent start to 2026 continues as prices slump to 15-month low Proactive uses images sourced from Shutterstock Bitcoin has dropped sharply this week, hitting its lowest point since late 2024, before staging a modest rebound in Friday trading. The cryptocurrency briefly dipped just above $60,000 on Thursday, before recovering 3.3% to trade around $64,948 by early Friday morning. That’s a long way from its peak of $122,200 in October last year, marking a fall of around 47% from its all-time h ...

The fed funds rate influences borrowing costs on all kinds of loans. The Federal Open Market Committee typically lowers it to encourage spending and boost the job market, and raises it to do the opposite and push down inflation. This week, Fed officials continued to mull whether inflation or the threat of joblessness posed the biggest risk to the central bank's dual mandate to keep prices stable and employment high, and how much they should cut interest rates in the months ahead, if at all. "While we've mad ...

The markets this week will focus on earnings and economic news. Later today, the Dec JOLTS job openings are expected to increase by +104,000 to 7.250 million. On Friday, the University of Michigan's Jan consumer sentiment index is expected to fall by -1.4 points to 55.0.Bitcoin (^BTCUSD) is down more than -3% today to a 1.25-year low as negative momentum deepened across cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is down about 45% from its October record high, and inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs have reversed, with about $ ...