Stay Informed, Stay Ahead

The UK government has announced that ground rents for leaseholders in England and Wales will be capped at £250 per year. This announcement follows the abolition of ground rents for most new residential properties in 2022, though they remained for existing ones. The new reforms, part of the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill, also aim to ban new leasehold flats and abolish forfeiture. While the move has drawn criticism from industry figures worried about its impact on investment, campaigners have welcomed the measure, noting it could alleviate issues faced by leaseholders.

Longtime weather presenter Carol Kirkwood is leaving the BBC after a remarkable tenure of more than 25 years. Fighting back tears, the beloved 63-year-old made the announcement on BBC Breakfast, expressing her love for her job but sharing her desire to spend more time with her husband and explore the world. Kirkwood, who joined the BBC in 1998 and became the main weather presenter on BBC Breakfast in 2010, reflected on her cherished moments at the BBC and the friendships she formed along the way.

The departure of a top U.S. immigration official from Minneapolis indicates a possible shift in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown following the controversial shooting of a U.S. citizen by federal officers. This move comes amidst heightened tensions and ongoing protests in the city.

OpenAI engineer Michael Bolin has released an in-depth analysis of Codex CLI, providing developers with valuable insights into its inner mechanisms. This revelation comes at a time when AI coding tools like Codex with GPT-5.2 and Claude Code with Opus 4.5 are gaining traction for their ability to rapidly generate prototypes and boilerplate code, albeit not without some limitations.

The chair of a CDC vaccine advisory panel, Dr. Kirk Milhoan, recently sparked controversy with his remarks on a podcast, prompting the American Medical Association to issue a stern response. Milhoan, appointed under anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., expressed skepticism towards established vaccine science and made unfounded claims about vaccine risks, drawing backlash from the medical community.

Microsoft has resolved an issue where traffic intended for example.com, a domain used strictly for testing, was being rerouted to a Japanese electronics manufacturer's domain. This misconfiguration affected email routing within Microsoft's networks.

As global leaders gathered in Davos, China's presence underscored its push for international cooperation, in contrast to U.S. controversies. The event highlighted Beijing’s strategic shift towards regional influence amid growing global tensions.

Elizabeth Warren accuses Russell Vought, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of actions that contradict President Trump’s goal to make credit cards more affordable, as detailed in a letter obtained by CNBC.

Asset managers are exploring new strategies for portfolio diversification to achieve alpha, focusing on assets beyond U.S. large-cap stocks amid global economic shifts. By incorporating diversified asset classes such as bonds, cash, and commodities, firms like Pimco and State Street Investment Management are seeking differentiated returns to outperform traditional benchmarks.