Author: Charlotte

The Boot of Cortez was discovered by a metal detector in 1989. Credit: Heritage Auctions One of the largest surviving gold nuggets found in the western hemisphere is a breathtaking nugget named The Boot of Cortez. It is an amazing piece of gold, weighing in at a massive 389.4 troy ounces. In 1989, an amateur treasure hunter in Mexico purchased an entry-level metal detector at a local Radio Shack and ventured out into the forbidding Sonoran Desert. Gold and silver mines are scattered across Northern Mexico, but the odds of randomly finding a gold nugget (also known as “placer gold”)…

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When the CEO of Morningstar sat down to speak with the president of the largest alternative asset management firm, he asked a question that is likely on many financial advisors’ minds. Processing ContentWhile the head of the investment research, technology and portfolio management firm, Kunal Kapoor, acknowledged in his keynote interview with Jon Gray of Blackstone at Morningstar’s conference last month in Chicago that Gray’s firm “has not had trouble raising capital,” he pointed out that there has been “a noticeable slowdown in institutional fundraising.””So if you’re an advisor sitting here and you’re looking at this slowdown in fundraising,” Kapoor said,…

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Need to knowSewage works, several home extensions, and the proposed construction of a padel facility are all included in this listThe former Sunderland Civic Centre, on Burdon Road(Image: Copyright Unknown)Here are a selection of planning applications in Sunderland that are awaiting a decision, as they are currently in the process of being considered by the council.Land at the former Civic Centre, Burdon Road, Sunderland, SR2 7DN: Partial discharge of condition 16 (Verification report) attached to planning application 24/00285/VAR for plots 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 103, 104, 105, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, and 137.Northumbrian Water Ltd Sewage Disposal…

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The Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR +0.20%) provides low-cost exposure to small-cap value stocks, while the iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF (IJJ 0.01%) offers a similar value focus but targets the mid-cap segment of the market. Both funds use passive, index-tracking strategies to find companies trading at a discount relative to their fundamentals. The choice between them often comes down to an investor’s preference for the relative stability of mid-cap stocks versus the greater diversification — and greater volatility — that comes with small-caps.Snapshot (cost & size)MetricIJJVBRIssueriSharesVanguardExpense ratio0.18%0.05%1-year return (as of July 2, 2026)17.17%23.61%Dividend yield1.65%1.76%Beta1.021.01AUM$8.5 billion$65.5 billionBeta measures price…

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A new Quebec regulatory body created last year, the Chambre de l’assurance, has assumed supervision of life and health insurance advisors, property and casualty insurance reps and brokers, and financial planners in the province. It officially became a recognized self-regulatory organization (SRO) on Friday, triggering the transfer of supervisory responsibilities announced under Bill 92, passed by the Quebec government last June. Meanwhile, effective July 4, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) will assume responsibility for overseeing Quebec mutual fund dealer representatives, in line with other major jurisdictions. Representatives of scholarship plan dealers will now be supervised directly by the Autorité…

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MEASURING THE PURITYRefining the alloyPress enter or click to view image in full sizePhoto by Kasper Gant on UnsplashWorking with precious metals teaches you an absolute reverence for physical truth, immutable weights, and unyielding material integrity. In my quiet studio in Glendale, I have spent more than three decades as a man working as a custom goldsmith and fine jewelry designer, melting raw alloys in crucibles, operating precise balance scales, and peering through a ten-power loupe to identify the microscopic structural flaws that can compromise a gemstone’s setting. In my line of work, you never take a supplier’s word at…

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There were many reasons why a majority of the British voters opted for ‘Brexit’ and voted to leave the European Union in the referendum on the 23rd of June 2016. Demographic data shows a clear correlation between social class and attitude towards the EU. Moreover, the government and the remain-side fatally failed to run a campaign that addressed the voters’ concerns about immigration and sovereignty. These idiosyncratic factors notwithstanding, the referendum can be understood through the prism of economic theory; using economic theory can give us an insight into psephological behaviour, which we can not get from a pure empirical…

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Blackstone Inc. (ISIN US09259E1082) is one of the world’s largest managers of alternative assets, and its scale keeps it central to the discussion about how private capital shapes corporate finance and real estate. Investors increasingly focus on how the company balances fundraising, investment performance, and realizations to drive fee-related and performance-based earnings over time.Alternative assets at the coreBlackstone Inc. has built its business model around alternative investments such as private equity, real estate, credit, and infrastructure. These asset classes differ from traditional stocks and bonds, often involving longer holding periods, less frequent valuations, and a stronger focus on active value…

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