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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A Reform UK government would consolidate local council pension schemes into a near-£500bn “sovereign wealth fund” that it claims would boost economic growth by investing in British businesses.Reform deputy leader Richard Tice said it would be one of the top eight largest funds in the world and could generate an annual surplus of between £20bn and £30bn a year.“It will have a strategic British growth mandate,” he said, as he accused the existing local government pension scheme of being “disparate, uncoordinated” and…

The cost of healthcare in the United States is on the rise in a big way. In its 2026 healthcare outlook, the Big Four accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) made strong statements confirming this reality. “The US healthcare system is heading into another year of powerful inflationary forces exerting pressure, with few deflationary forces in sight.” PwC estimates that in 2024, group insurance medical costs rose by 8.5%. Prior to this, costs had not risen so quickly since 2012. PwC says costs rose by 8.5% again in 2025 and sees another year of 8.5% growth in 2026. In this context, Hinge…

Elevate Iowa, a program of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry Foundation, is now accepting applications for its 2026 Elevate Scholarship Program, which awards 15 $500 scholarships to Iowa high school seniors pursuing advanced manufacturing education at one of the state’s 15 community colleges. The program aims to support students entering fields such as welding, CNC machining, industrial automation and robotics. Applications are due by March 29, with full details available at the Iowa ABI website.

The Central Bank of Hungary Hungary’s central bank has cut rates for the first time in 16 months.The Central Bank of Hungary (MNB) justified its decision to ease policy 25 basis points to 6.25% by saying annual inflation had fallen to 2.1% in January and had therefore developed in line with the bank’s December projections.The MNB’s governor, Mihály Varga, also cited “improving base effects” in price growth. Varga said inflation had eased primarily thanks to the forint’s appreciation over the past year, and that a 25bp cut Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate…

Austan Goolsbee, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, speaks during the National Association of Business Economics (NABE) economic policy conference in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.Graeme Sloane | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesChicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said Tuesday that interest rate cuts aren’t appropriate until there’s more evidence that inflation is on its way down.With recent indicators showing that inflation is well off its highs but still above the Fed’s 2% target, Goolsbee noted that policymakers “have been burned by assuming transitory inflation” in the past and shouldn’t make the…

Loop Capital sees key headwinds easing as catalysts materialize for Qualcomm . The investment firm upgraded the semiconductor company to a buy rating from hold. Analyst Gary Mobley also hiked his price target to $185 from $140. That implies upside of 32%. Shares of Qualcomm are down 13% over the past 12 months and have tumbled 18% this year alone. QCOM 1Y mountain QCOM 1Y chart “There are many reasons why QCOM’s shares have underperformed the chip sector on a YTD, 1-yr-, 3-yr & 5-yr basis. Most obvious, the company is not a data center AI beneficiary, at least not…

Donald Trump’s new global tariffs have taken effect at 10%, even though he had threatened a higher rate of 15% last weekend, providing “some relief” for British businesses, according to a lobby group.After the US president suffered a defeat at the hands of the supreme court on Friday, which struck down his sweeping “liberation day” tariffs imposed last year, he angrily reacted by announcing a 10% global tariff, which he raised to 15% on Saturday in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.According to a notice from the US customs agency, “an additional 10% ad valorem duty on…

At a time when many investors are rotating out of speculative penny stocks, others continue to embrace the risk-reward dynamic. Stocks that trade for under $5 carry a certain amount of risk. Many of these companies are unprofitable, and some may generate little to no revenue. Plus, in almost every case, these are small-cap companies. Small-cap stocks have been beaten up in the last several years. And even with the showing some signs of growth, it’s not being seen throughout the broader small-cap sector. That’s expected to change in 2026, particularly if the economic outlook continues to improve. In that…

Home Depot on Tuesday posted a roughly 4% quarterly sales decline, as a sluggish real estate market and selective spending by homeowners continued to weigh on home improvement demand.The company also stuck by the current fiscal year forecast that it shared in December at an investor day. It said it expects full-year total sales growth to range between about 2.5% and 4.5% and adjusted earnings per share to be between roughly flat and up 4% from $14.69 in the prior fiscal year. It expects full-year comparable sales growth, which takes out one-time factors like store openings and closures, to range…

February 24, 2026 Federal Reserve Board issues enforcement action with former employee of First Financial Bank For release at 11:00 a.m. EST The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced the execution of the enforcement action listed below: Consent prohibition order against Jamal Hillman Former employee of First Financial Bank, Cincinnati, Ohio Misappropriation of customer funds Additional enforcement actions can be searched for here. For media inquiries, please email [email protected] or call 202-452-2955. Last Update: February 24, 2026