James Heppe-Smith
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UK is tightening BNPL rules in July; the US just retreated: a tale of two regulatory directions
Read more: UK is tightening BNPL rules in July; the US just retreated: a tale of two regulatory directionsThe UK is bringing buy now pay later into regulated credit on 15 July 2026 with FOS rights, affordability checks and Section 75-equivalent protections. The US went the other way, with the CFPB withdrawing its BNPL Interpretive Rule in May 2025 and state-level patching now filling the federal vacuum. We map the divergence.
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FCA Targeted Support 2026: Your Pension Platform Can Now Nudge You, and What That Means
Read more: FCA Targeted Support 2026: Your Pension Platform Can Now Nudge You, and What That MeansThe FCA’s new targeted support regime is live from 6 April 2026. What it lets pension platforms do, what it doesn’t replace, and how to use it as a UK saver.
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Americans are also losing the retirement-savings argument: what the 2026 EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey says
Read more: Americans are also losing the retirement-savings argument: what the 2026 EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey saysEBRI’s 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey found 64% of Americans confident about retirement, the lowest reading since 2017. Workers expect to retire at 70 at four times the rate retirees actually do. We unpack the data, the Fidelity overlay showing that plan ownership more than doubles confidence, and the practical response.
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How Lenders Advertise the Cost of Credit Is About to Change: What the FCA’s CP26/15 and APR Discussion Paper Mean for Borrowers
Read more: How Lenders Advertise the Cost of Credit Is About to Change: What the FCA’s CP26/15 and APR Discussion Paper Mean for BorrowersThe FCA is rewriting the rulebook for how lenders advertise consumer credit. CP26/15 proposes to scrap a thicket of prescriptive rules and replace them with outcomes-based Consumer Duty compliance, and the companion Discussion Paper asks whether Representative APR is still doing its job. What could change for borrowers, and what stays the same in the…
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Best Cash ISA Rates in May 2026 (Updated After the 2026 Budget)
Read more: Best Cash ISA Rates in May 2026 (Updated After the 2026 Budget)Best-buy easy-access and fixed-rate Cash ISA rates as at mid-May 2026, with notes on NS&I British Savings Bonds and FSCS protection. Updated 28 October 2026: the Budget dropped the planned £12,000 under-65 cap, so the cash ISA limit stays at £20,000.
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OBBBA permanently raised the federal estate exemption to $15M: US estate planning after the July 2025 law
Read more: OBBBA permanently raised the federal estate exemption to $15M: US estate planning after the July 2025 lawThe One Big Beautiful Bill Act (July 2025) permanently raised the US federal estate and gift tax exemption to $15 million per person, or $30 million per married couple, with no sunset. State estate tax in roughly 12 jurisdictions still bites. Here is what changed, who benefits most, and where planning work still matters in…
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Dividend Tax Rates Have Gone Up: What the New 2026/27 Rates Mean for Investors Holding Shares Outside an ISA
Read more: Dividend Tax Rates Have Gone Up: What the New 2026/27 Rates Mean for Investors Holding Shares Outside an ISAFrom 6 April 2026, dividend tax rates rose by 2pp in the basic and higher rate bands. From April 2027, savings income tax rates rise too. What the new numbers actually mean for investors holding dividend-paying shares in a General Investment Account, and how the gap between in-ISA and out-of-ISA returns has widened.
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FCA Bereavement Review 2026: What It Means for Grieving Families with Investments
Read more: FCA Bereavement Review 2026: What It Means for Grieving Families with InvestmentsThe FCA is reviewing how investment platforms handle bereavement after 53% of customers reported poor service. What’s in scope and what to ask for now.
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I-bonds rise to 4.26% for May-October 2026: the US sibling to UK Premium Bonds
Read more: I-bonds rise to 4.26% for May-October 2026: the US sibling to UK Premium BondsThe US Treasury raised the Series I Savings Bond composite rate to 4.26% for the May to October 2026 window, with the fixed-rate component holding at 0.90% locked for the bond’s 30-year life. We compare I-bonds against the best high-yield savings accounts, CDs, T-bills and TIPS, and set out who actually benefits at the current…
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The Renters’ Rights Act is now live: what UK landlords must do before 31 May 2026 to avoid a £7,000 fine
Read more: The Renters’ Rights Act is now live: what UK landlords must do before 31 May 2026 to avoid a £7,000 fineThe Renters’ Rights Act came into full force on 1 May 2026. By 31 May, UK landlords must send every existing tenant the government’s official Information Sheet or face a £7,000 civil penalty per tenancy. The article covers the Information Sheet duty, Section 21 abolition, the new periodic-tenancy default, the rent-in-advance cap, and the practical…
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