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Financial Planning News 1 December 2025 - 6 December 2025

IRS Issues Nationwide Warning as Trump Promises Record Tax Refunds: What the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Means for Your 2026 Tax Return

IRS Issues Nationwide Warning as Trump Promises Record Tax Refunds: What the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Means for Your 2026 Tax Return

Published: December 6, 2025 As 2025 winds down, two things are happening at once for American taxpayers: Here’s a detailed look at the latest news as of December 6, 2025—and what you should do now to protect your refund and your wallet. The IRS’ Nationwide Notice: “Start Doing This Before Year’s End” Paper checks are going away In a series of announcements this fall, the IRS and Treasury confirmed that they’re moving away from issuing paper refund checks for most taxpayers: The National Taxpayer Advocate has warned that if your 2025 return (filed in 2026) doesn’t include direct deposit information
6 December 2025
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Mortgage Rates Today, December 6, 2025: 30‑Year Fixed Near 6% as Refi Deals Resurface

Mortgage Rates Today, December 6, 2025: 30‑Year Fixed Near 6% as Refi Deals Resurface

After a choppy year for housing, U.S. mortgage rates are sliding back toward their lows of 2025 — and that’s breathing new life into both home-purchase and refinance activity. Freddie Mac’s latest weekly survey pegs the average 30‑year fixed mortgage at 6.19%, down from 6.23% last week and roughly half a percentage point below this time in 2024.Freddie Mac+1 Real‑time trackers show today’s national averages hovering just above 6%, while some lenders are now advertising 30‑year rates in the mid‑5% range for top‑tier borrowers.NerdWallet+2Moreira Team Mortgage+2 Below is a detailed look at where mortgage and refinance rates stand on Saturday,
6 December 2025
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Bonds vs Stocks in 2025: Where to Invest as Interest Rates Peak and Markets Rally

Bonds vs Stocks in 2025: Where to Invest as Interest Rates Peak and Markets Rally

As 2025 draws to a close, investors are facing a rare moment: both stocks and bonds have had a strong year, and major central banks are preparing to cut interest rates after one of the sharpest tightening cycles in decades. That makes the classic question — bonds vs stocks — feel more urgent than it has in years. U.S. stocks are up by the mid‑ to high‑teens in 2025, with the S&P 500 boosted by strong tech earnings and resilient consumer demand. Business Insider Global stocks, measured by the MSCI ACWI index, have delivered more than 23% year‑to‑date through the
6 December 2025
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Best Stocks to Buy in India Now (Dec 5, 2025): Top Nifty, Bank, Auto, Power & Healthcare Picks for 2026

Best Stocks to Buy in India Now (Dec 5, 2025): Top Nifty, Bank, Auto, Power & Healthcare Picks for 2026

India’s stock market has moved into a new phase. On December 5, 2025, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the repo rate by 25 bps to 5.25%, announced ₹1 lakh crore of government bond purchases and a $5 billion FX swap to flood the system with durable liquidity. ICRA+2The Economic Times+2Equities immediately cheered: Nifty 50 is trading above 26,000, and rate‑sensitive sectors like banks, NBFCs, autos and real estate are in focus. The Economic Times At the same time: Against that backdrop, investors are asking the same question: which are the best stocks to buy in India right now? Below is a news‑driven, as‑of‑today (Dec 5, 2025) look at
5 December 2025
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Best ETFs in the U.S. Stock Market Today (December 5, 2025): VOO, QQQ, VTI, SCHD and More

Best ETFs in the U.S. Stock Market Today (December 5, 2025): VOO, QQQ, VTI, SCHD and More

Updated: December 5, 2025 Exchange‑traded funds (ETFs) are having a monster year. U.S.-listed ETFs have already pulled in about $1.27 trillion in net inflows for 2025, an all‑time annual record with a month still to go. etf.com Core stock index funds like Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) sit at the top of the leaderboard, with VOO alone attracting nearly $125 billion this year — the biggest haul ever recorded by a single ETF. etf.com At the same time, precious‑metals ETFs are on fire. Silver has roughly doubled in price this year and is trading just below a record near $59 an
5 December 2025
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2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Financial Planning Software: Workday, OneStream and Board Front an AI Arms Race in FP&A

2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Financial Planning Software: Workday, OneStream and Board Front an AI Arms Race in FP&A

The financial planning and analysis (FP&A) software market just hit a major checkpoint. Gartner has published its 2025 Magic Quadrant for Financial Planning Software, and within hours a wave of vendors — including Workday, OneStream and Board — announced fresh leadership positions, all leaning heavily into AI, agents and unified enterprise planning. PR Newswire+2PR Newswire+2 For CFOs and FP&A leaders, these announcements on and around December 4–5, 2025, are more than marketing. They provide a snapshot of who Gartner sees as shaping the next era of planning, forecasting and performance management across 14 evaluated vendors. Anaplan Inc What the 2025
5 December 2025
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DFI Retail Group Holdings Limited (D01) Stock: 3-Year Growth Plan, Special Dividend and Analyst Forecasts as of 5 December 2025

DFI Retail Group Holdings Limited (D01) Stock: 3-Year Growth Plan, Special Dividend and Analyst Forecasts as of 5 December 2025

DFI Retail Group Holdings Limited (“DFI”, SGX: D01; LSE: DFI) has quietly become one of 2025’s standout recovery stories in Asian retail. The Singapore‑listed shares closed at about US$4.05 on 4 December 2025, up roughly 80% year to date and around 70% over the past 12 months, giving the company a market capitalization of just under US$5 billion. MarketScreener+1 Behind that re‑rating is a combination of portfolio clean‑up, a very generous special dividend, and—most recently—a new three‑year growth and capital‑return framework unveiled at the company’s 2025 Investor Day. DFI Retail Group+3DFI Retail Group+3Investegate+3 DFI today operates over 7,400 outlets (including
5 December 2025
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Bank of Montreal (BMO) Stock: Q4 2025 Earnings Beat, Dividend Hike and What It Means for 2026

Bank of Montreal (BMO) Stock: Q4 2025 Earnings Beat, Dividend Hike and What It Means for 2026

Bank of Montreal stock is finishing 2025 in the spotlight. The 208‑year‑old bank has just reported strong fiscal 2025 results, raised its dividend again, launched new real‑time payment APIs, and attracted fresh analyst scrutiny as Canadian bank valuations stretch above long‑term averages.BMO Newsroom+2Finviz+2 Here’s a deep dive into the latest news, numbers, and forecasts around Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO, NYSE: BMO) as of December 4, 2025. Where BMO stock trades today Dual‑listed shares near multi‑year highs BMO’s own filings show a closing TSX share price of C$174.23 at its October 31 fiscal year‑end, up from C$126.88 a year earlier
4 December 2025
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Procter & Gamble Stock Near Two‑Year Low After CFO Warning – Is PG a Buy for 2026?

Procter & Gamble Stock Near Two‑Year Low After CFO Warning – Is PG a Buy for 2026?

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE: PG) has slipped back into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. As of December 3, 2025, the consumer‑staples giant’s stock is trading in the mid‑$140s, hovering near its lowest levels in almost two years after a stark warning from its chief financial officer about the health of the U.S. consumer. Investopedia Yet underneath the weak share price, P&G is still generating steady earnings, robust cash flow, and billions in dividends and buybacks—while Wall Street’s 12‑month price targets point to mid‑teens upside from here. StockAnalysis+2MarketBeat+2 This deep dive rounds up the latest PG stock
3 December 2025
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Giving Tuesday 2025, Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ and New Charitable Tax Breaks: How Donors Can Keep Giving All Year

Giving Tuesday 2025, Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ and New Charitable Tax Breaks: How Donors Can Keep Giving All Year

As Americans mark Giving Tuesday 2025 on December 2, the culture of generosity is colliding with the biggest rewrite of U.S. tax rules in years — President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” — and new strategies for making donations last well beyond a single day. Nonprofits are counting on a surge of year-end gifts, while donors are trying to understand how today’s contributions will interact with new rules taking effect in 2026. At the same time, experts are urging people not to treat Giving Tuesday as a one‑day event, but as the kickoff to a year‑round plan that blends
2 December 2025
Social Security December 2025 Payments: Full Schedule, Double SSI Checks and the 2026 COLA Explained

Social Security December 2025 Payments: Full Schedule, Double SSI Checks and the 2026 COLA Explained

Millions of Americans are waking up on December 1, 2025 wondering when their Social Security and SSI money will hit their accounts—and why some people are seeing two payments this month instead of one. Here’s a clear, up‑to‑date guide to the December 2025 Social Security payment schedule, who gets the extra SSI deposit, and how the new 2.8% cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) changes your benefit going into 2026. The Economic Times+1 Key December 2025 Social Security and SSI Dates at a Glance Based on the Social Security Administration’s 2025 payment calendar and current news reports, here’s the official schedule for December
1 December 2025
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Social Security December 2025 Payments: Full Schedule, $967 SSI Checks and the Early 2026 COLA Boost

Social Security December 2025 Payments: Full Schedule, $967 SSI Checks and the Early 2026 COLA Boost

Millions of Americans are heading into December 2025 watching their bank accounts closely — and this month is a big one for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients. Because of how the calendar falls, SSI beneficiaries will receive two payments in December: one on Monday, December 1, and another on Wednesday, December 31, which is actually the January 2026 benefit paid early due to the New Year’s Day holiday.LiveNOW+2Hindustan Times+2 At the same time, retirees, survivors and disability (SSDI) beneficiaries will see their regular December Social Security checks go out on December 3, 10, 17 and 24, depending
1 December 2025
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Stock Market Today

Halma share price: Friday’s lift sets up what investors watch next week

Halma share price: Friday’s lift sets up what investors watch next week

7 February 2026
Halma shares closed up 0.7% at 3,548 pence on Friday, valuing the group at about £13.4 billion. The Bank of England held rates at 3.75% in a split vote, keeping rate-cut speculation in focus. Halma’s next trading update is set for March 12. The FTSE 100 ended the week up 0.6%, lifted by bank stocks.
Diageo share price slips into the weekend as investors eye Feb. 25 results

Diageo share price slips into the weekend as investors eye Feb. 25 results

7 February 2026
Diageo shares closed down 1.48% at 1,760 pence on Friday, trailing a 0.59% gain in the FTSE 100. An updated analyst consensus points to a 2.0% fall in first-half organic net sales ahead of interim results due Feb. 25. Trading volume was light, and the stock remains over 22% below its 52-week high.
National Grid share price: what to know before London reopens after BoE signal

National Grid share price: what to know before London reopens after BoE signal

7 February 2026
National Grid shares closed at 1,285 pence in London on Friday, up 0.23%. The Bank of England held rates at 3.75% after a close vote, signaling possible cuts if inflation falls. National Grid announced a wireless power transmission study with Space Solar and marked five years of IFA2 interconnector operations. Its U.S. ADR ended at $88.06, up $1.17.
BAE Systems share price rises into weekend — what to watch before Monday’s London open

BAE Systems share price rises into weekend — what to watch before Monday’s London open

7 February 2026
BAE Systems shares closed up 1.2% at 1,879 pence on Friday, tracking gains in European defence stocks. The company’s market value stands near £54.8 billion. Investors await BAE’s full-year results on Feb. 18 for updates on cash returns and orders. GXO Logistics renewed and expanded its contract to support BAE’s Type 26 frigate program in Scotland.
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