A man whose goal was to swim in the sea every day for a year after his mum was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease has the finish line in his sights.
James Madeley, 36 and from Cleadon, South Tyneside, began his challenge in honour of his mother…

A man whose goal was to swim in the sea every day for a year after his mum was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease has the finish line in his sights.
James Madeley, 36 and from Cleadon, South Tyneside, began his challenge in honour of his mother…

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Hedge fund giants Millennium and Citadel delivered a double-digit return to investors in 2025, recovering after a lacklustre first half but lagging behind many smaller firms in the “multi-manager” sector.
Izzy Englander’s Millennium and Ken Griffin’s Citadel were both briefly in the red in the first few months of last year, as markets were rocked by US President Donald Trump’s trade war.
But the firms recovered to gain 10.5 per cent and 10.2 per cent, respectively, by the end of 2025, following months of steady returns in the second half of the year, said people who had seen the numbers.
The recoveries partly reflect a return to more normal market conditions after Trump backed away from many of his most aggressive tariffs, allowing equity indices to chalk up strong gains by the end of the year. The S&P 500 finished 16.5 per cent higher while the UK’s FTSE 100 gained 21.5 per cent.
Millennium and Citadel were outshone by many of their smaller rivals in the multi-manager sector, including ExodusPoint, which gained 18 per cent, and Schonfeld’s flagship fund, which gained 12.5, said people who had seen the numbers.
Multi-manager firms have risen to the top of the hedge fund industry over the past several years by operating hundreds of trading teams known as “pods” across multiple asset classes such as equities, bonds and commodities. These hedge funds are known for heavy use of borrowing to juice their returns but also strict central risk management that often forces traders to quickly exit losing positions.
In addition, they charge investors higher fees than traditional hedge funds by passing through a host of costs, such as bonuses and client entertainment, directly to investors.
Their model has generally delivered consistent returns over the past decade, satisfying a desire from large investors such as pensions for steady profits.
These firms do not benchmark themselves against equity indices such as the S&P 500, instead trying to make their investors money whether stocks rise or fall. For instance, many multi-manager firms were up in 2022 when equity markets sustained big losses.
Elsewhere, macro hedge funds had their best year since 2008, with Bridgewater’s Pure Alpha hedge fund up 33 per cent to December 29, the most profitable year for the firm since it was founded 50 years ago.
Millennium, ExodusPoint, Schonfeld, Bridgewater and Citadel declined to comment.

ISLAMABAD — A court in Pakistan’s capital sentenced seven people, including three journalists, two YouTubers and two retired army officers, to life imprisonment on Friday, after convicting them of inciting violence during riots in 2023 and…
Tokyo, Japan. January 2nd 2026 – LEVEL5 Inc. has announced a free major DLC for Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time. Titled “The Sinister Broker Bazario’s Schemes,” this new DLC features a roguelike open-world gameplay…

Winnipeg, MB January 2, 2026 — Great-West Lifeco Inc. (“Lifeco”) announced today that it has received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) to renew its Normal Course Issuer Bid (“NCIB”).
Under the renewed NCIB, Lifeco may purchase for cancellation up to 20,000,000 common shares (“Shares”), representing approximately 2.2% of its 907,158,831 issued and outstanding Shares on December 23, 2025. The NCIB will commence on January 6, 2026 and continue until the earlier of January 5, 2027 and the date Lifeco completes its purchases pursuant to the notice of intention filed with the TSX. Based on the average daily trading volume on the TSX of 1,989,988 for the six months preceding November 30, 2025 (net of repurchases by Lifeco during that period), daily purchases will be limited to 497,497 Shares, other than block purchase exceptions. Purchases under the NCIB will be made at prevailing market prices through the facilities of the TSX, other designated exchanges and/or other alternative Canadian trading systems or by other means permitted by applicable law. Any Shares purchased by Lifeco pursuant to the NCIB will be cancelled. The actual number of Shares which may be purchased and the timing of any purchases will be determined by Lifeco management, subject to TSX rules and applicable law.
Lifeco’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) has authorized the renewed NCIB because, in the Board’s opinion, such purchases constitute an appropriate use of funds which will benefit both Lifeco and its shareholders. Lifeco will use the renewed NCIB to mitigate the dilutive effect of issuing securities under Lifeco’s Stock Option Plan and for other capital management purposes.
Under its prior NCIB (as amended on September 5, 2025), Lifeco received approval from the TSX to purchase up to 40,000,000 Shares from January 6, 2025 to January 5, 2026. As of December 23, 2025, Lifeco purchased 28,091,279 Shares at the weighted average price of $57.01 under its prior NCIB, including 12,443,866 Shares purchased from PFC (as defined below). As of December 23, 2025, a non-independent trustee purchased 75,457 Shares which were required to be counted against the NCIB limits in accordance with the TSX Company Manual, with no impact on the number of Shares outstanding. Those Shares were bought at the weighted average price of $53.45.
Automatic Purchase Plan
Lifeco also announced that it intends to enter into an automatic purchase plan (“APP”) with a designated broker to facilitate repurchases under the NCIB, including at times when Lifeco would ordinarily not be permitted to make purchases due to regulatory restrictions or self-imposed blackout periods. Purchases will be made by Lifeco’s broker at its sole discretion based on pre-set parameters in accordance with TSX rules, applicable law and the parties’ agreement. Purchases under the APP will be included in determining the total number of Shares purchased under the NCIB.
Purchases from Power
In addition, the TSX has granted an exemption that will permit Lifeco to purchase its Shares from Power Financial Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively, “PFC”) in connection with the NCIB, in order for PFC to approximately maintain its proportionate percentage ownership (unadjusted for Share issuances pursuant to Lifeco’s stock option plan and other long-term incentive plans). PFC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada and is the majority shareholder of Lifeco, holding approximately 68.677% of the issued and outstanding Shares (which does not include the approximately 2.44% of Shares held by IGM Financial Inc.). Purchases from PFC will be made during the TSX’s Special Trading Session pursuant to an automatic disposition plan agreement expected to be entered into between Lifeco, Lifeco’s broker and Power Financial Corporation and certain of its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Purchases from PFC will be made on any trading day that Lifeco makes a purchase from other shareholders pursuant to the NCIB. In the event that PFC does not sell Shares on any trading day as required (other than as a result of a market disruption event), the TSX exemption will cease to apply and Lifeco will not be permitted to make any further purchases from PFC pursuant to the NCIB. The maximum number of Shares that may be purchased pursuant to the NCIB will be reduced by the number of Shares purchased from PFC.
Great-West Lifeco is a financial services holding company focused on building stronger, more inclusive and financially secure futures. We operate in Canada, the United States and Europe under the brands Canada Life, Empower and Irish Life. Together we provide wealth, retirement, group benefits and insurance and risk solutions to our over 40 million customer relationships. As of September 30, 2025, Great-West Lifeco’s total client assets exceeded $3.3 trillion.
Great-West Lifeco trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker symbol GWO and is a member of the Power Corporation group of companies. To learn more, visit greatwestlifeco.comOpens in a new windowOpens in a new window.
Media Relations
Tim Oracheski
204-946-8961
media.relations@canadalife.com
Investor Relations
Shubha Khan
416-552-5951
shubha.khan@canadalife.com
Great-West Lifeco reports results of conversion election for Non-Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset First Preferred Shares, Series N
Great-West Lifeco announces dividend rates on Non-Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset First Preferred Shares, Series N and Non-Cumulative Floating Rate First Preferred Shares, Series O
Great-West Lifeco announces conversion right of Non-Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset First Preferred Shares, Series N

Dwayne Johnson is refelcting on transition from wrestling to acting, and how the latter…

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MIRPUR (AJK), Jan 2 (APP):Heavy rains and snow fall on upper reaches of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) including Neeland Leepa vallies continued the 2nd consecutive day on Thursday.
The inclement weather led to a deep dip in…