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Leading commission-free investing and trading app Robinhood HOOD recently introduced 24/5 trading for select stocks and ETFs.

This innovation transcends the limitations of traditional trading hours, granting traders an unparalleled window to global equity markets day and night. Beyond just flexibility, this feature equips traders with the tools to preempt opportunities, adeptly maneuver through market volatility, mitigate gap risks and craft sophisticated trading strategies.

Robinhoods pioneering approach could potentially benefit traders in multiple ways and set a new gold standard for the brokerage industry's future.Global Access And Flexibility

In todays interconnected global economy, financial markets span multiple time zones each operating within its distinct trading hours. Yet the constraints of traditional market hours tied to a country's local time can hinder investors keen on tapping into international prospects.

Robinhood's 24-hour trading feature challenges these constraints, offering investors uninterrupted access to global markets. This becomes especially advantageous when trading international stocks or ETFs, allowing investors the flexibility to trade at their convenience, be it within or beyond standard business hours.

Consider a dividend stock investor who may have missed a purchase opportunity during regular hours on the eve of the ex-dividend date; he can now capitalize on the after-hours trading to qualify for the dividend.Navigating Market Volatility: Gap Risk & After-Hours News

The volatility of the stock market brings both opportunities and risks, and understanding its nuances is crucial for every investor. Two significant aspects of market volatility are gap risk and after-hour news both of which are addressed by Robinhoods 24-5 hour trading feature.How 24-hour Trading Mitigates Gap Risk:

Gap risk emerges from the disparity between a security's closing price one day and its opening price the next. Influenced by factors like major news events, earnings announcements, or key macroeconomic data released after market hours, these gaps can lead to unforeseen gains or losses, especially for short-term traders.

24-hour trading offers a solution, enabling investors to respond in real-time to post-market developments. This uninterrupted trading model promotes gradual price adjustments, minimizing the chances of sudden and substantial price gaps when the market reopens.Capitalizing On After-Hour News: The Agility Of 24-Hour Trading

The digital age has accelerated the dissemination of financial news. Unexpected announcements from industry leaders, geopolitical shifts or central bank decisions can emerge outside standard trading hours, presenting golden opportunities for active investors.

Robinhood's 24-hour trading feature ensures investors aren't left on the sidelines. They can promptly adjust their portfolios in response to such news, maximizing potential gains or safeguarding against risks. This real-time response capability not only grants traders enhanced control but also brings a level of dynamism to equity trading that was previously out of reach.

Traders can trade whole-share limit orders of any assets included in Robinhoods 24 Hour Market list, ensuring they're always ready to act.Advanced Trading & Risk Management

The 24-5 trading model offered by Robinhood allows for enhanced opportunities to implement sophisticated strategies and oversee risk. These include: Risk Management: Some traders prefer to use extended trading hours for risk management purposes. For example, they might use after-hours trading to adjust their positions if the market reacts to unexpected news. Hedging Strategies: Investors can implement more sophisticated hedging strategies by trading both during regular market hours and after hours. This may include delta hedging, gamma scalping or intermarket hedging among other strategies. Diversification: 24-hour trading allows investors to diversify their portfolios by accessing securities across global markets and time zones. This offers benefits like currency diversification and the ability to trade based on news events impacting various markets. The Future Of Trading?

Robinhoods new 24-5 trading feature offers unprecedented convenience, strategic flexibility and global reach, transforming trading interactions with the equities market once limited by traditional boundaries. However, traders should be aware of the inherent risks of after-hour trading, including low liquidity, wider spreads, increased volatility and price uncertainties. Nonetheless, for traders seeking to gain an edge and jump start on potential market opportunities this is a feature that could serve as a valuable tool.

Featured photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash.

This post contains sponsored content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice.

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Politics

Another tantrum from the Labour backbenches is inevitable

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Rachel Reeves hints at tax rises in autumn budget after welfare bill U-turn

In common with many parents across the country, here’s a conversation that I have with my young daughter on a semi-regular basis (bear with me, this will take on some political relevance eventually).

Me: “So it’s 15 minutes until your bedtime, you can either have a little bit of TV or do a jigsaw, not both.”

Daughter: “Ummmm, I want to watch TV.”

Me: “That’s fine, but it’s bed after that, you can’t do a jigsaw as well.”

Fast-forward 15 minutes.

Me: “Right, TV off now please, bedtime.”

(Pause)

Daughter: “I want to do a jigsaw.”

Now replace me with the government, the TV and jigsaw options with axing welfare cuts and scrapping the two-child cap, and my daughter with rebellious backbenchers.

Politics latest: Former Labour leader calls for wealth tax on assets above £10m

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Rachel Reeves’s fiscal dilemma

That is the tension currently present between Downing Street and Labour MPs. And my initial ultimatum is the messaging being pumped out from the government this weekend.

In essence: you’ve had your welfare U-turn, so there’s no money left for the two-child cap to go as well.

As an aside – and before my inbox fills with angry emails lambasting me for using such a crude metaphor for policies that fundamentally alter the lives of some of the most vulnerable in society – yes, I hear you, and that’s part of my point.

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Welfare U-turn ‘has come at cost’

For many in Labour, this approach feels like the lives of their constituents are being used in a childish game of horse-trading.

So what can be done?

Well, the government could change the rules.

Altering the fiscal rules is – and will likely remain – an extremely unlikely solution. But as it happens, one of Labour’s proverbial grandparents has just popped round with a different suggestion.

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Welfare: ‘Didn’t get process right’ – PM

A wealth tax, Lord Neil Kinnock says, is the necessary outcome of the economic restrictions the party has placed on itself.

Ever the Labour storyteller, Lord Kinnock believes this would allow the government to craft a more compelling narrative about whose side this administration is on.

That could be valuable, given one of the big gripes from many backbench critics is that they still don’t really understand what this prime minister stands for – and by extension, what all these “difficult decisions” are in aid of.

The downside is whether it will actually raise much money.

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Is Corbyn an existential risk to Labour?

The super-rich may have lots of assets to take a slice from, but they also have expensive lawyers ready to find novel ways to keep their client’s cash away from the prying eyes of the state.

Or, of course, they could just leave – as many are doing already.

In the short term, the future is a bit easier to predict.

If Downing Street is indeed now saying there is no money to scrap the two-child cap (after heavy briefing in the opposite direction just weeks ago), an almighty tantrum from the backbenches is inevitable.

And as every parent knows, the more you give in, the harder it becomes to hold the line.

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US

Deadly Texas floods: What were the warnings?

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Deadly Texas floods: What were the warnings?

Questions have been raised over extreme weather warnings in Texas, after heavy rain caused fatal flash floods along the Guadalupe River.

At least 51 people have died from the flooding in Texas, with an unknown number of people – including 27 girls from Camp Mystic in Kerr County – still missing.

As rescue teams continue to search for the missing, local and federal officials have come under fire over their flood preparations and about why those along the river weren’t warned of the risks sooner.

A map showing the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, which burst from heavy rain and caused flash flooding
Image:
A map showing the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, which burst from heavy rain and caused flash flooding

Campers from Camp Waldemar embrace after arriving at a reunification area. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP
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Campers embrace at a reunification area. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP

What happened?

As much as 10ins (25cm) of heavy rain fell in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County on Friday, causing the banks of the Guadalupe River to burst at around 4am local time.

Homes and vehicles were swept away by the downpour – equivalent to months’ worth of rain – while 27 girls staying at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river, went missing when the fast-rising floodwaters hit.

The death toll stands at:
• At least 43 people, including 15 children and 28 adults, in Kerr County,
• One person in Kendall County,
• At least four people in Travis County,
• At least two in Burnet County,
• And one person in the city of San Angelo.

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House sweeps away in flash floods

What flood warnings were there?

Private forecasting company AccuWeather said it and the National Weather Service (NWS) sent warnings about potential flash flooding hours before it began, urging people to move to higher ground and evacuate flood-prone areas.

The NWS also issued flash flood emergencies – a rare alert notifying of imminent danger – at 4.23am local time.

In a statement, AccuWeather said that “these warnings should have provided officials with ample time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and get people to safety”.

It also called Texas Hill County one of the most flash-flood-prone areas of the US because of its terrain and many water crossings.

However, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management Nim Kidd said that one NWS forecast earlier in the week had called for up to six inches of rain.

“It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,” he said.

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Texas searches for missing children

Were they enough?

Locals have told various news agencies that while there had been phone alerts late into the night, forecasts headed into Friday evening did not predict the extreme conditions.

Christopher Flowers, who was staying at a friend’s house along the river when the flooding started, told the Reuters news agency: “What they need is some kind of external system, like a tornado warning that tells people to get out now.”

Kerrville resident Darryl Huffman told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that he did not believe the storm would pose such danger before its arrival.

“I looked out the window and it was barely sprinkling outside,” he said, “so I had no indication that the river was going to be right outside my driveway”.

People climb over debris on a bridge atop the Guadalupe River after a flash flood. Pic: AP
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People climb over debris on a bridge atop the Guadalupe River in Ingram, Texas. Pic: AP

A Sheriff's deputy pauses while searching for the missing in Hunt, Texas.Pic: AP/Julio Cortez
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A Sheriff’s deputy pauses while searching for the missing in Hunt, Texas. Pic: AP/Julio Cortez

Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, said it appeared evacuations and other proactive measures could have been undertaken to reduce the risk of fatalities.

He said in a statement: “People, businesses, and governments should take action based on Flash Flood Warnings that are issued, regardless of the rainfall amounts that have occurred or are forecast.”

Separately, the NWS’s union told NBC News the agency’s offices in central Texas were well-staffed and had issued timely warnings, “giving preliminary lead times of more than three hours before warning criteria were met”.

What have officials said?

Local and federal officials have said they had not expected such an intense downpour of rain and insisted that no one saw the flood potential coming.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county’s top elected official, said: “We know we get rain. We know the river rises. But nobody saw this coming.”

“We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States,” he said, adding: “We had no reason to believe this was going to be anything like what’s happened here. None whatsoever.”

Mr Kelly separately noted that while the county considered a flood warning system along the river that would have functioned like a tornado warning siren about six or seven years ago, “the public reeled at the cost”.

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At a news conference with the Texas governor, Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem said on Saturday that “everybody knows that the weather is extremely difficult to predict” before saying “we have all wanted more time and more warning and more alerts and more notification” from the NWS.

She said a “moderate” flood watch issued on Thursday by the NWS had not accurately predicted the extreme rainfall and said the Trump administration was working to upgrade their technology.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott give a briefing on the flash floods in Texas. Pic: AP
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Kristi Noem and Texas governor Greg Abbott give a news briefing. Pic: AP

Will forecasting get better?

While Ms Noem said technology for the NWS would be upgraded, the White House has previously been criticised after Donald Trump‘s administration ordered 800 job cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – the parent organisation of the NWS.

A 30% cut to its budget is also in the pipeline, subject to approval by Congress.

Professor Costa Samaras, who worked on energy policy at the White House under President Joe Biden, said NOAA had been in the middle of developing new flood maps for neighbourhoods and that cuts to NOAA were “devastating”.

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Science

Astronomers Discover 3I/ATLAS, Largest Interstellar Comet Yet Detected

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Astronomers Discover 3I/ATLAS, Largest Interstellar Comet Yet Detected

Astronomers have discovered the third interstellar comet to pass through our solar system. Named 3I/ATLAS (initially A11pl3Z), it was first spotted July 1 by the ATLAS telescope in Chile and confirmed the same day. Pre-discovery images show it in the sky as far back as mid-June. The object is racing toward the inner system at roughly 150,000 miles per hour on a near-straight trajectory, too fast for the Sun to capture. Estimates suggest its nucleus may be 10–20 km across. Now inside Jupiter’s orbit, 3I/ATLAS will swing closest to the Sun in October and should remain observable into late 2025.

Discovery and Classification

According to NASA, in early July the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile spotted a faint moving object first called A11pl3Z, and the IAU’s Minor Planet Center confirmed the next day that it was an interstellar visitor. The object was officially named 3I/ATLAS and noted as likely the largest interstellar body yet detected. At first it appeared to be an ordinary near-Earth asteroid, but precise orbit measurements showed it speeding at ~150,000 mph – far too fast for the Sun to capture. Astronomers estimate 3I/ATLAS spans roughly 10–20 km across. Signs of cometary activity – a faint coma and short tail – have emerged, earning it the additional comet designation C/2025 N1 (ATLAS).

Studying a Pristine Comet

3I/ATLAS was spotted well before its closest approach, giving astronomers time to prepare detailed observations. It will pass within about 1.4 AU of the Sun in late October. Importantly, researchers can study it while it is still a pristine frozen relic before solar heating alters it. As Pamela Gay notes, discovering the object on its inbound leg leaves “ample time” to analyze its trajectory. Astronomers are now racing to obtain spectra and images – as Chris Lintott warns, the comet will be “baked” by sunlight as it nears perihelion.

Determining its composition and activity is considered “a rare chance” to learn how planets form in other star systems. With new facilities like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory coming online, researchers expect more such visitors in the years ahead. 3I/ATLAS offers a rare chance to study material from another star system.

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