capital

EVERY year an enormous – and free – parade takes place in London with floats and live bands – and something new is launching this year.

The Lord or Lady Mayor’s Show dates back to the 13^th century and is full of of celebratory entertainment, and this year is a very special one.

Dame Susan Langley DBE will be appointed as the Lady Mayor, which makes her only the third woman to hold the post in over 800 years, and the 697th Mayor of the City of London.

She will also be the first ever to be titled the ‘Lady Mayor of London‘.

To celebrate her inauguration, there will be a traditional parade of bands and 50 floats throughout the city.

Over 7,000 people take part in the event from all over the world – and the procession is over three miles long, which is longer than the actual route.

ALL EARS

I’ve visited Disney World 50 times: here’s what I thought about Legoland Windsor

CHRIMBO WIN

Enter these travel comps before Xmas to win £2k holidays, ski trips & spa stays

The event is completely free and you’ll get to see marching bands, a huge Cinderella carriage, dancers, even a resorted Bluebird K7 (a hydroplane) will make an appearance.

There are representatives of all three armed forces there too, Taiko drummers and mounted knights.

This year, the Lady Mayor’s Show will be held on November Saturday 8, 2025 between 11AM and 2.30PM.

Roads will be closed as people line up in the streets to see the event underway – so don’t travel by car as you’ll meet lots of no entry signs.

In the morning, the Lady Mayor’s Show will begin at Mansion House and go towards the Royal Courts through St Paul’s.

In the afternoon, the parade will come back through Embankment and Victoria Street.

The official website suggests for a ‘full experience’, to watch the outward procession between 11AM and 12PM between Bank and St Paul’s.

For a quieter experience with fewer crowds, watch the parade on its return to Mansion House between 1.15PM and 2.30PM around Embankment.

Historically, the Lord Mayor’s Show is the oldest and longest civic procession in the world.

It started as early as the 13th century when King John granted that the City of London could appoint its own Mayor.

The condition being that each new Mayor would have to pledge loyalty to the Crown.

The journey then became a huge event that has been held for around 800 years and was eventually named the Lord Mayor’s Show.

ALL CHANGE

Supermarket giant rolls out huge loyalty scheme change nationwide

HOT STUFF

I live in world’s best city 3 hours from UK… it’s warm in winter & buses are free

For more free events in London, check out the full list of London’s best Christmas lights and when they will be switched on this year.

Plus, is this England’s most beautiful Christmas market? The 100-stall festive event in the middle of a palace courtyard.

US Embassy urges citizens to leave Mali immediately on commercial flights as blockade makes daily life more dangerous.

Parts of Mali’s capital have been brought to a near standstill as a group affiliated with al-Qaeda imposes an economic siege on the country by blocking routes used by fuel tankers, in a bid to turn the screw on the military government.

As the Sahel country plunges deeper into crisis, the United States Embassy in Mali on Tuesday urged US citizens to “depart immediately” as the fuel blockade renders daily life increasingly dangerous.

Long queues have formed at petrol stations in the capital Bamako this week, with anger reaching the boiling point as the blockade bites harder. A lack of supplies has caused the price of fuel to shoot up 500 percent, from $25 to $130 per litre, according to Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque.

The Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) armed group, which imposed the blockade last month in retaliation for the military banning fuel sales in rural areas, appeared to be succeeding in turning public anger against the country’s rulers, Haque noted.

“It’s up to the government to play a full role and take action, to … uncover the real reason for this shortage,” Omar Sidibe, a driver in Bamako, told Al Jazeera.

Haque said the al-Qaeda fighters were burning fuel trucks as supplies ran out.

Schools and universities have also been shut for two weeks, and airlines are now cancelling flights from Bamako.

Meanwhile, the US Embassy has warned Americans to leave Mali immediately using commercial flights rather than travelling over land to neighbouring countries, owing to the risk of “terrorist attacks along national highways”.

It advised citizens who choose to remain in Mali to prepare contingency plans, including for sheltering in place for an extended period.

Yet, Haque said, the military rulers were insisting “everything is under control”.

The army first seized power in a 2020 coup, pledging to get a grip on a spiralling security crisis involving armed groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), but years later, the crisis has only escalated.

Tanks ’empty’

Amid tense scenes from a fuel pit stop in Senegal, which neighbours Mali, truck drivers ready to travel across the border did not want to speak to Al Jazeera on camera. Haque said some transport companies had been accused of paying al-Qaeda fighters to move their trucks.

“They’ve been waiting here not days, but months, their tanks empty. Ahead for them is a dangerous road or journey into al-Qaeda territory,” Haque said from Dakar.

Meanwhile, in Bamako, citizens are growing increasingly desperate. “Before, we could buy gas everywhere in cans. But now there’s no more,” gas reseller Bakary Coulibaly told Al Jazeera.

“We’re forced to come to gas stations, and even if we go there, it’s not certain that there will be gasoline available. Only a few stations have it.”

JNIM is one of several armed groups operating in the Sahel, a vast strip of semi-arid desert stretching from North to West Africa, where fighting is spreading rapidly, with large-scale attacks.

Under the military’s control, the country severed ties with its former coloniser, France, and thousands of French soldiers involved in the battle against the armed groups exited the country.

The fighting has resulted in thousands of deaths, while up to 350,000 people are currently displaced, according to Human Rights Watch.

FOR quiet medinas, pretty beaches and winter highs of 20C, this African capital is set to be a popular spot next year.

National Geographic named the destination one of its best place to visit in 2026 – and luckily for Brits, it’s just three hours away from the UK.

The publication added the capital of Morocco to its must-visit spots for next year, calling it the country’s “relaxed Atlantic-coast capital”.

The city is much lesser-known than the likes of Marrakech, Tangier, Agadir and Essaouira.

But it still has all the charm of the other spots, just much quieter, so you can stroll around the traditional medina souks without it being so busy.

When it comes to the top things to do, one is visiting Kasbah des Oudaias – a fortress looking over the Atlantic Ocean and Bouregreg River.

YULE DO

Travel expert reveals cheap UK holiday parks with Xmas breaks from £9pp a night

SNOW WAY

All the best Xmas days out under £10 including FREE ice skating & Santa’s grotto

When you visit, you’ll find winding blue-and-white painted streets, the historic Kasbah Mosque, and the Oudaias Museum, which is inside a former royal pavilion.

There’s also the Hassan Tower, which dates back to the 12th century and is a symbol of the city.

It’s not all history, there’s modern architecture too, like the Mohammed VI Tower, which is a 250-meter-tall skyscraper in Salé, Morocco, near Rabat, and opened in 2023.

It is the tallest building in Morocco and the third tallest in Africa.

As for affordability, you’ll be happy in Rabat, overnight stays can start from as little as £17 per person.

Food and drink is affordable too, with an inexpensive meal costing £3.26 and dinners at a mid-range restaurant starting from around £16 per person.

Draft beers cost roughly £3.25, with soft drinks like orange juice coming in at 80p.

One writer visited Rabat who said: “Walking through the monumental kasbah gate, called Bab Oudaia, is like stepping back in time.

“Rather than maze-like alleyways, there is a tranquil labyrinth of wide lanes, with white houses and blue, grated windows that are lit up by pretty vines of purple and pink flowers.”

She added: “Pick up a strong black coffee — Turkish style, I’m told — and an almond pastry at the cooling Udayas botanical gardens is the perfect fuel before a venture into the National Finery Museum.

“Extravagant bejewelled crowns, breast chains, rings and belts once worn by young women, perhaps on their wedding day, sit on faceless models.”

In fact if you want to visit Rabat this month, you can get flights for as little as £17 with Ryanair who fly directly.

From the UK, you can be in the city in three hours and 20 minutes.

FOOTBALLER GONE

Football League star tragically dies aged just 42 after cancer battle

CHA-CHA-CHAOS

Strictly’s Amber Davies breaks silence after pro Nikita pictured kissing her

Head of Sun Travel Lisa Minot visited another destination in Morocco…

Lisa Minot, Head of Sun Travel, filled us in on her recent trip to Marrakesh. She said: “I’ve just returned from a wonderful long weekend in Marrakech and the city is as exciting as ever.

“We were sunbathing on the roof of our riad in the Medina in glorious 22 degree temperatures – and I loved the amazing desert landscapes just 40 minutes from the hustle and bustle of the souks.

“Tourism is booming in the city and while the streets are as colourful and chaotic as ever, the influx of visitors has brought some gorgeous new bars, restaurants and stunning hotels.”

She added: “It pays to do your research and book restaurants and tours in advance though as even in February and the start of Ramadan, the souks were teeming and lots of places were fully booked.

“We did a three-hour food tour of the Medina with Get Your Guide and while stuffing ourselves on some fantastic street food I probably would never have had the courage to try on my own, our guide revealed the secrets of the city and its fascinating past.”

For more holidays, check out these five lesser-visited coastal resorts that are crowd-free alternatives for 2026… with VERY cheap hotels and flights.

Plus, the peaceful African city right by the sea that feels ‘more like Europe’ – but tourists always miss it.

The kidnapped man is a pilot for an evangelical organisation, a diplomatic source says.

A US missionary working for an evangelical Christian organisation has been kidnapped in Niger’s capital Niamey, the US State Department has said, in the latest kidnapping of a foreign national in the country.

The US State Department confirmed the abduction to the AFP news agency on Wednesday, saying its embassy in Niamey was doing what it could to secure the man’s safe release.

The victim, a man in his 50s, was seized on Tuesday night and was “already en route for the border with Mali”, a diplomatic source told AFP.

The Reuters news agency, citing another diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man was a pilot for the evangelical organisation Serving in Mission (SIM).

SIM describes itself on its website as a “global mission family of more than 4,000 people, serving in more than 70 countries”, whose focus is on “taking the gospel to places where there are no, or very few, Christians”.

The diplomat said the victim was abducted by three unidentified men in Niamey’s Plateau neighbourhood as he was heading for the airport. The group then headed for Niger’s western Tillaberi region, where armed fighters linked to ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda are known to operate.

In a post on X, Wamaps, a collective of journalists in West Africa, said the abducted man had been working in Niger since 2010, and had been kidnapped just a few streets away from the presidential palace in central Niamey. It said no group had yet claimed responsibility for the kidnapping or claimed a ransom.

String of kidnappings

The abduction is the latest in a spate of kidnappings this year in Niger, a country that has been battling armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL for years. Security threats ramped up after the military toppled the country’s democratically elected government in July 2023.

In April, 67-year-old Swiss woman Claudia Abbt was kidnapped in the northern city of Agadez, three months after the abduction of Austrian Eva Gretzmacher, 73, in the same city. Neither has been released.

ISIL was considered responsible for the kidnappings, carried out by local criminal groups on its behalf, AFP reported, citing observers of armed groups in the region.

According to Wamaps, other abductions of foreign nationals this year have included four Moroccan truck drivers in January, two Chinese petroleum company workers in February, and five Indian power company technicians in April.

Niger is one of several West African countries battling armed conflict that has spread from Mali and Burkina Faso over the past 12 years, killing thousands of people and uprooting millions.

Following Niger’s 2023 military coup, US and French forces that had been involved in the fight against armed violence in the region were expelled from Niger, as the country turned to Russian mercenaries in an effort to maintain stability.

In May, General Michael Langley, the former head of the US Africa Command, said that the withdrawal had removed the US military’s “ability to monitor these terrorist groups closely, but [we] continue to liaison with partners to provide what support we can”.

Two buses travelling in opposite directions on the Kampala-Gulu Highway collided head-on while overtaking.

At least 63 people have been killed in a major road accident involving multiple vehicles on the highway between Uganda’s capital Kampala and the northern city of Gulu, police have said.

The collision took place just after midnight [21:00 GMT on Tuesday] and was caused by two buses coming from opposite directions trying to overtake a truck and a car.

“In the process, both buses met head-on during the overtaking manoeuvres,” the Uganda Police Force said in a statement on X. “Sixty-three people lost lives, all occupants from involved vehicles.”

The police added that “as investigations continue, we strongly urge all motorists to exercise maximum caution on the roads, especially avoiding dangerous and careless overtaking, which remains one of the leading causes of crashes in the country”.

Those travelling in the truck and the car were injured and taken to Kiryandongo Hospital and other nearby medical facilities, the statement said. It did not give further details on the number injured or the extent of their wounds.

The Kampala-Gulu Highway is one of Uganda’s busiest as it connects the capital with the biggest town in northern Uganda.

The state of emergency lifts constitutional rights, including the right to protest, amid popular unrest over the rise in extortion and killings.

Peru’s Interim President Jose Jeri has declared a state of emergency in the capital, Lima, to stem a wave of protests that contributed to the recent downfall of his predecessor.

In a televised message on Tuesday, Jeri said the emergency in the city would last 30 days.

“Wars are won with actions, not words,” the president said, adding that he is planning a new approach to fighting crime that he described as going “from defence to offence”.

Under the state of emergency, the government can send the army to patrol the streets and restrict freedom of assembly and other rights.

Al Jazeera’s Mariana Sanchez, reporting from Lima, said the announcement comes after six days of uncertainty over whether the interim government would push ahead.

In the decree formally declaring the emergency, the government did not mention how it intended to gather critically needed intelligence to curb extortion cases, which are estimated at 18,000 this year, up 30 percent from last year, Sanchez said.

The rise in extortions has also led to an increase in killings in recent years. Between January and September, police authorities reported 1,690 homicides, compared with 1,502 during the same period of 2024.

“The state of emergency will lift constitutional rights and people will not be able to protest,” Sanchez said.

Dina Boluarte was removed as president by Peru’s Congress on October 10 after an impeachment during which lawmakers said she had been unable to tackle the crime wave. Jeri, the parliament speaker, replaced her immediately and will serve as interim president until July next year.

Peru has been roiled by weeks of antigovernment protests over corruption and organised crime led by Gen-Z activists.

On Thursday, protests to demand Jeri’s resignation turned violent. One person was killed and about 100 were injured, including police officers and some journalists.

Jeri has said he will not resign.

Earlier, Boluarte had declared a 30-day state of emergency in March following the murder of a famous musician, but the move did little to reduce crime.

Paul Flores, a well-known cumbia singer, was killed when assailants attacked the bus he was travelling on in an apparent attempt to extort the operator.

THE UK’S capital isn’t exactly short of train lines – but a completely new service is taking a step closer to getting approval.

Transport for London (TfL) is hoping that its proposed West London Orbital (WLO) line will get the green light next month.

Plans for the WLO launched back in 2017 and propose to create new connections to north and west London.

This would include the line travelling through Hounslow to Hendon and West Hampstead via Old Oak Common – the new rail hub created for HS2.

The proposed rail line promises to cut the journey time considerably between Harlesden and Brent Cross to just a few minutes.

Currently, travellers heading on this route need to make several changes.

Read more on travel inspo

TAKE THE FALL

50 half term days out and Halloween specials which are FREE or under £5

HAPPY DEAL

Disney free food deal that ‘saves THOUSANDS’ – our experts see if it’s worth it

If the plans are approved, then the WLO will be built on an old freight line that hasn’t had passengers on it since 1902.

A new station would also be built on Lionel Road, near Gunnersbury Park.

Services could run from Kew Bridge as well.

In total, the project is expected to cost around £700million.

TfL is hoping that they will receive backing from the government in its autumn budget and if the project is approved, then the line will become the seventh branch of the London Overground network.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said that the WLO could “transform the future of transport in the capital”.

He added: “As the West London Orbital route would be integrated into the London Overground network, it would be given its own line name, consistent with the principles of the individual line names I launched in 2024.

“The local communities along the line, the local heritage, history, and interchanges with other lines would all be taken into consideration to find a suitable name that showcases London’s rich diversity and makes sense for wayfinding and navigation.”

A number of other rail projects are proposed for the capital including the DLR extension and Bakerloo extension.

The Bakerloo Line extension would extend the tube line from its current terminus at Elephant & Castle, to Lewisham.

The project would involve adding a number of new stations along the route, including on Old Kent Road and New Cross Gate.

And an extension will also be carried out on the DLR to Thamesmead, veering off the current line at Gallions Reach.

This involves adding a new station at Beckton Riverside too.

Commenting on the ongoing projects in July, Sadiq Khan said: “Subject to successful funding discussions, as well as further project development, planning and public consultation, I am confident that the DLR extension could be delivered by 2032, with the Bakerloo line extension and West London Orbital following later in the 2030s.”

mae day

Molly-Mae’s new show seriously concerns me… making Bambi centre stage will backfire

SCHOOL’S OUT

London’s best free indoor attractions for families – perfect for rainy days

In other train news, a brand new £160million UK train station is set to open in days as all fares are revealed.

Plus, two huge cities north of London are tipped for direct trains to Europe.

What happened

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated October 15, 2025, Harbor Capital Advisors reduced its position in F5, Inc. (FFIV -0.88%) by 51,177 shares in Q3 2025. The estimated trade value was $16.02 million in Q3 2025. After the sale, Harbor Capital Advisors reported holding 17,112 shares, valued at $5.53 million as of September 30, 2025.

What else to know

This was a sell; the post-trade stake is 0.43% of Harbor Capital Advisors’ 13F reportable AUM in Q3 2025

Top five holdings after the filing:

IVV: $49,147,000 (3.8% of AUM on September 30, 2025)

EEM: $38,429,000 (3.0% of AUM on September 30, 2025)

EFA: $28.28 million (2.2% of AUM on September 30, 2025)

NVDA: $27,224,000 (2.1% of AUM on September 30, 2025)

GOOGL: $26,539,000 (2.1% of AUM on September 30, 2025)

On October 14, 2025, F5 shares were priced at $343.17, up 56.39% year-over-year on October 14, 2025, outperforming the S&P 500 by 39.89 percentage points over the one-year period ending October 14, 2025.

The fund reported 1,339 total positions and $1.29 billion in U.S. equity AUM in Q3 2025.

Company overview

Company snapshot

Provides multi-cloud application security and delivery products, including BIG-IP appliances, NGINX software, DDoS protection, and fraud prevention solutions.

Generates revenue from sales of software, hardware, and related services.

Serves large enterprises, public sector institutions, governments, and service providers globally through direct sales and channel partners.

F5 is a leading provider of application security and delivery solutions, enabling organizations to secure, optimize, and manage applications across on-premises and cloud environments. The company leverages a diverse portfolio of hardware and software offerings to address complex security and performance requirements for mission-critical applications. With a global customer base and partnerships with major cloud providers, F5 delivers application security and delivery solutions.

Foolish take

Before Harbor Capital Advisors sold most of its F5 stake during the third quarter, it was the firm’s ninth largest holding and worth about 0.8% of the total portfolio. From the end of the second quarter through the end of the third quarter this year, Harbor Capital’s portfolio shrank from $2.4 billion down to $1.3 billion.

Harbor Capital Advisors’ sale of F5 stock in the third quarter seems prescient. Shares of the cybersecurity business that aims to secure every application and its corresponding application programming interface (API) recently tanked.

On Oct. 15, F5, Inc. admitted in an SEC filing that unidentified threat actors broke into its systems and stole some important files. According to the company, the attackers are believed to have been in its network for at least 12 months. The stock is down by about 13% since Oct. 14.

F5 expects to report its fiscal fourth quarter results on Oct. 27, 2025, after the market closes.

Glossary

13F reportable AUM: Assets under management that must be reported quarterly to the SEC by institutional investment managers on Form 13F.
AUM (Assets Under Management): The total market value of investments managed on behalf of clients by a fund or institution.
Post-trade position: The number of shares or value of a holding remaining after a trade has been executed.
Stake: The proportion or amount of ownership an investor or fund holds in a particular company.
Top five holdings: The five largest investments in a fund’s portfolio, ranked by market value.
Outperforming: Achieving a higher return or growth rate compared to a benchmark or index over a specific period.
Channel partners: Third-party companies or organizations that help a business sell its products or services.
Multi-cloud: Using multiple cloud computing services from different providers within a single architecture or organization.
Direct sales: Sales made directly from the company to the customer, without intermediaries.
Mission-critical applications: Software or systems essential to the core function and operation of an organization.
DDoS protection: Security solutions designed to prevent or mitigate distributed denial-of-service attacks that disrupt online services.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

On October 16, 2025, Collar Capital Management, LLC disclosed a new position in Salesforce (CRM 3.83%), acquiring 14,161 shares in a trade estimated at $3.36 million as of September 30, 2025.

What happened

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dated October 16, 2025, Collar Capital Management, LLC initiated a new position in Salesforce, purchasing approximately 14,161 shares. The estimated value of the acquisition was $3.36 million as of September 30, 2025. This transaction brought the fund’s total number of reportable positions to 71.

What else to know

This new $3.36 million position accounts for 2.36% of the fund’s $142.14 million in reportable U.S. equity holdings as of September 30, 2025.

Top holdings after the filing:

NASDAQ:MSTR: $7.33 million (5.2% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

NASDAQ:TSLA: $7.19 million (5.1% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

NASDAQ:MU: $5.15 million (3.6% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

NASDAQ:COIN: $4.96 million (3.5% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

NASDAQ:AAPL: $4.85 million (3.4% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

As of October 15, 2025, Salesforce shares were priced at $236.58, down 17.95% over the past year and underperforming the S&P 500 by 32.23 percentage points (source: FMP, 1-year price change: -17.95%, 1-year alpha vs S&P 500: -32.23%).

Company overview

Company snapshot

Salesforce offers a comprehensive suite of cloud-based solutions, including its Customer 360 platform, Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, Tableau analytics, MuleSoft integration, and Slack collaboration tools.

It serves a global customer base across industries including financial services, healthcare, and manufacturing.

The company generates revenue primarily through subscription-based software and professional services.

Salesforce is a leading provider of enterprise cloud software, enabling organizations to manage customer relationships and business processes at scale. Its platform-centric strategy and broad product ecosystem position it as a key player in digital transformation initiatives.

Foolish take

Collar Capital appears to be making a contrarian move with the customer relationship management (CRM) specialist. The stock has tumbled about  26% in 2025.

Salesforce wasn’t a holding for Collar Capital in the second quarter. After buying 14,161 shares in the third quarter, it’s the fund’s 13th largest holding.

Salesforce was the second largest new acquisition Collar Capital completed in the third quarter. It also acquired 12,590 shares of UnitedHealth Group worth about $4.3 million. UnitedHealth Group is now the fund’s sixth largest holding.

Salesforce’s investments in artificial intelligence are starting to pay off for investors. In its fiscal second quarter that ended July 31, 2025, Data Cloud and AI annual recurring revenue climbed over 120% year over year to $1.2 billion.

Success with its new AI tools encouraged management to raise expectations. Now, it expects operating cash flow in fiscal 2026 to rise by 12% to 13% year over year.

Glossary

AUM: Assets under management – The total market value of investments managed by a fund or investment firm.

Position: The amount of a particular security or asset held in a portfolio.

Reportable positions: Holdings that must be disclosed to regulators, typically due to size or regulatory requirements.

Stake: The ownership interest or share in a company or asset.

Filing: An official document submitted to a regulatory authority, often detailing financial or ownership information.

Alpha: A measure of an investment’s performance relative to a benchmark, indicating value added or lost.

TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

Dividend yield: A financial ratio showing how much a company pays in dividends each year relative to its stock price.

Cloud-based solutions: Software and services delivered over the internet rather than installed locally on computers.

Platform-centric strategy: A business approach focused on building and expanding a central technology platform for multiple products or services.

Argent Capital Management LLC pared its holding in Copart (CPRT 1.70%) by 1,262,984 shares during Q3 2025, an estimated $59.52 million trade based on the average price for the quarter, according to an SEC filing dated October 14, 2025.

What happened

According to its Form 13-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 14, 2025 (see filing), the firm reduced its Copart position by 1,262,984 shares during Q3 2025.

The estimated value of the shares sold, calculated using the period’s average closing price, was $59.52 million. The fund reported a remaining position of 162,339 shares at quarter-end.

What else to know

This was a reduction in the Copart stake, which now represents 0.2% of the firm’s 13F reportable assets under management as of Q3 2025.

Argent’s top holdings after the filing:

• Microsoft: $251.95 million (6.9% of AUM as of 2025-09-30)
• Nvidia: $237.98 million (6.5% of AUM as of 2025-09-30)
• Amazon: $213.08 million (5.8% of AUM as of 2025-09-30)
• Alphabet: $194.75 million (5.3% of AUM as of 2025-09-30)
• Mastercard: $126.28 million (3.5% of AUM as of 2025-09-30)

As of October 13, 2025, Copart shares were priced at $44.07, down 20% over the one-year period ending October 13, 2025, underperforming the S&P 500 by 36 percentage points over the same time.

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

Copart provides online auctions and vehicle remarketing services, including virtual bidding, salvage estimation, and end-of-life vehicle processing across North America, Europe, and select international markets.

It operates a digital marketplace facilitating the sale and purchase of vehicles, generating revenue through transaction fees, service charges, and value-added offerings such as vehicle transportation and title processing.

The company serves insurance companies, banks, fleet operators, dealerships, vehicle dismantlers, exporters, and individual buyers seeking to acquire or dispose of vehicles efficiently.

Copart, Inc. provides online auctions and vehicle remarketing services internationally, leveraging advanced virtual auction technology to connect sellers and buyers of vehicles across multiple continents. With a scalable digital platform and a comprehensive suite of remarketing and logistics services, Copart enables efficient disposition of vehicles for institutional and individual clients alike.

Foolish take

While Argent Capital Management still holds a few shares of Copart, the firm all but sold out of its position, reducing its portfolio allocation in the stock from 2% to 0.2%.

Since the stock seemed to be a longer-term holding for Argent, this seems mildly worrisome to Copart shareholders — myself included.

Though it’s impossible to know what exactly prompted the firm to nearly liquidate its holdings in the company, Copart’s results have been underwhelming this year, causing its slightly expensive stock to slide 30% from its high.

After growing sales by 15% annually over the last decade, Copart’s revenue growth slid to 13%, 7%, and finally 5% over the previous three quarters.

Ultimately, I’ll have to disagree with Argent on Copart as I believe the company has a wide moat around its operations that will make it hard to disrupt.

That said, Copart still trades at 28 times earnings, even after this year’s drop, so Argent may have simply thought it had grown beyond its valuation as a more mature company.

Glossary

13F reportable AUM: Assets under management that must be disclosed by institutional investment managers in quarterly SEC Form 13F filings.
Form 13-F: A quarterly SEC filing by institutional investment managers listing their U.S. equity holdings.
Quarter (Q3 2025): The third three-month period of a company’s fiscal year, here referring to July–September 2025.
Transaction value: The total dollar amount generated by a specific buy or sell trade.
Stake: The ownership interest or investment a fund or individual holds in a particular company.
Assets under management (AUM): The total market value of investments managed on behalf of clients by a fund or firm.
Digital marketplace: An online platform where buyers and sellers conduct transactions for goods or services, such as vehicles.
Vehicle remarketing: The process of reselling used or end-of-lease vehicles, often through auctions or specialized platforms.
Salvage estimation: The process of assessing the value of damaged or end-of-life vehicles for resale or parts.
End-of-life vehicle processing: Handling and disposing of vehicles that are no longer operational, often for recycling or parts.
Value-added offerings: Additional services provided beyond basic transactions, such as transportation or title processing, to enhance customer value.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

Youth-led demonstrators enter Antananarivo’s May 13 Square for the first time since protests erupted last month.

Some groups of Madagascan soldiers have defied orders and joined thousands of antigovernment protesters assembled in the capital, Antananarivo, as demonstrations against President Andry Rajoelina’s rule gain momentum.

The youth-led protesters entered the capital’s May 13 Square on Saturday for the first time in one of the biggest gatherings since a protest movement inspired by what has become known as the Gen Z protests in Kenya and Nepal erupted on the Indian Ocean island on September 25.

After police used stun grenades and tear gas to try to disperse the demonstrators, soldiers arrived at the scene, where they were welcomed with cheers.

At a meeting at an army barracks on the outskirts of the city earlier, soldiers in the elite CAPSAT unit, which played a pivotal role in Rajoelina’s rise in 2009, issued a rare public call for solidarity as demonstrators demanded the president’s resignation.

“Let us join forces, military, gendarmes and police, and refuse to be paid to shoot our friends, our brothers and our sisters,” the soldiers at the base in the Soanierana district said in a video posted on social media.

They called on soldiers at the airport to “prevent all aircraft from taking off” and those in other camps to “refuse orders to shoot your friends”.

“Close the gates, and await our instructions,” they said. “Do not obey orders from your superiors. Point your weapons at those who order you to fire on your comrades in arms because they will not take care of our families if we die.”

A video broadcast by local media showed some soldiers leaving the barracks to escort protesters into May 13 Square, the scene of many political uprisings, which had been heavily guarded and off-limits during the unrest.

Saturday’s demonstrations were the largest in several days in the youth-led movement, which was sparked by anger over power and water shortages and evolved into a broader antigovernment campaign.

It was unclear how many soldiers had joined the call on Saturday.

The newly appointed minister of the armed forces called on soldiers to “remain calm”.

“We call on our brothers who disagree with us to prioritise dialogue,” Minister General Deramasinjaka Manantsoa Rakotoarivelo said at a news conference.

“The Malagasy army remains a mediator and constitutes the nation’s last line of defence.”

Several people were injured on Thursday as security forces dispersed protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and armoured vehicles.

Videos of police violence went viral on social media, including a video of one man being left unconscious on the ground after he was chased and severely beaten by security forces, an incident that reporters with the AFP news agency witnessed.

The United Nations on Friday reacted by calling on authorities to “desist from unnecessary force and to uphold the rights to free association and peaceful assembly”.

The UN said at least 22 people have been killed and 100 injured in the protests.

Rajoelina has disputed the toll, saying on Wednesday that there were “12 confirmed deaths and all of these individuals were looters and vandals”.

Rajoelina initially adopted a conciliatory tone and sacked his entire government in response to the protests.

But he has since doubled down, appointing military officer Ruphin Fortunat Zafisambo as prime minister on Monday and picking the first members of his new cabinet from among the armed forces, public security and police.

Among the world’s poorest countries, Madagascar has undergone frequent popular uprisings since gaining independence from France in 1960, including mass protests in 2009 that forced then-President Marc Ravalomanana from power as the military installed Rajoelina for his first term.

He won re-election in 2018 and again in 2023 in contested polls boycotted by the opposition.

On October 7, 2025, Congress Park Capital LLC disclosed buying 10,764 shares of Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (QQQM), an estimated $2.54 million trade for the quarter.

What happened

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated October 7, 2025, Congress Park Capital LLC increased its position in Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (QQQM) by 10,764 shares during Q3 2025. The estimated transaction value, based on the period’s average price, was $2.54 million. The fund reported holding 32,844 shares, worth $8.12 million.

What else to know

This was a buy; QQQM now represents 2.5% of Congress Park Capital LLC’s 13F reportable assets under management.

Top holdings after the filing:

• NYSE:JFR: $22.57 million (7.0% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT:IVV: $19.64 million (6.1% of AUM)
• NASDAQ:GOOGL: $16.03 million (5.0% of AUM)
• NYSE:NEA: $13.07 million (4.1% of AUM)
• NASDAQ:AMZN: $13.05 million (4.1% of AUM)

As of October 7, 2025, shares were priced at $248.85, up 25.4% over the past year, outperforming the S&P 500 by 8.0 percentage points

Company overview

Company snapshot

Investment strategy: Seeks to track the performance of the Nasdaq-100 Index by investing at least 90% of assets in the underlying securities, providing exposure to 100 of the largest nonfinancial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Underlying holdings: The portfolio consists of securities from 100 of the largest nonfinancial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market and has a non-diversified structure.

Expense ratio and structure: The fund operates as a passively managed ETF that tracks an index.

The Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (QQQM) offers investors targeted access to the Nasdaq-100 Index, representing some of the largest and most innovative nonfinancial companies traded on the Nasdaq exchange. The fund’s scale, with a market capitalization of $6.92 billion as of October 8, 2025, provides exposure to some of the largest nonfinancial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange. By mirroring the index methodology and maintaining a transparent, rules-based approach, QQQM offers exposure to 100 of the largest nonfinancial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Its disciplined strategy and non-diversified holdings reinforce its role as an index-tracking equity allocation.

Foolish take

Congress Park Capital increased its holdings in Invesco’s popular NASDAQ 100 ETF, which holds the 100 biggest nonfinancial companies in the NASDAQ, to nearly 33,000 shares worth over $8 million as of Q3 2025. This purchase of what amounts to an additional approximately 50% of the institution’s original holdings shows a great deal of conviction in the stock, and for good reason. It’s up 25% in the last year, and up over 107% over the last five years.

The tech-heavy NASDAQ has seen a lot of growth from companies across the spectrum, and much of its weight is currently coming from various AI plays. This includes chipmakers, software companies, and even AI startups that are looking for new ways to leverage the technology. In addition, public companies acting as Bitcoin holding companies are often members of the NASDAQ, and with the rapid increase in Bitcoin value, that’s certainly not hurt QQQM at all.

Investors seeking exposure to the NASDAQ who are looking to minimize downside risk may find what they’re looking for in QQQM, and Congress Park Capital has certainly indicated an interest in furthering its investment in the stock with this purchase.

Glossary

ETF: Exchange-Traded Fund; a fund that trades on stock exchanges and holds a basket of securities.

13F reportable AUM: Assets under management that must be disclosed in quarterly SEC Form 13F filings by institutional investment managers.

Assets under management (AUM): The total market value of investments managed on behalf of clients by a fund or firm.

Dividend yield: Annual dividends paid by an investment divided by its current price, expressed as a percentage.

Total return: The investment’s price change plus all dividends and distributions, assuming those payouts are reinvested.

Index-tracking: An investment strategy aiming to replicate the performance of a specific market index.

Non-diversified structure: A fund that invests in a limited number of securities, increasing exposure to individual holdings.

Expense ratio: The annual fee, as a percentage of assets, that a fund charges to cover operating expenses.

Passively managed: A fund management style that seeks to mirror an index rather than actively select securities.

Underlying securities: The individual stocks or assets that make up an ETF or fund’s portfolio.

Outperforming: Achieving a higher return than a benchmark or comparable investment over a specified period.

Rules-based approach: An investment strategy that follows predetermined, systematic criteria for selecting and weighting securities.

What happened

In a filing dated Oct. 6, 2025, Kawa Capital Management, Inc reported buying 340,000 additional shares of Vale (VALE) during the third quarter of 2025, bringing its total holding to 1,020,000 shares. The estimated value of shares acquired was $3.47 million, based on the average share price for the period. For further details, see the SEC filing.

What else to know

This was a buy; after the trade, Vale represented 20.1% of Kawa Capital’s 13F assets under management as of September 30, 2025

Top holdings after the filing:

NYSE:BDN: $16.36 million (29.7% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

NYSE:ONL: $14.78 million (26.8% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

NYSE:VALE: $11,08 million (20.1% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

NYSE:GGB: $6.49 million (11.8% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

NYSE:DK: $6.45 million (11.7% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

As of October 3, 2025, shares were priced at $11.01, underperforming the S&P 500 by 17.08 percentage points over the year ended October 3, 2025

Vale reported trailing twelve-month revenue of $36,080,663,000 and net income of $5,166,767,000 for the period ended June 30, 2025

Over the past 12 months, Vale shareholders eaned a 3.38% dividend yield. The stock was 3.3% below its 52-week high as of October 6, 2025.

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

Vale S.A. generates revenue primarily from the production and sale of iron ore, iron ore pellets, nickel, and copper, with additional contributions from gold, silver, cobalt, and other by-products.

The company operates an integrated business model, extracting and processing minerals and providing related logistics services, enabling efficient delivery to global industrial customers.

Vale serves a broad global customer base through its scale and logistics capabilities.

Vale maintains a diversified portfolio that supports the energy transition and industrial materials sectors, operating at scale and providing integrated logistics services to customers worldwide.

Foolish take

The Brazillian mining giant is famous for producing products you need to produce batteries, copper, maganese, and cobalt. It’s also a top producer of iron, and nickel.

Unlike U.S. companies that usually pay even quarterly dividends, Vale distributes dividend payments twice a year. Fluctuating currency exchange rates and basic material prices have made its dividend payout highly variable. This isn’t an appropriate stock for investors seeking a steadily growing stream of passive income.

In the second quarter, iron ore production rose 4% year over year. Unfortunately, the average realized iron ore fines price was 13% lower year over year.

Second quarter copper production rose 18% year over year and efficiency is way up. In July, management revised its all-in copper cost guidance to a range between $1,500 and $2,000 per ton. The previous range was between $2,800 and $3,300 per ton.

Glossary

AUM (Assets Under Management): The total market value of investments managed by a fund or investment firm.
13F: A quarterly report filed by institutional investment managers to disclose their equity holdings to the SEC.
Dividend yield: Annual dividend payments divided by the stock’s current price, expressed as a percentage.
Trailing twelve months (TTM): Financial data covering the most recent 12 consecutive months.
Integrated business model: A company structure where multiple stages of production and distribution are managed within the same organization.
Iron ore pellets: Small, rounded balls of iron ore used as raw material in steel production.
Point-in-time metric: A measurement taken at a specific date, not averaged over a period.
Buy (in fund context): The purchase of additional shares or securities by an investment fund or manager.
Reportable assets: Investments that must be disclosed in regulatory filings due to size or type.
Underperforming: Delivering a lower return compared to a benchmark or index over a given period.
Energy transition: The global shift from fossil fuels to renewable and low-carbon energy sources.
Logistics services: The management of transporting and delivering goods efficiently to customers or markets.

Sage Capital Advisors, LLC reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation(COST -0.00%), selling 3,424 shares in Q3 2025. The estimated trade value was $3.28 million, based on quarterly average pricing for the period ended September 30, 2025, according to an SEC filing dated October 7, 2025.

What happened

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated October 07, 2025, Sage Capital Advisors, LLC sold 3,424 shares of Costco in Q3 2025. The transaction was valued at an estimated $3.28 million. Following the trade, the fund held 6,371 shares valued at $5.90 million as of September 30, 2025.

What else to know

The fund’s position in Costco decreased from 2.3937% to 1.4023% of reportable AUM as of 2025-09-30 following the sale.

Top holdings after the filing:

• NASDAQ:AAPL: $37.26 million (8.9% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• NASDAQ:MSFT: $21.92 million (5.2% of AUM) as of 2025-09-30
• NASDAQ:NVDA: $19.31 million (4.6% of AUM) as of 2025-09-30
• NASDAQ:GOOGL: $18.69 million (4.4% of AUM) as of 2025-09-30
• NASDAQ:AMZN: $16.32 million (3.9% of AUM) as of 2025-09-30

As of October 6, 2025, shares of Costco were priced at $910.94, up 4.3% over the past year, underperforming the S&P 500 by 13.7 percentage points

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

Offers a broad assortment of branded and private-label merchandise, including groceries, appliances, electronics, apparel, and specialty services such as pharmacies, optical centers, and fuel stations.

Operates a membership-based warehouse model

Operates in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia

As of September 2025, the company operated 914 membership warehouses worldwide

Foolish take

Sage Capital Advisors sold off about 34% of its Costco holdings during Q3 2025, totaling about $3.28 million, dropping Costco from about 2.4% of its AUM to about 1.4%. This wasn’t a significant drop in its overall portfolio composition, even if it did represent a pretty significant sell-off of its Costco stock holdings.

Although Costco remains a strong retail company, investors have long worried it has been getting overvalued and has less room to grow in valuation in the near-term. For example, over the last year, Costco share values only increased by 4.3%, significantly underperforming the market. The company also had a very strong Q3, despite a resulting drop in its stock price.

Costco remains a desirable company for many investors, even if institutional investors like Sage Capital Advisors are selling significant shares. This may be a regular part of its portfolio management, and nothing to worry about, or it may have been taking gains at one of the near-$1000 peaks that occurred during the quarter. 

Either way, this looks more like a rebalancing move and less like a statement about Costco.

Glossary

AUM: Assets Under Management – The total market value of investments managed by a fund or firm.
Reportable AUM: The portion of a fund’s assets required to be disclosed in regulatory filings, often U.S. equities.
Top holdings: The largest individual investments in a fund, typically ranked by market value or portfolio percentage.
Membership-based warehouse model: A retail structure where customers pay annual fees to access bulk goods at discounted prices.
Dividend Yield: Annual dividends per share divided by share price, shown as a percentage.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

On October 7, 2025, Sage Capital Advisors, LLC disclosed a buy of Verizon(VZ -0.01%) shares, with an estimated transaction value of $4.67 million based on quarterly average pricing.

What happened

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated October 7, 2025, the firm increased its position in Verizon by 107,798 shares during the quarter. The estimated value of shares added was $4.67 million, bringing the fund’s total Verizon stake to 246,445 shares, worth $10.83 million as of September 30, 2025.

What else to know

The increased Verizon position now accounts for 2.6% of the fund’s reportable equity holdings

Top holdings after the filing:

• NASDAQ:AAPL: $37.26 million (8.9% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• NASDAQ:MSFT: $21.92 million (5.2% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• NASDAQ:NVDA: $19.31 million (4.6% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• NASDAQ:GOOGL: $18.69 million (4.4% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• NASDAQ:AMZN: $16.32 million (3.9% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

As of October 6, 2025, Verizon shares were priced at $41.44, down 5.47% over the past year and have underperformed the S&P 500 by 18.9 percentage points.

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

Offers wireless and wireline communications, internet access, video, and a range of network solutions for consumers, businesses, and government clients.

Generates revenue through subscription-based service plans, equipment sales, and network access fees, leveraging a nationwide infrastructure.

Serves individual consumers, enterprises, and public sector organizations across the United States and internationally.

Verizon is a leading provider of communications and technology services, operating at national and global scale.

Foolish take

To start, let’s admit what Verizon stock is — and what it is not. In short, Verizon is a stock for income-oriented investors, seeking a way to generate cash with the possibility of modest growth.

In that context, Verizon has done what one might expect. Its ample dividend, which yields 6.5%, provides plenty of income for investors that need it. Meanwhile, its total return — which combines its dividend yield with its stock price return — has lagged the S&P 500.

For example, over the last decade, Verizon stock has generated a total return compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has generated a total return CAGR of 15.0% over that same period.

In other words, Verizon hasn’t kept pace with the broader market, but that’s not surprising given its business model and the challenges the company faces.

One of the biggest challenges for Verizon is its balance sheet. Specifically, it has over $166 billion in net debt, which acts as a drag on its ability to return value to shareholders. Verizon’s net debt has actually increased by 48% over the last decade, which makes it more difficult for the company to buy back shares, increase its dividend payment, or make strategic acquisitions.

The company’s high debt load is one reason why growth-oriented investors should look elsewhere. Simply put, Verizon isn’t going to be able to generate rapid growth. Rather, it will focus on generating cash, servicing its debt, and paying its generous dividend.

Therefore, Verizon remains a stock to consider, at least for income-seeking investors.

Glossary

13F AUM: The total value of assets under management reported in a fund’s quarterly SEC Form 13F filing.
Transaction value: The estimated dollar amount involved in a specific buy or sell of securities.
Stake: The total number of shares or percentage ownership a fund holds in a particular company.
Fund AUM: The overall market value of assets managed by an investment fund.
Top holdings: The largest investments in a fund’s portfolio, usually ranked by value.
Dividend yield: Annual dividend income expressed as a percentage of the stock’s current price.
Subscription-based service plans: Ongoing contracts where customers pay regularly for continued access to services.
Network access fees: Charges paid by customers or partners to use a company’s communication infrastructure.
Public sector organizations: Government agencies and entities that purchase goods or services.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

On October 3, 2025, Martin Capital Partners, LLC disclosed it sold out its entire position in Diageo (DEO -1.86%), an estimated $3.28 million trade.

What happened

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 3, 2025, Martin Capital Partners, LLC, sold its entire holding in Diageo (DEO -1.86%), totaling 32,525 shares. The estimated transaction value was $3.28 million based on the average price for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. The firm now reports zero shares held in Diageo as of September 30, 2025.

What else to know

Martin Capital Partners, LLC, fully exited its Diageo stake; the position accounted for 1.3% of 13F assets as of the third quarter of 2025 and now represents 0%.

Top holdings after the filing:

• NASDAQ: AMGN: $8.50 million (3.3% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• NASDAQ: CME: $8,413,000 (3.3% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• NYSE: CFR: $8.36 million (3.2% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• NASDAQ: ASML: $8,286,000 (3.2% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• NASDAQ: MSFT: $8.20 million (3.2% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

As of October 5, 2025, Diageo shares were priced at $96.27, down 30.0% over the past year, lagging the S&P 500 by 47.5 percentage points.

Company overview

Company snapshot

Diageo offers a diversified portfolio of alcoholic beverages including whisky, vodka, gin, rum, tequila, liqueurs, beer, and ready-to-drink products under global brands such as Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, and Baileys.

It generates revenue primarily through the production, marketing, and sale of branded spirits and beer across multiple international markets, leveraging a global distribution network.

The company serves a broad customer base spanning North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, with products available to both retail and on-premise clients.

Diageo is a leading global producer and marketer of premium alcoholic beverages, operating at scale with a diverse brand portfolio and broad geographic reach.

Foolish take

Martin Capital Partners’ move to liquidate its position in the alcoholic beverages juggernaut is a bit of a red flag for Diageo.

While it is far from a death knell for the steady behemoth, Diageo’s shares have slid 50% from their all-time high just three years ago.

Over the last decade, the company’s sales, net income, and dividend payments have only inched higher by low-single-digit percentages annually, offering minimal compounding potential for investors.

Though Diageo pays a high-yield dividend of 4.4%, its payments used 86% of the free cash flow that the company recorded in 2025. This figure doesn’t leave a ton of wiggle room for higher payments in the future — especially considering Diageo wants to use cash to pay down its hefty net debt balance of $21.5 billion.

With global drinking rates and quantities declining, Diageo will have its work cut out for it as it modifies its portfolio of brands to match consumers’ changing tastes.

However, the company now trades at a meager 14 times forward earnings following its decline. Diageo could become an interesting value play if it can turn things around in a better consumer environment, but Martin Capital Partners doesn’t appear to want to wait for that to happen.

Glossary

13F reportable assets: Assets that institutional investment managers must disclose quarterly in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Form 13F filings.

Assets under management (AUM): The total market value of investments managed on behalf of clients by a fund or firm.

Dividend yield: The annual dividend payment divided by the stock’s current price, shown as a percentage.

Quarter (Q3 2025): Refers to the third three-month period of a company’s fiscal year, here July–September 2025.

Stake: The amount of ownership or shares held by an investor or institution in a company.

Position: The amount of a particular security or asset held by an investor or fund.

Filing: An official document submitted to a regulatory authority, often detailing financial or investment activities.

Lagging: Underperforming or trailing behind a benchmark or index in terms of returns or performance.

Distribution network: The system a company uses to deliver products to customers or retailers across various markets.

TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

It’s autumn and Madrid is breathing a collective sigh of relief. Everything is open again and the intense heat, which seems to ooze out of the walls and up from the pavements in summer, has mellowed to pleasantly warm. It’s the perfect temperature for languishing on a cafe terrace with the sun tickling your skin as afternoon slips into evening. Noise levels are back to normal, which means cacophonous.

It feels like the entire population is out on the streets, catching up with their friends and chatting about all the things they want to do, the films they want to see, the new bars they’ve heard about and the restaurants they fancy trying over the next few months. If you could do with a boost, spend a few days in the Spanish capital this autumn.

The dazzling light and clear blue skies lift your mood as soon as you arrive. Madrid being the highest major capital city in Europe may have something to do with that. It is a comparatively young capital too. Arabs from north Africa settled here in the ninth century, building a citadel where the royal palace and Almudena cathedral are now, but Madrid only really got going when Philip II moved his court here from Toledo in 1561, establishing the city as the new capital of Spain.

To get a sense of the city’s history, walk from the Puerta del Sol – the centre not just of Madrid but the whole of Spain – to the 17th-century Plaza Mayor, which is framed by redbrick buildings with slate roofs and spindly spires. Then stroll along Cava Baja, the curving street that follows the course of the 12th-century city wall. Vestiges survive in the basements of several bars and restaurants that originated as inns and taverns for the merchants and travellers who arrived by stagecoach.

In Madrid, you absorb the city’s heritage just by walking around. In the Barrio de las Letras, or literary quarter, the bar-lined streets are named after the great writers who lived there in the 16th and 17th centuries, such as Miguel de Cervantes, Francisco de Quevedo and Lope de Vega.

You could spend weeks in the city’s big three museums – Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofia – but try to fit in some others too. The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando gets a fraction of the visitors, despite being just off the Puerta del Sol and having astounding collections that include Goya, El Greco, Picasso and Francisco de Zurbarán.

This autumn I’m looking forward to the Suma Flamenca festival (14 Oct-2 Nov), where leading flamenco dancers, singers and musicians will be performing new work such as Flamenco Gospel by Juan Carmona. The main festival venue is the Teatros del Canal, an arts complex designed by Juan Navarro Baldeweg, one of Spain’s most renowned architects, who is also an artist (an exhibition of his work is on at Centro Centro until 14 December). The Teatros del Canal is also a hub for the Festival de Otoño, (6-30 Nov), one of the cultural highlights of the year, with theatre, music and more by Spanish and international artists.

The Chamberí district, where the Teatros del Canal is found, is in a less touristy area, just north of downtown. The most traditional and characterful areas of the city, considered the homes of a “pure” and distinctive Madrileño spirit, are called barrios castizos – and Chamberí certainly fits that description. Base yourself here for a more authentic feel – try the palatial and stylish One Shot Fortuny hotel, which has doubles from around £160 room-only in October.

As you explore, take in the flowers spilling over the wrought-iron balconies and the gleaming fruit and vegetables outside little shops (particularly the mushrooms at this time of year) and peer into the tiny, tiled bars where locals are having a quick coffee or beer. Walk in, find yourself a place at the bar and you’ll wonder why you don’t live in Madrid.

Trafalgar, the part of Chamberí closest to the centre, is fast becoming one of the most fashionable parts of town, but still has a laid-back, family vibe. I’ve been meeting friends in the Plaza de Olavide for decades and seen it undergo umpteen makeovers.

Eight streets flow into the square, bringing a constant stream of people searching for friends and dragging chairs to form messy configurations of all ages that change constantly as the night wears on. It’s normal to arrange to meet one friend here, and end up with a table of 10.

New bars, restaurants, galleries and boutiques are opening in traditional premises here, but I love that the people behind them are keeping the original fixtures and fittings or hunting down zinc or steel counters and revamping old bar stools to recreate the castizo character, while also adding their own contemporary vibe. Pop into Bar Trafalgar for a cocktail – or maybe a vermouth and a smoked ham and cheese toasted sandwich – and you’ll get the idea. It’s the kind of place that works at any time of day or night. I love the Olavide Bar de Libros too, both a bookshop and a cafe – browsing books and sipping a glass of wine are two of my favourite things.

Also on my list this autumn is International Architecture Week (until 13 Oct, although some exhibitions run beyond that date). The programme includes an Álvaro Siza exhibition (until 9 Jan 2026) at the Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid, a short stroll from the Plaza de Olavide. This is followed by Madrid Otra Mirada (16-19 Oct), when you can visit historic buildings and gardens that are not usually open to the public.

At the Fernán Gómez Centro Cultural de la Villa, Leica: A Century of Photography, 1925-2025, features work by Sebastião Salgado, Steve McCurry and Alberto García-Alix and runs until 11 Jan. And I’ll be booking ahead for Warhol, Pollock and other American spaces at the Thyssen-Bornemisza (21 Oct-25 Jan).

While there’s certainly a lot to see and do at this time of year, you don’t want to get too hung up on packing your days with plans. Madrid is all about going with the flow. Drift around Parque del Buen Retiro for a couple of hours, taking in the startlingly vivid magenta and ochre tones of the oak, chestnut and willow trees. Exit the park on the east side, where Calle de Ibiza and the surrounding streets have become a gastronomic hotspot. I love tapas at the bar at La Catapa or La Taberna de Rox, although both also have tables if you want to rest tired feet.

For more autumnal hues, it’s now a lot easier to visit the elegant Campo del Moro gardens, which slope down from the royal palace to the Manzanares River. There used to be only one entrance, down by the river – which always felt like too much of a hike after traipsing around the palace. A lot of people weren’t aware that the gardens were open to visitors. Now, thank goodness, you can get in from the top end, from the Cuesta de San Vicente or the Cuesta de la Vega, which is really handy if you are going to the Royal Collections Gallery as there is direct access.

If you haven’t been to Madrid for a few years, this museum, which opened in 2023, is a must, with paintings by Bosch, Titian, Velázquez and Goya as well as a vast array of treasures collected by Spanish monarchs over the centuries, housed in a spectacular building designed by Emilio Tuñón and Luis Moreno Mansilla.

Walk down through the gardens – maybe stopping for a drink on the cafe terrace at the bottom – and cross the river to reach the Casa de Campo, the largest green space in Madrid. I rarely get beyond the lake, where there is a string of restaurants with tons of outdoor tables. A plate of garlic prawns with fried eggs at Villa Verbena invariably seems like an excellent idea at this point. It’s worth going just for the view of the Madrid skyline.

Back in the centre, head for Lavapiés, which is one of the most castizo neighbourhoods in Madrid but also the most international, with a huge range of places to eat and drink. Not that you need any excuse for a night out here, but the Tapapiés tapas and music festival (16-26 October) is a particularly good time for a mooch around. More than 100 bars and restaurants are taking part and are offering a tapa and a beer for €3.50. There’s going to be live music, dancing, processions and kids’ activities too. If all that’s not a good enough reason to book a stay, I don’t know what is.

Vienna, the capital of Austria, and Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, are just 31 miles apart and both have a lot to offer tourists

Europe’s two nearest capital cities are both stunning and merely 31 miles apart.

Vienna, Austria’s capital, and Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital are practically neighbours. Must-see spots in the Austrian capital feature Schönbrunn Palace, the former summer retreat of the Hapsburg dynasty; the gothic St Stephen’s Cathedral – and the Hofburg, which served as the Hapsburg’s main imperial residence and now houses the Spanish Riding School.

Additional draws include the magnificent St Stephen’s Cathedral, the Sigmund Freud Museum and the Staatsoper opera and ballet venue. Vienna boasts its own gastronomic treasures such as scrumptious chocolate and mouth-watering Wiener Schnitzels to satisfy food lovers. It’s also regularly listed amongst Europe’s most liveable destinations.

READ MORE: I lived in 3 Spanish towns – one little-known gem ranks among the ‘cleanest’ in EuropeREAD MORE: ‘Magical’ autumn walks that run right through stunning UK beauty spot

One study conducted by the Economist found that Vienna possessed “an unsurpassed combination of stability, good infrastructure, strong education, and healthcare services, and plenty of culture and entertainment”.

The metropolis is also considered amongst the world’s cleanest and most environmentally-friendly, featuring numerous public gardens situated along the River Danube’s shores.

Just over an hour’s journey downstream lies Bratislava, which rivals Prague or Budapest whilst offering fewer tourists and lower costs, reports the Express.

The destination showcases aspects of medieval, Rococo, Baroque and 20th-century modernism, typical of most former communist capitals. The Old Town is a picture-perfect spot, with its pastel-coloured buildings and cobbled streets lined with cafes and restaurants.

OPINION

This is where you’ll find the majority of the city’s historic architecture. Bratislava Castle, perched on an isolated hill of the Little Carpathians, is arguably the city’s most significant landmark. Its size and location have made it a dominant feature of the landscape since it was first built in the 9th century.

The Town Hall, constructed in the 14th century, is another notable building. Michael’s Gate, the only remaining gate from the medieval fortifications, is one of the city’s oldest structures.

A more unusual landmark is Bratislava’s UFO Tower, which sits on the riverbank offering panoramic views of the city. It also houses a restaurant at the top.

Other capital cities that are close to each other include Rome and Vatican City in Italy, Pyong in North Korea and Seoul in South Korea, and Buenos Aires in Argentina and Montevideo in Uruguay.

Russia has launched a heavy attack on Ukraine with hundreds of kamikaze drones hitting residential buildings in Kyiv. At least four people have been killed, including a 12-year-old girl.