[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images For some of us, ChatGPT has already become an essential tool for navigating daily life. But how helpful is it when trying to narrow down the best FTSE stocks to ponder buying for 2026? I ran a little experiment to find out. The bot’s top five The AI bot’s response was a smattering of the UK’s biggest and best-known companies: AstraZeneca National Grid Barclays Aviva Rolls-Royce Each of the above has enjoyed excellent gains in 2025. Even the ‘worst’ performer — power provider National Grid — still rewarded holders with a 19% gain (as I…
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[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images With the new year rapidly approaching, many investors will be thinking about what brilliant investment ideas they can come up with. While a lot of attention gets paid to large blue-chip companies, there is more to stock market life than the FTSE 100! Here are three FTSE 250 shares I think investors ought to consider, each reflecting a different investing focus. Income: Victrex For years, polymer specialist Victrex (LSE: VCT) had a reasonable but unremarkable dividend yield. But a stumbling share price has pushed up the yield. After a 39% fall so far this year…
[ad_1] The blogs that resonated most with readers in 2025 were those that used historical evidence to illuminate present-day dynamics. Across topics — market concentration, small-cap cycles, private-equity stress, geopolitical shifts, AI, and even foundational valuation tools like discounted cash flow — practitioners consistently sought analysis that connected current signals to the longer arcs that shape them. And the Most Read blog published in 2025, built entirely around historical quotes, shows how powerful distilled insight can be. Mark J. Higgins, CFA, CFP, and Rachel Kloepfer take us on a compact tour through centuries of market wisdom, highlighting behavioral tendencies that repeat…
[ad_1] Image source: The Motley Fool At this time of year, many people think about getting into the stock market, or perhaps reviewing their existing portfolio of shares. It need not take a lot of money to start investing. However, whether investing with a few hundred pounds or billions, many of the world’s great investors over the ages (such as Warren Buffett and George Soros) have tended to follow certain principles. Finding brilliant businesses really matters Many people put money into the stock market because they think a company is worth more than its current share price suggests. There is…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Morgan Stanley raised its target for the BAE Systems (LSE: BA.) share price to 2,203p just before Christmas, nearly 30% ahead of the price, at the time of writing. But that’s not the most ambitious prediction, after UBS put a 2,500p label on the stock at the end of September. That would be a gain of around 45%. BAE Systems’ shares have risen 49% in 2025 and are up 240% in five years. That’s impressive, but it doesn’t match Rolls-Royce Holding‘s doubling in 2025 and five-year climb of 890%. So will 2026 be the year…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images The BP (LSE: BP.) share price has fallen back since its highs of 2023, though it’s still up 62% in the past five years. The stock has faced mixed fortunes, with the latest drag, falling oil prices — Brent Crude fetches not much more than $60 per barrel as we reach the end of 2025. The whole oil and gas business has been rehabilitated since the world — mainly at the behest of Donald Trump — turned from the alternative energy drive and back towards hydrocarbons. But was that just a temporary reprieve, or can…
[ad_1] Click here to donate.Streetsblog provides high-quality journalism and analysis for free — which is something to be celebrated in an era of paywalls. Once a year, we ask for your tax-deductible donations to support our reporters and editors as they advance the movement to end car dependency and strengthen our communities.If you already support our work, thank you! If not, can we ask for your help?Together, we can create a walkable, bikeable, equitable and enjoyable USA for all. Happy holidays from the Streetsblog team!Click here for all our coverage of President Trump’s second termThis year packed a wallop for transportation…
[ad_1] The Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) share price has swung wildly between $214 and $499 over the course of 2025. From July’s low to December’s high saw the stock soar 130%. And this is no small-cap growth stock, but a $1.6trn giant! None of the other Magnificent 7 Nasdaq stocks comes remotely close to Tesla’s forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 370. Have US tech stock investors taken leave of their senses? And might 2026 be the year it all comes crashing down? Let’s have a think. What do analysts say? The 2025 Tesla share price ride isn’t the only thing that’s…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Nike (NYSE:NKE) has been one of the most disappointing S&P 500 stocks in recent years. Since late 2021, it has bombed 65%, while the index has risen by more than 50%. Yet one person thinks the selling in Nike has gone too far. That’s Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is also an independent director on the sportswear giant’s board. Regulatory filings show that he bought 50,000 shares, which works out at a cost of just under $3m. It’s rare for Cook to buy Nike stock on the open market, so this is a clear vote…
[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Millions of Britons use a Stocks and Shares ISA to invest. It has certain benefits, such as profits not being taxed and dividends also being received without tax. As a result, it can be a handy tool for boosting passive income potential in the year ahead. When specifically targeting income for 2026, here’s how things can get moving fast. Using the ISA The maximum amount someone can invest in an ISA per year is £20k. The ISA deadline runs through to the beginning of April, so I’m going to assume the most that could be…