Image source: Getty Images Some FTSE 250 stocks are on higher forecast dividend yields than the best in the FTSE 100 these days. NextEnergy Solar Fund (LSE: NESF) is one, topping mid-cap dividends with a cracking 12%. NextEnergy has lifted its annual dividends every year since floating in 2014. And forecasts show it edging up to 12.3% by 2027. Future dividends can’t be guaranteed. And the high yield is partly due to a 34% share price fall over the past five years. I can see a few possible reasons for that. Shifting sentiment Enthusiasm for alternative energy stocks has worn…
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Metals recyclers are at loggerheads with the British steel industry over a call to limit lucrative scrap exports so steel can be reused by UK furnaces.The British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) claims a ban on scrap steel exports to less wealthy countries could cost £5bn in lost economic activity and as many as 20,000 jobs. Steelmakers in the UK are keen to retain the metal to melt down into new steel.The bulk of the 5.6m tonnes of steel made in the UK in 2023 was made in Port Talbot and Scunthorpe, in carbon-heavy blast furnaces that rely on iron ore…
Image source: Getty Images The Bunzl (LSE: BNZL) share price has had a tough ride in 2025, down 24% since the start of the year. But it’s been picking up a bit in the past couple of weeks. And on Tuesday (26 August), the stock gained 4% in early trading on the back of a relatively upbeat first-half report. April brought a profit warning, based on toughening conditions in the firm’s North American markets — with revenue softness, operating margin pressure, and “amplified challenges specific to our largest business, which primarily services foodservice and grocery customers.” Bunzl lowered its 2025…
Image source: Sam Robson, The Motley Fool UK NIO (NYSE:NIO) stock‘s jumped 37% in just seven trading days. Now at $6, this means the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) firm’s up 51% over the past year. Zooming further out however, the share price is still 67% lower than it was five years ago. Not great. I’ve long thought that NIO was a candidate for a barnstorming comeback, assuming it can turn profitable. Here, I want to take a look at why the stock is up and whether the investment case has improved enough to warrant me taking a position. Why’s NIO…
Image source: Getty Images A Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) is the perfect vehicle for long-term investors. That’s because the money can’t be accessed until age 55 (57 from April 2028). The benefit is that compounding can happen over many years, with SIPPs eliminating the temptation to sell shares to fund something (cruise holiday/Christmas/new car, etc). As Charlie Munger said: “The first rule of compounding is to never interrupt it unnecessarily.” Of all the shares in the FTSE 100, I reckon Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (LSE: SMT) is the most suitable for a SIPP. Here are five reasons why. 1. Long-term perspective Scottish…
Image source: Getty Images One of the most appealing things about the UK stock market is its reputation for generous dividends. Right now, there are plenty of shares trading on low valuations while offering chunky yields. For income-focused investors, that combination can be particularly attractive. To gauge whether a share is undervalued, I usually start with ratio metrics such as price-to-earnings (P/E) or price-to-sales (P/S). A low multiple compared with peers can often signal that the market’s overlooking a stock’s potential. The trick, of course, is figuring out whether there’s a realistic path to recovery. With that in mind, here…
Image source: Getty Images Shares in Greggs (LSE:GRG) have fallen around 20% over the past three years. A £10,000 investment made in August 2022 would now be worth around £8,000, with the share price under pressure from a mix of slowing growth, rising costs, and macroeconomic challenges. Slowing growth While total sales and store openings have continued to grow — with the portfolio now extending to more than 2,600 locations — like-for-like (LFL) sales momentum has weakened sharply. Greggs reported 13.7% LFL growth in 2023, but this slowed to just 2.6% by the first half of 2025. For a business that has…
White shrimps before processing. They were collected from Souq Al Jubail in Sharjah, UAE. The shrimps were harvested in Oman. By-products were later used as feedstock for activated carbon. Credit: Haif Al-Jomard / University of Sharjah Researchers at the University of Sharjah have developed an innovative method to transform shrimp waste, which is typically discarded in large quantities by the seafood industry, into a valuable carbon product capable of capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂). This breakthrough offers a sustainable solution to both waste management and climate change mitigation. Led by Dr. Haif Al-Jomard, the team has introduced a novel waste-to-carbon technology…
Image source: Getty Images This year has been quite the rollercoaster for the stock market. On both sides of the Atlantic, investors have been trying to navigate a cocktail of influences – from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom to a weaker US dollar and possible interest rate cuts. Inflation, meanwhile, is expected to cool back to around 2%, offering some relief after two years of stubbornly high price pressures. So where do analysts think it could go from here? The US outlook Across the pond, optimism is slowly building. UBS has just lifted its mid-2026 target for the S&P 500…
Image source: Getty Images With the cost of living in retirement soaring, the importance of investing in UK stocks is (in my opinion) growing considerably. New research from Shepherds Friendly this week underlines the scale of the challenge facing us. Using the ’25 times’ rule, it calculates that the average Briton will need £743,338 in savings, investments or other income to enjoy two-and-a-half decades of financial independence. This concept suggests individuals must save 25 times their annual salary to maintain their lifestyle for 25 years. Shepherds Friendly says its numbers are “based on an average annual expenditure of £31,653, amounting…