Image source: Getty Images The Barclays (LSE: BARC) share price has enjoyed a strong run in recent months, supported by steady profits, share buybacks, and robust net interest income. Yet, with high mortgage costs and household finances under pressure, investors may wonder whether this momentum can continue – or if optimism is already fully priced in. Q3 results Earlier in the week, the blue eagle bank reported a strong set of quarterly results. Group income rose 11% year on year to £7.2bn, driven by a resilient UK business and improving momentum in the US. Stable deposits and robust UK lending…
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Image source: Getty Images While market crashes can undoubtedly be scary, they also offer fantastic opportunities for Stocks and Shares ISA investors. For evidence, just look at April’s meltdown. In a matter of days, many high-quality stocks lost 20%-40% of their value, before surging to new highs once markets recovered. Indeed, the recovery has been so swift and dramatic that some are predicting another crash could be on the horizon! Ultimately, nobody knows whether a crash will happen soon. After all, if this was suddenly known in advance, the crash would happen now. But in my experience, it pays to…
Image source: Getty Images The great thing about being a UK-based income investor is that there’s no shortage of dividend stocks in our home market to choose from. Even so, it’s a good idea to have a few methods for sorting the wheat from the chaff. One thing I always look for is evidence that a company has been returning more cash to holders every (or nearly every) year. Among those that spring to mind from the FTSE 100 are: Halma Diploma British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS) All three have decades of consecutive annual dividend raises behind them. So, surely…
Image source: BT Group plc BT (LSE:BT.A) shares have done quite well in the FTSE 100 in the past couple of years. In fact, they’re up 76% in just the past 18 months! However, the stock’s come off the boil a bit lately, falling 16% since July. Is this a good time for me to add the telecoms giant to my ISA? Bull case When I look at BT as a potential investment, I see a couple of things that appeal to me. One is the dividend, with the forward-looking yield currently sitting at a respectable 4.4%. Moreover, the dividend’s…
Image source: Getty Images Passive income remains a hot topic for investors aiming to secure financial stability with minimal daily effort. One of the key insights from studying successful investors, especially those with seven-figure Stocks and Shares ISAs, is that they follow clear habits that consistently build wealth over time. Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible…
Image source: Getty Images Investing in the UK, I’m mostly concerned about a FTSE 100 stock market crash. But ChatGPT highlighted analysts pointing out how closely connected the UK and US stock markets are. If the US market falters, I can’t see UK shares avoiding a dip. What does my AI assistant make of expert views? Analysts at JPMorgan recently suggested the S&P 500 could reach 7,000 points by early 2026. So they don’t see any need to panic over an imminent crash, it seems. But the fears remain in the background. We have no real hope of predicting when…
This week Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon of the War on Cars podcast join the show to talk about their new book: Life After Cars – Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile. We discuss opposing views, Turtle Jesus and potential off-ramps towards car-free cities.Scroll past the audio player below for a partial edited transcript of the episode — or click here for a full, AI-generated (and typo-ridden) readout.Jeff Wood: I also find the idea of like historical off-ramps really interesting, and one of the things that I think about a lot and I’ve talked about on the show a couple of times…
Image source: Getty Images Footsie dividend shares are set for bumper cash payouts in 2025. And the index could also be on for a new annual record for share buybacks. That’s what the latest outlook from AJ Bell‘s Dividend Dashboard says. Aggregated from stock market analysts, forecasts indicate £79.4bn in FTSE 100 dividends this year. And with the index also up 17% so far in 2025, I think it’s fair to call it a great year for UK investors. Share buybacks help boost prices, as they lift future per-share measures like earnings and dividends. And with £50.9bn announced by the…
Image source: Getty Images Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are popular passive income investments and it’s easy to see why. They’re a more straightforward investment than traditional buy-to-let properties. On top of this, they’re more tax-efficient than other dividend stocks. And that can be a big advantage when it comes to returning cash to shareholders. Tax REITs were originally brought into existence in the US to make a booming property market accessible to ordinary individuals. And in a meaningful sense, this is exactly what they do. Being required to return their rental income to investors as dividends naturally limits their…
Image source: Getty Images By making smart decisions in the stock market, investors can immediately start earning a second income through dividends. And for those lucky enough to already have a chunky £250,000 sat in the bank, deploying this capital in the market today could instantly unlock a dividend income between £8,000 and all the way up to £21,000. Here’s how. Dividends from the FTSE 100 With UK shares reaching record highs this year, the dividend yield offered by FTSE 100 index funds is a bit lower than usual at around 3.2%. For reference, the long-term average is closer to…