Image source: Getty Images At the start of 2025, there was no specific reason to expect that the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares would enjoy a rip-roaring year. Along the way, there have been some causes for concern, not least market reaction to April’s announcement of new US tariff policies. Still, the blue-chip index has racked up a 17% gain in value so far this year. For an index of large companies, many of them in mature industries, I think that is impressive. Might it still be worth my time investing in the index now, after that gain,…
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Image source: Getty Images I am always on the lookout for undervalued, high-quality, high-yielding stocks to generate passive income. This is money earned with minimal effort once the right shares are chosen. One such opportunity has appeared in my recent research: Telecom Plus (LSE: TEP), better known as Utility Warehouse. It is the UK’s only integrated multi-utility provider, bundling energy, broadband, mobile, and insurance into one subscription. So why has it surfaced now, and how much could it make in passive income? On the radar The firm has popped up on my stock screener because of a possible acquisition. According…
Image source: Getty Images J Sainsbury’s (LSE: SBRY) share price dropped after Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund announced it would reduce its longstanding holding in the firm. This brings its total fall from its 6 November one-year traded high to 14%. Such a drop might signal a bargain to be had. But it depends on how the stock’s value looks now. This reflects the true worth of underlying business fundamentals, while price is whatever the market will pay for a share. So, is it a bargain now, and if so, how big? Short-term risk? Qatar Investment Authority’s 2 December announcement specified…
Image source: Getty Images The S&P 500 offers investors 500 opportunities to build a beautifully balanced portfolio. From tech titans to old-school industries, the index has everything under the sun to achieve true diversification. However, billionaire hedge fund manager and philanthropist Sir Chris Hohn doesn’t bother with any of that. He concentrates capital into a small handful of companies (just nine at the end of the third quarter). Yet this strategy has worked wonders. Since 2003, his fund — The Children’s Investment Fund (TCI) — has delivered annualised returns in the ballpark of 18%-20% (net of fees). So how has…
Image source: Getty Images Investing in a Stocks and Shares ISA is a brilliant way to generate a second income to top up the State Pension. There are plenty of dividend-paying shares on the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 to consider, and I decided to ask artificial intelligence (AI) to highlight a balanced spread of the best ones. I’d never trust AI to pick stocks. That isn’t what it’s designed to do. But it thought it might throw up a few handy pointers so I gave it a whirl. Investing for dividends ChatGPT slung five FTSE 100 stocks at me,…
Image source: Getty Images Since the start of 2025, the Diageo (LSE:DGE) share price has tanked 34%. In fact, the stock’s now changing hands for roughly the same price as it was in September 2015. This suggests the task facing the drinks giant’s new boss, Sir Dave Lewis, is an enormous one. Can he help the group recapture some of its former glories? Let’s take a look. A huge job During his time at Unilever, The Grocer magazine nicknamed him ‘Drastic Dave’. And his reputation for embarking on dramatic changes followed him to Tesco, where he cut jobs, closed stores,…
Yesterday, LAPD shut down a volunteer work party painting new crosswalks in Westwood. The crosswalk install was organized by Jonathan Hale, under the banner of People’s Vision Zero which is building on the work of do-it-yourself street safety installs pioneered by the L.A. Crosswalks Collective. Hale was one of the people behind guerilla crosswalks shaming the city into adding actual official crosswalks at West L.A.’s Stoner Park.Yesterday’s community crosswalk install was located at the intersection of Kelton Avenue and Wilkins Avenue, near the Westwood V.AStreetsblog interviewed Hale yesterday, who termed yesterday’s incident “a bummer.” “It’s sad that it comes to…
Image source: Getty Images Another year, another spectacular performance from Rolls-Royce (LSE:RR.) and its share price. Up 89% since 1 January, the FTSE 100 company’s left global rivals like RTX Corporation (+46%), General Electric (+71%) and Safran (+37%) firmly in its wake. Closer to home, it’s also outstripped the UK’s biggest pureplay defence company BAE Systems (+48%). At £11.12, Rolls-Royce shares are now up 847% over five years. Considering these staggering gains, could we see the engineer double in value in 2026? Great news! There are good reasons to expect further strength next year, including continued growth in the civil…
Image source: Getty Images. It’s been a hectic couple of months inside my Stocks and Shares ISA. In this time, a few of my holdings have rocketed to record highs, while a handful have pulled back to 52-week lows. As a result, I’ve done quite a bit of portfolio repositioning, at least by my own buy-and-hold standards. Here are seven moves I’ve made in my ISA in recent weeks. Three tech stocks I trimmed After an incredible three years, artificial intelligence (AI) as a stock market theme has run into uncertainty. Prominent investors like billionaire Ray Dalio argue that AI…
Image source: Getty Images I have long thought that Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) shares are expensive. To be honest, that was my belief when they were changing hands for 70p, 80p, and 90p. But on each occasion, investors have clearly disagreed with me and now (8 December), the bank’s share price is heading towards the magical 100p. So for a bit of fun, I turned to ChatGPT to see what I’m missing. I asked: “Is it too late for me to buy Lloyds’ shares?” What did it say? I’ve always found the software to be incredibly polite. Indeed, it complemented…