Image source: Getty Images One way to earn passive income is to put money into blue-chip shares, sit back, and earn dividends. That sounds simple – and it can be. But not all shares pay dividends and, even when they do, the amount is never guaranteed. So such a passive income plan can require a bit more planning. Still, it can be potentially very lucrative. Here’s how someone with a spare £5,000 could aim to generate £158 of passive income a month, on average, over the long term. The mechanics of dividend income can be simple Taking a long-term approach…
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Last Friday, UCLA hosted a celebration of the life and work of the persona who was long the world’s foremost expert on parking, Donald Shoup.Earlier this year, following a brief illness, Shoup passed away at the age of 86. Today’s post won’t attempt to compete with obituaries shared at the time; see accounts at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, the L.A. Times, the New York Times, and the Parking Reform Network – as well as Streetsblog California’s short obituary, and Streetsblog L.A.’s 2015 interview.Friday’s ceremony was attended by hundreds of people whose lives Shoup had touched – from…
Image source: Getty Images Some investors have been growing increasingly nervous about the stock market. It may be easy to point to that as a result of the performance of a handful of tech stocks in the US market. But while the London market is on a less stretching valuation, that does not mean it is necessarily cheap. The FTSE 100 index of leading UK blue-chip shares has repeatedly hit new highs so far in 2025, after all — including this week. So against that backdrop, could the FTSE 100 still potentially present an investor with opportunities? Taking a long-term…
Image source: Getty Images As I write on 10 October, The City of London Investment Trust (LSE:CTY) is offering a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is based on amounts paid (21.45p a share) over the past 12 months. A £10,000 investment made in October 2020, would have earned dividends of £3,024 during the past five years. Remarkably, the trust has increased its payout for 59 consecutive years. Of course, this is unlikely to carry on indefinitely but history suggests there’s a good chance that it will continue for at least a few more years. At the moment, Topps Tiles (LSE:TPT)…
Image source: Getty Images A £1,000 investment from October 2020 in a fund that aims to track the FTSE 250 index is now worth £1,403. That’s a 40% return, but the index itself is only up 22%. The difference is dividends – reinvesting cash distributions, rather than using them as passive income, that has generated an extra 18% for investors. And this is something to pay attention to. Dividend stocks I think the FTSE 250 has a number of interesting dividend stocks. One example is Primary Health Properties (LSE:PHP) – the real estate investment trust (REIT) that leases a portfolio…
Image source: Getty Images The world of penny stocks is notoriously volatile, but it opens the door to explosive returns. These tiny companies have enormous room for growth. And investors who can spot the diamonds in the rough can see their wealth expand, sometimes in a matter of a few months. That’s certainly been the case for Aminex (LSE:AEX) shares, which have shot up by almost 60% in the last six months. And this gain was closer to 100% when ignoring the recent October slide. This perfectly demonstrates the volatile nature of penny stocks. But at a market-cap of just…
Image source: Getty Images Investing with a Stocks and Shares ISA is a proven strategy for building long-term wealth. And over the last 12 months, with UK shares going on a bit of a rampage, ISA investors have seen their fortunes growth much faster than usual. Historically, the FTSE 100 typically generates an annual return of 8%. Yet, since last October, the UK’s flagship index is up a massive 18.9% after counting dividends. And for some stock pickers, the returns have been even more explosive with Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) shares skyrocketing by 331%! That’s enough for a £20,000 ISA to surge…
Image source: BT Group plc The BT (LSE:BT-A) share price has risen an impressive 26% in the year to date. At 184.8p per share, its rise has eclipsed that of the broader FTSE 100, which is up 16%. However, BT’s rally has hit a stumbling block more recently, its shares dropping by double-digit percentages over the last month. What can we expect the Footsie company to do next? Broadly positive It’s largely good news for shareholders, if City analysts are a reliable guide. They think BT’s shares will continue rising strongly over the next year. The telecoms titan has a…
Image source: Getty Images The Greggs (LSE:GRG) share price has fallen hard. And while operational performance has a lot to do with the price action, I’d also speculate that it has a lot to do with retail investors and their interest in the sausage roll maker. As investors, we often start by investing in what we know. Some of the most popular stocks among retail investors are the ones we see on the high street like Tesco, Lloyds, and of course, Greggs. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re good investments, however. Tesco and Lloyds shares have surged since the height…
Image source: Getty Images Back in April, I was like a kid in a candy shop. The stock market had crashed after President Trump’s tariffs bombshell and I saw dozens of buying opportunities suddenly emerge. The problem was finding the money for them all in my Stocks and Shares ISA! Now, with the market fully recovered and surging higher, it’s harder to find opportunities. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any out there. Here are two growth stocks that I’ve bought in the past week. I think both are worth digging into. On the money? The first is a new…