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…
Author: user
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…
Image source: Getty Images Many investors ran for cover when Donald Trump first introduced his tariffs back in April. But those brave enough to buy certain FTSE 100 stocks will have reaped the rewards. Rampant recovery One example of this is copper titan Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO). As I type, someone investing at the 52-week low — hit not long after President Trump sent markets into a tizzy — would now be up an astonishing 70%. For comparison, the FTSE 100 is up about 21% over the same period. Don’t get me wrong — that’s still a fine result for anyone…
Image source: Getty Images Jensen Huang is the co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, the AI chip master that in July became the world’s first company to hit a $4trn market-cap. The stock has since pushed on, with Nvidia now valued at $4.34trn, as I write. Note that the ‘0.34’ bit at the end of that figure is actually $340bn! That’s more than the market-cap of AstraZeneca ($253bn), the largest listed firm in the FTSE 100. Safe to say then, Nvidia’s CEO knows a thing or two about building value. TSMC On Friday 22 August, Huang was in Taiwan. He was…
Image source: Getty Images Ilika (LSE: IKA) makes solid-state batteries, and it can be bought for penny share prices. Its technology could be big in the kind of distributed processing that will likely contribute to the future of AI — among a range of other applications. As I write just before markets open on Tuesday (26 August), we’re looking at a market cap of £72m and a 40p share price. That represents an 86% gain just since the start of 2025. But before we think too much about what the future might hold, there’s one note of caution. Back in…
PARIS — New York and Paris have a lot in common, but the City of Light is still eating our déjeuner when it comes to increasing livability and pointing the way towards a vehicle-free future.This spring, as U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to cancel congestion pricing and rip out urban bike lanes, Parisians voted to remove cars from 500 streets and restore 10 percent of the city’s parking spaces to public space.The initiative will transform five to eight roads in each neighborhood at an average cost of $540,000 per project. It comes after Mayor Anne Hidalgo has already calmed…
Image source: Getty Images The average analyst price target for Lloyds shares is currently 90.7p. If that was to be achieved, investors could be looking at returns of about 12% over the next year when dividends are factored in. That’s a solid return. However, analysts see far more potential in these three stocks… An undervalued blue-chip stock In the large-cap space, analysts are very bullish on shares in London Stock Exchange Group (LSE: LSEG). Currently, the average price target here is 12,739p – 35% above the current share price. The bullish stance here makes sense to me (I’m invested in…
The Globe and MailAmerica’s Critical Mineral Crunch: A New Player Steps Onto the U.S. StageFor decades, the United States has depended heavily on foreign suppliers for critical minerals like antimony, tungsten, and rare earth elements, materials….18 hours ago Source link
The Atal Pension Yojana (APY), the state-backed pension scheme for unorganised sector workers, has enrolled over 81 million people as it completes a decade of operations, according to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).In the last financial year alone, more than 11.7 million new subscribers joined the scheme, with women accounting for 55 per cent of enrolments.PFRDA noted that participation from younger citizens is rising, with 46% of new subscribers aged between 18 and 25. The scheme’s assets under management (AUM) have crossed ₹48,000 crore, with a compound annual growth rate of 9.12% since inception. It also recorded…
Image source: Getty Images With hundreds of companies listed across the FTSE indexes, it’s impossible to track them all. But in my search for value, a few UK-listed businesses have stood out as unusually cheap based on their growth potential, profitability, and valuation multiples. Below are two of the cheapest FTSE stocks I’ve come across. I believe both are worth closer inspection. Melrose Industries Let’s start with Melrose Industries (LSE:MRO). The FTSE 100 stock is up around 25% since I bought in around four months ago and such is my conviction, it’s my top holding right now. The company currently trades on…