Image source: Getty Images Just a fortnight ago, the FTSE 100 share index looked certain to breach 10,000 points by the end of the year. We’ve been on quite a journey since then. On 12 November, the Footsie closed at all-time highs of 9,911.42 points. Fears of an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble and a possible stock market crash then pushed it sharply lower. Source: TradingView However, the FTSE 100’s picked up momentum again. And today it’s just 4% away from reaching five-figure territory. Could it really reach the magic 10,000 point marker before the end of 2025? Pound pressure One…
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Image source: Getty Images The FTSE 100 is packed with dividend stocks yielding over 5%, but only two have delivered both big income and strong share price gains in 2025: British American Tobacco and Aviva (LSE: AV.). I won’t touch tobacco stocks, but Aviva is a different story entirely – and I’m becoming increasingly bullish on the insurance giant’s prospects. Growing dividends A lot has changed since the company cut its dividend during Covid. A major strategic overhaul – including the sale of eight underperforming international businesses and a shift towards a capital-light model – has reshaped the group into…
Image source: Getty Images The end of the tax year is still four months away but I’m already wondering how to round off my Stocks and Shares ISA. I’d never let artificial intelligence pick my shares, and ChatGPT admits itself that this isn’t what it’s for. Still, I sometimes find it useful for early-stage research, so I asked it to highlight five stocks I could consider buying, splitting £2,000 into each. To keep things realistic I told it what I already hold, because diversification is key. My ISA includes Legal & General Group, M&G, Lloyds Banking Group, GSK, Taylor Wimpey,…
Image source: Getty Images When the stock market plummets, does everyone suffer? A lot of people think of any market crash in terms of doom and gloom. In reality though, stock market volatility – or a full-blown crash – can throw up some winners and losers. What happens in a crash To understand why that is, it is important to understand what a crash actually is. Compare it to a cricket match. At the end of the match, there is a score. That is a matter of fact – and the score cannot be changed after the final innings, outside…
Image source: Getty Images The BAE Systems (LSE:BA.) share price has lost power since rocketing to record highs in early October. Since hitting its peak of £20.73 per share, the global defence giant has backpeddled sharply. It was last changing hands at £17.13. But City analysts reckon this is a mere hiccup before the FTSE 100 stock soars again. Currently, 12 different brokers have ratings on BAE shares, providing a decent range of opinions. Source: TradingView The average 12-month share price forecast among this grouping is £20.55 per share. That would represent a 20% rise from current levels. But how…
Recently, someone on X referenced a trailing 5,7,10Y SIP returns comparison of direct plan large cap funds vs the Nifty 100 TRI and concluded that most active funds beat the index. They also noted that using SIP returns avoids the bias introduced by trailing returns.I responded that using a 5Y or 10Y SIP is still a trailing return, since SIP returns depend on a specific sequence of returns, and that I would try a rolling SIP analysis. See: How the fate of your mutual fund SIPs is decided by “timing luck”Regular readers may know that we have used rolling (lump…
Image source: Getty Images As an older Fool, I love generating passive income. One of my main goals is delivering unearned income for my family. But like work itself, producing passive income is no pushover. In my working and investing life, I’ve encountered these five problems with building passive income: 1. Time and effort Like everything worthwhile, making and managing money is not easy. It takes time and effort, often with significant upfront work. Also, making better financial decisions means understanding the pitfalls and rewards of money management, which can be boring. 2. Continuous upkeep Once a plan is in…
Image source: Getty Images Eyes were on Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) stock last week. The artificial intelligence chipmaker reported earnings. I can’t recall many other third quarters that have been this hotly anticipated. With comparisons to the heady days of the Dotcom Bubble doing the rounds in almost every newspaper, the latest results of the American company was the bellwether to end all bellwethers. Before getting into the nitty and gritty of those results, it’s worth remembering the size of Nvidia now. The firm is the world’s largest company. Its $4.5trn market cap dwarfs the entire stock exchange of certain developed…
Image source: Getty Images With the Autumn Budget due tomorrow (26 November), markets are trying to assess what might happen to the fortunes of UK companies. That has already been happening for months. I expect some companies may see a notable impact on their share price when the Budget is announced. Here are three of them. J D Wetherspoon Pub operator J D Wetherspoon (LSE: JDW) is well-known for its cheap beer and spirits prices. Read many of its financial reports though, and it becomes clear that the company reckons those prices could be even lower were not for the…
Image source: Rolls-Royce plc One of the most stunning turnarounds among blue-chip UK shares in the past decade is what we have seen at Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR). The Rolls-Royce share price today stands 858% above five years ago. It had already been flying for several years by the start of 2025. But that momentum has continued, with the share price up by three quarters so far this year. Over a few weeks since the end of October though, the Rolls-Royce share price has tumbled 12%. Could that just be a blip? Or might it signal that the glory days have…