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[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Shares in companies that pay dividends to investors can be a great source of passive income. But not all of them are the same and there are a few different approaches available.  Investors aiming for a particular target – for example, £1,000 a month – can choose between a few different strategies. And they all have different strengths and weaknesses. High yields One approach involves focusing on companies with high dividend yields. In some cases – Legal & General being a good example – this can be as high as 8%.  The basic strategy is…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Shares in Associated British Foods (LSE:ABF) were down 13% on Thursday (8 January) as the FTSE 100 firm issued a weak trading update. And this is getting to be a familiar story for investors. The company has been considering separating out Primark – its largest business. But results had better start improving before it gets around to doing that. Weak sales Primark accounts for almost half of the ABF’s total sales. So investors are justifiably interested in how the business is doing and a key measure of this is like-for-like sales growth. The company is…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Greggs (LSE:GRG) shares have fallen 36% over the last year. But the stock has been volatile and investors who bought low have historically seen the price rising. The share price fell another 7% on Thursday (8 January) after an underwhelming trading update. But is this the new normal for the company or a buying opportunity for investors? Results Greggs recorded revenues 7.4% higher than the previous year during the last three months of 2025, with like-for-like sales up 2.9%. And there are reasons to be positive about this. One is that it’s a sign things…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images For most London-based workers, £3,580 per month in passive income would mean they could quit their job and retire early. And that’s no arbitrary figure – it’s based on estimates that the average London salary is around £43,000 a year. But how much would an investor need to pile into their Stocks and Shares ISA to earn £43k a year? Well, if they wanted to do it in one lump sum, they’d need about £682,539. That’s based on an annual return of 6.3% — the FTSE 100 average for the past 20 years (dividends included).…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Even after delivering its strongest return since 2009, the FTSE 100 is still home to a long list of high-yielding income stocks for investors to capitalise on. And among these stands Phoenix Group Holdings (LSE:PHNX) – an evolving insurance giant paying 7.36% in dividends today. That’s more than double the 2.96% offered by its parent index. And looking at its current share price, investing just £500 is enough to buy roughly 67 shares, unlocking a £36.65 passive income in the process. So is this a screaming buy in January? The bull case Higher interest rates…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images We’re only just over a week into 2026, and penny stock First Tin‘s (LSE:1SN) shares have already surged by 30%! The young tin mining enterprise has been enjoying several structural tailwinds in recent months, sparking a lot of momentum that’s continued into 2026 as the firm’s flagship projects inch closer towards commercial production. In just the last six months, the stock ‘s more than doubled. Yet according to one analyst, this could be just the tip of the iceberg, with another 50%+ surge right around the corner. So is this a screaming buy for growth…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images The hunt for good income shares in 2026 is already on. Yet, when trying to make a good second income, it’s not just about which stock has the highest dividend yield. That yield also needs to be sustainable and have a good track record. With a lot of factors at play, I turned to ChatGPT to see if it could offer any wisdom in this regard. Revealing the pick Interestingly, the AI chatbot decided to make a pick from across the pond in the US. It chose Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) as the most reliable…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images The Barclays (LSE:BARC) share price rose 78% last year. Clearly that’s a huge return. The stock’s actually up 214% over two years. I certainly wish I didn’t have to reduce my position when I bought my house two years ago. Either way, it’s been an incredibly successful investment for me, with the majority of my holding picked up during the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) fiasco. So what’s the forecast for 2026? Could it happen again? A dose of reality Barclays trades around 11.3 times forward earnings with this figure falling to 9.2 times for 2026.…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Anyone who had the foresight (or luck) to buy Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) shares at any point since 2019 should be a happy bunny. The Lloyds share price has soared following its collapse during 2020’s Covid-19 crisis. But after such strong growth over five or six years, surely the future looks less bright for Lloyds shareholders? Here are my thoughts… Lovely Lloyds shares I remember the stock market crash of 2020 extremely well, as I’d just returned to writing for The Motley Fool just as the market hit rock bottom in March 2020. From…

[ad_1] Image source: Getty Images Historically, investing in the stock market has been one of the best ways of building wealth over time. And it isn’t really showing any signs of slowing down at the moment.  Over the last 12 months, the FTSE 100 has generated a return of over 20%. The long-term average is more like 8% – so could you earn this by investing in the stock market? No guarantees The stock market’s record of outperforming cash and bonds over long periods of time is outstanding. It has been extremely consistent in generating better returns for investors. There…