It’s a fact that stocks go in and out of fashion over the years. This is mostly based on the performance of the company, with even the most promising of firms sometimes falling out of investor favour over time. I’ve spotted one FTSE 100 stock that used to be the talk of the town back in 2020 that I think could be on the edge of making a comeback. A gem from 2020 I’m referring to the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (LSE:SMT). The trust is a collection of stocks that’s picked by the fund manager, Baillie Gifford. Impressively, the stock is up 25% over the past year. Before we get on to what ..read more

Every month I invest in the stock market in a bid to increase my passive income. I try to find dividend shares that I think are well-placed to increase their payouts in the years ahead. Naturally, not all stocks I consider will win me over. Quite the opposite, in fact. Here are two dividend-paying UK shares that I’m avoiding like the plague right now. A FTSE 100 wealth-shredder Right now, the dividend yield of BT Group (LSE: BT.A) is 7.4%. On paper, that looks enticing. However, a quick glance at the history of the payout tells me I should exercise extreme caution. Financial year Dividend ..read more

The FTSE 100 — known as the Footsie — is the UK’s leading stock market index. It tracks the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange‘s main market. Individual share prices within this elite index move up and down, sometimes dramatically. Thus, every quarter, the FTSE 100 and other UK indexes undergo rebalancing. Promotions and relegations These index quarterly reviews resemble promotions and relegation in football, such as season-end movements between the English Premier League and the Championship division. In the previous quarterly review in March, one booming FTSE 250 shar ..read more

A second income and a second job do not have to go hand in hand. If I wanted to earn some extra money on a regular basis without working more hours, one approach could be investing in shares I expect to pay me dividends for owning them. As an example, if I had a spare £20K, I would put it in a Stocks and Shares ISA and invest it like this to target a £2K second income annually after just two years. By the way, the same approach could work with a lot less than £20K too, though if I invested less money my likely income would fall proportionately. Aiming for a target Let’s start with the end in ..read more

Currently above £28, the Shell (LSE:SHEL) share price trades within a few percentage points of a record high. The oil and gas giant is the FTSE 100 index’s largest company measured by market cap, valued at a whopping £182.4bn today. However, Shell’s days as a FTSE 100 stock could be numbered. In recent days, Chief Executive Wael Sawan has mentioned the idea of abandoning a London Stock Exchange listing in favour of New York. So, why might the firm consider such a move and what might the implications be for its share price? Let’s explore. Valuation concerns The primary motivation behind a Shel ..read more

The BP (LSE:BP) share price continues to perform well this year, having reclaimed much of its Covid losses over the past four years. In fact, it’s climbed from a low of £1.96 in late 2022 to £5.12 today.  That’s an annualised return of almost 32% per year. I can’t think of many other FTSE 100 stocks with that kind of return (except maybe Rolls-Royce, with an incredible 95% annualised return in the same period!) How’s the wider industry looking? Let’s be honest, oil companies haven’t had the best of luck lately. From climate protests and zero-emission targets to supply issues and conflict ..read more

As an investor, I’ve noticed that businesses with a leading market share are often good investments. For this reason, I’ve followed Tesco (LSE: TSCO) shares closely, even when the business went through a difficult patch a few years ago. The UK’s largest supermarket accounts for more than £1 in every £4 spent on groceries in the UK. Shareholders receive a slice of this spending each year through regular dividends. Tesco paid out £778m of cash to shareholders last year. This amount’s set to increase to around £850m this year, thanks to an 11% dividend increase, announced with the company’s rec ..read more

Owning shares in companies that distribute their earnings as dividends can be a great way of creating a second income. And I think the UK has some terrific choices for investors with this aim. Unilever (LSE:ULVR) is a good example. In my view, an impressive track record, a strong competitive position, and a promising outlook make it well worth considering for income investors. Dividends Unilever has a pretty good history when it comes to paying dividends to shareholders. That’s no accident – the firm operates in an area that’s less cyclical than most. Unilever dividend per share 2004-24 Crea ..read more

The idea of artificial intelligence (AI) is nothing new. British mathematician Alan Turing was discussing the concept of machine intelligence in 1950. But what’s new is the subcategory of generative AI, whose rapid growth shows no sign of slowing. And believe it or not, some FTSE 100 shares give exposure to the trend. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, generative AI is poised to become a $1.3trn market by 2032 as it boosts sales for hardware, software, and services. So, let’s take a look at three different ways I could invest in this revolutionary technology via the FTSE 100. Data companies ..read more

Having largely covered every valuable dividend stock in the UK market, I decided to see what’s happening across the pond. US stocks on average don’t appear to pay as high dividends as the UK, with a stronger focus on growth.  However, I’ve uncovered three US stocks that could secure investors decent value via dividends in 2024. AbbVie AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) is a pharmaceutical giant in the US and the largest company on this list with a $292bn market cap. In addition to being a good dividend payer, it’s a powerful growth stock, up 110% in the past five years. Its growth could be affected fro ..read more