Image source: Getty Images Compound returns from FTSE 100 stocks have proved to be a powerful way to build up passive income. And using a Stocks and Shares ISA means there’s no tax to pay on the gains when you finally take it out. In the past decade, Stocks and Shares ISAs have produced an average annual 9.6%. It’s been a relatively good spell, with FTSE 100 returns averaging 6.9% over the past 20 years. Those are the kind of returns that could build up to a very decent retirement sum. Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual…
Author: user
The UK remains the land of undervalued stocks, in my opinion. There are numerous solid businesses trading at cheap-as-chips valuations, especially smaller ones. Here, I want to highlight a stock example, quite literally. But first, I must warn readers that things are now going to turn gloomy… Depressing backdrop That’s because today (28 July), insolvency expert Begbies Traynor (LSE: BEG) released its latest quarterly (Q2) Red Flag Alert report. And it made for grim reading. According to this, nearly 50,000 UK businesses were in “critical” financial distress. That figure was up 21.4% from a year ago. Worryingly, every single one…
There is an uncomfortable truth every investor must confront: your capital is never truly safe. The twin threats to long-term wealth are inflation and stock market crashes. Preserving and growing capital requires balancing these two major risks. The Million Dollar Question Imagine receiving $1 million today, along with the responsibility to safeguard and grow it over the next decade. Your primary goal: preserve its real value — and ideally increase it. As a careful steward, how would you allocate this capital? At first glance, the answer seems straightforward: keep it safe, perhaps in a savings account. But on closer inspection,…
The Fed’s interest rate decisions impact mortgages, but the relationship isn’t straightforward. Tharon Green/CNETIf you tracked the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions last year, you might have been puzzled: The Fed’s three interest rate cuts didn’t bring about lower mortgage rates. In fact, the average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan has hovered around 6.8% for the past several months. The Fed’s interest rate decisions don’t have a direct or immediate effect on home loan rates. Often, what the central bank says about its future plans can move the market more than its actual rate changes. On Wednesday, the Fed is…
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has rolled out its first Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard (FINZ). This framework offers banks, asset managers, insurers, and investors a clear path to aligning their portfolio activities—including lending, underwriting, and investments—with net‑zero emissions by 2050. The FINZ standard sets clear rules on: Portfolio emissions Fossil fuel finance Deforestation risk, and Reporting It aims to transform how the finance industry aligns with global climate goals and steers clean capital flows. Why the New Standard Matters to Climate and Finance Financial institutions are hugely influential. Their financed emissions—the greenhouse gases tied to the companies they finance—are…
Bengaluru: In its first carbon credit initiative, NABARD has launched a pilot project in Karnataka, to generate carbon credits through biomass management and border tree plantations.The project was rolled out by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Consultancy Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NABARD, in collaboration with Karnataka horticulture and forest departments and funded by Rabo Bank, a multinational banking and financial services company from the Netherlands.The move is aimed at helping farmers grow crops that guzzle greenhouse gases, earn carbon removal units through biomass management and tree plantations. The pilot project involves 3,500 mango farmers in Koppal…
The European Union (EU) and China have made headlines with their latest joint climate statement ahead of COP30. While the agreement emphasizes clean energy and green technology, it stops short of committing to reducing coal use—a decision that has left many environmental groups concerned. Still, the partnership reflects a shift in global climate diplomacy, especially with U.S. leadership appearing uncertain. Let’s break down the statement, its implications, and the key challenges ahead. Clean Tech, Not Coal Cuts: What the Climate Statement Promised At the EU-China Summit in Beijing on July 24, 2025, leaders from both sides released a joint press…
The Times has closed its Money Mentor section but says it is relaunching its personal finance offering instead. The Times launched Money Mentor in December 2019 as a free, in-front of the paywall site designed to “demystify finance” and make it “less complex and daunting” for readers. Its Couch to £5k newsletter, a six-week series aimed at helping people build up their savings, was named best financial newsletter at the Publisher Newsletter Awards in June. The brand was also shortlisted for its four-week Pension Power-Up series. The section’s webpage now reads: “Times Money Mentor is no longer operational, but you…
Image source: The Motley Fool Warren Buffett announced his pending retirement on 3 May. And since then, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) stock has fallen 10% — while the S&P 500 rose 12%. Has the company really lost its long-term Buffett premium? With a forecast price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 24, it’s now valued no more highly than the index average. And if we adjust for the more than $330bn in cash — around a third of its market cap — the P/E of the investment business itself looks like only around 16. If there’s anything investors really don’t like it’s uncertainty. And…
Financial ExpressIndia ramps up rare earth strategy; eyes Australia, Argentina, Brazil and Chile for supplies: ReportAmid rising global concerns over China’s dominance in rare earth magnets, India is ramping up efforts to diversify supply chains by exploring partnerships….1 month ago Source link