Image source: Getty Images Three months ago, the FTSE 100 index hit an all-time high on 3 March. It then eased back, before plunging steeply in April after President Trump announced hefty tariffs on US imports. However, after Trump backed down, the stock market raced back up and is now within 1.2% of its peak. Two FTSE 100 flops However, some Footsie stocks have fared much worse than others over the last six months. By my reckoning, 36 FTSE 100 shares have lost value in the past half-year, with declines ranging from 0.6% to 35.7%. Also, my family portfolio owns…
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Image source: Getty Images Real estate investment trusts (REITs) can be effective ways to target a large and growing passive income over time. Like any dividend share, the levels of income they pay are linked to the amount of earnings generated. However, REIT obligations state they must pay a minimum of 90% of annual profits in dividends in exchange for tax breaks. So investors often enjoy better income visibility with these assets. Here are two top investment trusts that have grabbed my attention today. As well as offering that security, they also have the sort of dividend yields that suggest…
Image source: Getty Images Now trading at 294p per share, B&M European Value Retail (LSE:BME) shares have lost 46% of their value over the past year. In that time, the discount retailer has tumbled out of the FTSE 100 and into the FTSE 250 share index. B&M’s struggled badly in what’s been a tough time for UK consumers, resulting in the resignation of its then-chief executive in April and a steady stream of profit warnings since last year. The retailer slumped again yesterday (4 June) after a chilly market response to its full-year trading numbers. As a long-term investor, though,…
Nasdaq RigaPress releaseNasdaq Welcomes Primostar Group to the Baltic First North MarketTallinn/Riga/Vilnius, Nasdaq Baltic Market, June 5, 2025 – Nasdaq (NDAQ)announces that shares of Primostar Group (ticker: PRIMO) have been admitted totrading on the Nasdaq Baltic First North Market as of today. Primostar Group isan Estonian company specializing in the construction of below-gradewaterproofing concrete structures.The listing of Primostar Group shares follows the initial public offering toEstonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian investors. The base amount of the offeringwas EUR 1 million. The demand for the shares was approximately EUR 367,000, anda total of 290 investors subscribed to the shares.“Primostar Group is a company…
EUR/GBP steadies around 0.8420 in Thursday’s early European session.The ECB is expected to trim interest rates by 25 bps on Thursday, bringing its deposit facility rate to 2.0%.The UK is temporarily spared from Trump’s 50% steel tariffs. The EUR/GBP cross trades on a flat note near 0.8420 during the early European session on Thursday. Traders prefer to wait on the sidelines ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate decision later on Thursday. Tuesday’s Eurozone Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) inflation figures increased the chance that the ECB will cut the interest rates in the June meeting. This, in turn, could…
Image source: Getty Images I don’t usually take risks when picking stocks for my passive income portfolio. I prefer the safety of reliable FTSE 100 dividend stocks with long payment track records. However, in the run-up to Christmas, I noticed an opportunity in a mid-sized £337m company that might benefit from the holidays: Card Factory (LSE: CARD). The stock isn’t in the FTSE 250 yet but I think it’s well on its way to joining the mid-cap index. Festive cheer As the name suggests, the company sells personalised cards, party accessories and gifts, including balloons, napkins, wedding decor, mugs, chocolates,…
Image source: BT Group plc BT‘s (LSE:BT.A) shares have enjoyed robust gains over the last 12 months. Yet things aren’t quite as cheery when analysing the telecoms giant’s performance over the longer term. At 174.7p per share, BT’s share price is down 60.9% from the 446.7p it was trading at 10 years ago. This means that £10,000 invested in the FTSE 100 company back then would now be worth roughly £3,911. In better news, the stock’s long-term investors have received a steady stream of dividends in that time. These have totalled 99.12p per share, which means the total return on…
An aerial view shows a farmer driving a tractor through the barren peach tree orchard at the Gregg … More Farms in Concord, Georgia, on July 12, 2023, after Pike County’s peach crop failed to survive the frost and frigid temperatures that hit the area in mid to late March. From a distance, everything seems normal. Well-aligned peach trees, whose green leaves stir in the wind, near a pretty little American farm. But the winter was abnormally mild, causing the peach blossoms to hatch early in the season. Then in March, temperatures dropped below zero, far too cold for the…
Picture: A worker in the steel and metal industry/Generic By REGINALD KANYANE 5 June 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition said it has engaged stakeholders from the steel industry on the progress made in implementing the Steel and Metal Fabrication Master Plan. The committee said this stakeholder engagement follows its meeting with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), which was held on 6 May 2025, to ascertain the progress made in implementing the Steel and Metal Fabrication Master Plan, as part of its oversight function. The Chairperson of the Committee, Mzwandile Masina said they…
Image source: Getty Images Unless you own shares in Babcock International Group (LSE:BAB), the FTSE 100 defence stock, the news over the past few days has been very depressing. On Monday (2 June), at the launch of the government’s strategic defence review, the Prime Minister promised to make Britain “battle-ready” and the Defence Secretary talked of a “new era of threat”. And if that wasn’t enough, ahead of the defence review’s launch, Sky News was simulating a Russian attack on the UK. A silver lining But so far this week, Babcock’s share price has soared 12%. Not surprisingly, the prospect…