Image source: Getty Images Gold’s on fire at the moment and charging towards the $3,000 per ounce mark. As a result, many gold mining stocks are doing well. Is it worth buying a few of these stocks for my Stocks and Shares ISA or Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)? Let’s discuss. The advantage of investing in gold stocks When the price of gold is rising, as it is now, gold mining companies can be great investments. That’s because they’re essentially a leveraged play on the precious metal. Often, rising gold prices can lead to a sharp increase in profitability for these…
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Image source: Getty Images A bit like the Grand Old Duke of York in the nursery rhyme, the HSBC (LSE:HSBA) share price was up and down in early trading today (19 February). At first, it was up nearly 1%. But then it fell 1.5%, before recovering again. It’s almost as though investors were unsure what to make of the bank’s 2024 results. But the headline figures look good to me. Beating expectations For the year ended 31 December 2024, it reported a profit after tax of $25bn, an increase of $440m (1.8%) on 2023. This includes some notable one-off items,…
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 13, 2025.Danielle DeVries | CNBCStock futures were little changed early Wednesday after a winning session for stocks.Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 38 points, hovering just above the flatline. S&P futures and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.09% and 0.13%, respectively.In after-hours trading, data center company Arista Networks slid 4% even though its quarterly earnings and revenue, as well as its guidance, exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. Shares of Bumble fell about 18% on disappointing first-quarter guidance, while homebuilder Toll Brothers slipped nearly 5% on an…
Image source: Getty Images The FTSE 100 index isn’t known for its technology stocks. But things are starting to change. Today, there are two tech companies in the index’s top 10 constituents. Here’s I’m lookng at one of them. The company in focus today is London Stock Exchange Group (LSE: LSEG), or ‘LSEG’ for short. With a market cap of approximately £65bn, it’s currently the 9th-largest business in the Footsie. Given its past history (as a stock exchange operator), this company is often still viewed as a financial firm. However today, it’s far more of a technology business. You see,…
Image source: Getty Images Defence stocks are hot right now. It’s easy to see why – currently geopolitical uncertainty is sky-high. Looking for stocks to buy in this area of the market? I think it’s worth considering the HANetf Future of Defence ETF (LSE: NATO) – which provides exposure to a range of different companies. Outperforming BAE Systems shares I bought this ETF for my own portfolio back in November, shortly after Donald Trump won the US election. And I’m not regretting it. Already, I’m sitting on a gain of 16.5% (after trading fees). That’s a great return in a…
Image source: National Grid plc National Grid (LSE: NG) shares paid a dividend last year of 58.52p. On the current share price of £9.44, this means a yield of 6.2%. So, investors considering a £9,000 stake in the multinational electricity and gas utility giant would make £558 in first-year dividends. After 10 years on the same average yield this would increase to £5,580. And after 30 years on the same basis it would rise to £16,740. Crucially though, by reinvesting the dividends back into the stock – known as ‘dividend compounding’ – vastly more could be made. By doing this…
Image source: Getty Images Earning a second income from investments can be a great feeling. And even for someone starting from scratch, the stock market can be a great place to look for opportunities. When it comes to passive income, an obvious thing to pay attention to is the dividend yield a stock comes with. But that’s not the only thing investors should be considering. Long-term growth Consumables distribution firm Bunzl‘s (LSE:BNZL) a good example. The stock currently comes with a 2% dividend yield, which is below inflation and below the Bank of England’s base rate. This however, misses an…
Image source: Getty Images Warren Buffett is the epitome of a smart and cautious investor. When building his company Berkshire Hathaway, he seldom took risks or shortcuts, rather focusing on slow and steady growth. While this style of investing might be boring, it’s proven to work for many people over the years. His time-tested principles emphasise the importance of value investing, understanding intrinsic value, and maintaining a long-term perspective — especially when markets seem overbought. The FTSE 100 recently clocked a new all-high above 8,807 points, bringing year-to-date gains up to 6%. That’s almost a third of all the gains…
Bank of Japan (BoJ) Board Member Hajime Takata is back on the wires this Wednesday, saying that he “won’t comment on Japanese government bond (JGB) yield levels.” Additional quotes Long-term interest rates moving in line with state of Japan’s economy. Real interest rates remain negative. Still not at stage to debate sale of the BoJ’s ETF holdings. How to unload BoJ’s ETF holdings is something the BoJ must take time to deliberate. The BoJ abandoned YCC so must allow markets to determine yield levels, though we also need to be vigilant to any sharp rise in market volatility. We look at…
Image source: Getty Images BT Group (LSE: BT.A) shares have divided the investment world for years. Many shareholders seeking dividend income have been happy to sit back and take the cash. Others have been scared off by a 70% share price fall over 10 years. But BT shares have been reasonably stable over the past five years. A bit volatile, but an overall 7.6% drop compared to five years of dividend yields around 5% and above doesn’t seem too bad. And in the past 12 months, BT has been setting the scene for a comeback. In that time, the share…