Over the course of a few years, Kody Brown has come up with a few outlandish ideas. He once convinced his entire family to leave their beloved cul-de-sac and move to Arizona. He also once tried to have his four wives agree to live in one big house out on Coyote Pass. Obviously, none of his grand ideas were really that great. Most recently the Sister Wives star had the idea to get his passport stamped, sharing he wanted to leave the United States and never look back.
Kody Brown is fed up with the family drama
It only took three seasons and three years for Kody to finally become fed up with the family drama. The 55-year-old has had to watch his life turn to ruins after three out of his four wives chose to leave him for greener pastures. Kody has since become bitter and intolerable. Now, he wants to be one of the many celebrities who move to Europe for a new start. In a recent Sister Wives episode, he admitted to his fourth and favorite wife, Robyn Brown, that he would like to “get away” from the feuding.
Kody told cameras, “I got an itch to move so bad, just to get away from the energy of it all. I got to get out of here because this isn’t going to work for me, because all the memory, all the energy of it.” The idea of moving seems nice, but Kody admits that it’s only a pipe dream since his younger children are still in school. “And here’s the stupid thing: I’ve got kids in college, kids in grade school, but I want to move to Europe,” he goes on. “I want to get away from this where I can’t see it or be bombarded by it or feel it anymore.”
Kody Brown wanting a change isn’t a bad idea
I think it is pretty normal for someone like Kody to want to start over. Even though he is not the most liked on Sister Wives he does deserve a chance to be happy. If Kody were to move to Europe, hopefully, he could learn how to be a bit more laid back. And if he moved as a monogamous man he would easily find a community that welcomed Robyn and their children. Heck, even Robyn might learn to relax in the countryside of France or the vineyards of Italy. The family could rebond over their shared trauma and leave the drama of Arizona behind them.
It’s not like anyone back home would miss them. Kody no longer speaks to most of his older children. Their years-long feuds have gone on long enough, leaving hurt feelings on both sides. Kody could distance himself from the ex-wives who cause him such grief and learn to be happy with what he has. Perhaps the best reason to move abroad is the fact that nobody would really have watched the TLC show. Kody, Robyn, and their children could live as normal people.
Kody Brown can’t just relocate to Europe
Sadly Kody can’t start his visa application just yet. He has way too many issues at home that he needs to iron out. Kody just sold his Arizona home for $1,775,000 and relocated to a bigger mansion in Flagstaff. The Browns also need to figure out Coyote Pass. Janelle Brown has made it clear she wants to be bought out of the property, but Kody keeps ignoring her requests. Sadly, you can’t leave your home country with problems like these in your backyard.
Kody’s main reason for wanting to leave is to get away from the memory of it all. But the first thing we learn as an adult is that we can’t run away from our problems. In reality, Kody should take the time to sort through the lava pit that is his feelings. If he talked to someone, he could understand why he has been feeling a certain way. We have all heard a bunch of Kody’s stupid ideas, but for once, I don’t think the thought of moving to Europe is a bad one. All he has to do is get his ducks in a row and he can then move on.
[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for All Creatures Great and Small Season 5 Episode 1, “To All our Boys.”]
Veterinarian Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) gave Skeldale’s housekeeper Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley) a look that would make you believe he’s in love with her in the All Creatures Great and Small Season 5 premiere on Sunday, January 12 on PBS. The episode marked a tonal shift for the series as it depicts the hardships of World War II, albeit it doesn’t completely abandon its warm nature. Everyone’s contributing to the war effort in 1941 Darrowby, and for Mrs. Hall, that means signing up to be blackout warden alongside the prickly Mr. Bosworth (Ted Lasso‘s Jeremy Swift).
Siegfried was nothing short of awestruck upon first sight of Audrey in uniform near the episode’s end (see above), and she was surprised by his response. He was thoroughly impressed by her decision to serve and told her not to worry about household duties as much while she’s committing herself to the cause. Some fans of the Masterpiece drama have long hoped that the widowed Siegfried and Audrey would get together, as they feel the characters have been flirting for a long time. What’s more, the inspiration for Siegfried’s character, veterinarian Donald Sinclair, was married to a woman named Audrey. Now that Mrs. Hall is single following her Season 4 split from fiancé Gerald (Will Thorp), will the show lean into this romantic possibility? The actors have said that their relationship gets more complicated in Season 5.
“The relationship with Mr. Farnon is so complex because there’s so many layers to it, in that he employs her in the house, as well as that they have a real fondness for each other, and they are very good friends to one another,” Madeley told Express around the show’s U.K. premiere in 2024. “You can see where there’d be potential there. Then with Gerald, he’s the first person that comes along that you really see in another way, helping Mrs. Hall out.”
West said that Siegfried will feel “protective” of Audrey this season as she carries out her warden duties (she’s the town’s first and only woman on that team, and Mr. Bosworth had to be convinced to let her on).
“I think Siegfried is caught up with ideas of protecting Mrs. Hall and being angered by Bosworth’s jobsworthing,” he said. “And he oversteps the mark in trying to protect somebody he would see as staff but also as a friend. My friend and companion and housekeeper is away doing important stuff that I’m not being asked to do. And he slightly feels like a spare part at a wedding.”
The actors have remained tightlipped about whether Siegfried and Audrey will get together.
“I think, ‘No comment’ is the only thing to say,” West said, per Hello!. As Madeley added, “I think we’ll remain enigmatic about that. That’s for you to be interested in.”
Swift told TV Insider that Mrs. Hall and Mr. Bosworth strike up some kind of relationship as they work together as blackout wardens. He didn’t say if it was romantic per se, but he didn’t rule out that possibility either. He did, however, reveal that Mr. Bosworth has “two or three fantastic squabbles” with Siegfried. Perhaps they’re fighting over Mrs. Hall, even if that’s a subconscious feeling?
Elsewhere in the episode, a medical issue forced James (Nicholas Ralph) out of his role as a pilot in a Royal Air Force bomber crew. The chronic illness was contracted in an earlier season and was something that James and wife Helen (Rachel Shenton) were concerned their infant son would contract. They never expected James to fall ill with it, and they definitely never imagined that it would get him discharged from the military. James didn’t want to go home at first; he was compelled to continue serving and leading his men, who were sent on a dangerous mission without him after his diagnosis and many of them didn’t survive. Eventually, he decided to return home to his family.
When it comes to Siegfried and Audrey, should the show go for it and bring this employer and employee together as a couple? Let us know your thoughts in the poll below.
All Creatures Great and Small, Sundays, 9/8c, PBS (check local listings at pbs.org)
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Spencer Rascoff co-founded Zillow. Austin Allison sold his company to Zillow for $125 million. Now they’ve teamed up to co-found Pacaso and transform the $1.3T vacation home market.
Pacaso’s streamlined digital marketplace is leading the co-ownership revolution, making luxury vacation homes accessible, fully utilized, and hassle-free. And the results speak for themselves: nearly $1 billion in transactions, 1,500+ happy homeowners, $100 million+ in gross profits, and impressive growth on their H1 2024 earnings, the company says.
With properties in 40 markets, Pacaso is using co-ownership to make luxury vacation homes accessible worldwide. And this is just the start. Even better – investors can join for just $2.70/share.
Next-generation co-ownership
Pacaso’s co-ownership model is powered by proprietary tech and an innovative structure that eliminates the headaches of traditional vacation home ownership. Here’s how it works:
Seamless transactions: Clients easily buy, finance, and resell shares of luxury homes through Pacaso’s intuitive platform.
Turnkey ownership: Pacaso handles maintenance, scheduling, and furnishing; owners simply enjoy their vacation homes.
Maximized value: Homes that once sat empty 90% of the year now stay occupied nearly year-round, benefiting owners and local economies.
Pacaso is leading the charge in the $1.3 trillion U.S. vacation home market, combining real estate innovation with tech-driven efficiency to generate multiple revenue streams. These include transaction service fees on every sale, recurring property management fees, and exclusive financing options tailored to co-owners.
The platform’s global reach is growing quickly, with recent market expansions in Paris and London. In fact, Pacaso’s first Paris property sold out so fast that they purchased a second – on the same street. Now, as they scale, Pacaso’s unique model is poised to dominate the vacation home segment.
Why investors are paying attention
There are many reasons top firms like SoftBank and Maveron have already backed Pacaso, including:
Proven leadership: Pacaso’s founding team helped grow Zillow to a $16 billion valuation.
Strong growth metrics: Nearly $1 billion in transactions, over $100 million in gross profits, and a 38% year-over-year increase in adjusted gross profit in H1 2024.
Surging demand: 40% of Americans want to buy a vacation home in the next year (Coldwell Banker), and co-ownership is growing 21% annually in the United States
And here’s the kicker: Pacaso is now accepting public investment in this co-ownership boom for just $2.70 a share.
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the main global producer of advanced chips used in artificial intelligence applications, is expected to report a 58% leap in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday because of surging demand.
The world’s largest contract chipmaker, whose customers include Apple (NASDAQ:) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:), has benefited from the megatrend towards AI. But the Taiwanese company faces headwinds from U.S. government technology restrictions on China and uncertainty about President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, which has threatened broad import tariffs.
TSMC is set to report a net profit of T$377.95 billion ($11.41 billion) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, according to a LSEG SmartEstimate drawn from 22 analysts. SmartEstimates give greater weighting to forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.
That estimate compares to the 2023 fourth-quarter net profit of T$238.7 billion.
TSMC last week reported a jump in fourth-quarter revenue in Taiwan dollars, comfortably beating market expectations. The company gives its revenue outlook in U.S. dollars on its quarterly earnings call, scheduled for 0600 GMT on Thursday.
Brett Simpson, Arete Research co-founder and senior analyst, said 2025 will be another year where TSMC’s growth is largely driven by AI customers.
“From the U.S. government perspective, Arete is optimistic that TSMC can build a good relationship with the new administration particularly given its new fab cluster in Arizona is the biggest foreign direct investment project in the U.S. at present,” he added.
TSMC is spending billions of dollars on new factories overseas, including $65 billion on three plants in the U.S. state of Arizona, though it says most manufacturing will remain in Taiwan.
Edward Chen, chairman of Fubon Financial’s securities investment unit, said progress on the Arizona fab and its yield rates, or the percentage of usable chips, would be crucial for the company.
“Additionally, the impact of tariffs to be imposed by the incoming Trump administration on demand remains to be seen,” he added.
TSMC, at its earnings call, will update its outlook for the current quarter as well as for the full year, including planned capital expenditure as it races to expand production.
On its last earnings call in October, TSMC said capital expenditure was likely to be higher in 2025 than last year, though it did not provide a figure.
On the call, it predicted 2024 capital expenditure as being slightly higher than $30 billion.
The AI boom has helped drive up the price of shares in Asia’s most valuable company, with TSMC’s Taipei-listed stock soaring 81% last year, compared with a 28.5% gain for the broader market.
The “Shark Tank” star is teaming up with Project Liberty founder Frank McCourt to purchase the platform’s US assets from its parent company, ByteDance, and “rebuild the platform in a way that prioritizes the privacy of its 170 million American users.”
TikTok is facing a potential ban due to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, a law signed by President Biden that passed in Congress last April with bipartisan approval.
“I want to work with him [McCourt] because he’s done far more work on the algorithm, and he lets me be part of this deal so that we can buy TikTok without buying the Chinese spyware” O’Leary told “The Big Money Show” Tuesday.
TikTok has faced controversy over it being a China-based company and for allegedly being used as spyware software for the Chinese Communist Party.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have warned about the potential national security threat TikTok allegedly poses via US phones.
Kevin O’Leary is partnering up with another investor in a bid to purchase TikTok from its parent company ByteDance. Fox Business
“The reason TikTok is about to get canceled in the United States is because of algorithms that let you spy,” O’Leary said, explaining how he and McCourt would restructure the platform so that users could decide whether to share their data with TikTok or not. Under their ownership, O’Leary argued, users that elected to share their data would get paid.
“If they do share it, and they want to monetize it, they get a piece of the advertising action. I think that’s fantastic,” he said. “We’re going to make this thing work the way the market wants it to work, and then we’re going to take it all around the world.”
If their bid to acquire the social media platform is successful, O’Leary explained how they would change the platform to better align with US interests.
O’Leary said he and Frank McCourt want to “rebuild the platform in a way that prioritizes the privacy of its 170 million American users.” Fox Business
Besides giving users ownership of their data and stripping out the “Chinese spyware”, the investor emphasized TikTok has the potential to grow from its current 170 million users to “past 200 million” by regaining user trust.
“We’ve got to get everybody back that doesn’t trust it, that wouldn’t put it on their phone. And the way to do that is to democratize it, allow people to invest beside us,” O’Leary said Friday on “Varney & Co,” on FOX Business.
“The third thing I think everybody’s going to find attractive, including Trump, is we’re going to open it so that it’s inter-operative. So if you’re posting on Truth Social or on X, click here to populate TikTok. Everybody would want to do that. And we would ask others, like Instagram and Meta, let’s do the same thing. Let’s share two ways,” he added.
The investor also said how he would look to get countries like India, Switzerland, France, Canada and Germany onto the platform after these changes were instituted.
“This thing will become the world’s largest television network in a matter of two years,” O’Leary said about TikTok’s growth potential.
O’Leary and McCourt’s bid will be impacted by the Supreme Court’s much anticipated ruling on the law to ban the platform unless it is divested and then ByteDance’s willingness to do so if their hand is forced before the deadline.
TikTok is set to be banned from US app stores on Jan. 19. REUTERS
The high court heard oral arguments on Friday in a fast-tracked case ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House. A final decision is expected before Inauguration Day.
O’Leary explained how a Supreme Court decision to uphold the ban would be “good news” for their bid.
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“What that means is that the company goes into a binary decision as to whether to let it be shut down midnight on the 19th or engage with a buyer,” he told “America Reports” Friday on Fox News. “Now, you may be aware that we have put an offer – I think we’re the only syndicate formed that gave a viable offer last night – to ByteDance, and they may want to start considering it because there’s $30 to $40 billion worth of American shareholder’s value tied up there. And if the Supreme leader [Chinese President Xi Jinping] wishes to, we can just shut it off as they did in India and that capital gets erased. And of course, that’s not good for future capital raising.”
O’Leary argued his and McCourt’s ambitious plans for TikTok heavily rely on Xi Jinping.
“I think the only person that matters in this deal is the Supreme leader, who’s got to decide. All Chinese companies are controlled by him,” he said.
O’Leary went on to explain how China wants to be considered a “destination” for capital, explaining that every country needs it to grow their economy, even those in adversarial positions with the U.S. like China.
“They’re competing for the largest economy status. So if you want to be a big boy and you want to play in international markets, you don’t wipe out shareholder money. It’s not just U.S. shareholders. Every sovereign wealth fund around the world, many of them have huge investments in ByteDance,” he said.
“But it won’t be my decision or Frank McCourt’s decision. The two of us have put our syndicate out there. We’ve made the offer. Every single American shareholder has our offer. They know it. And this is really up for ByteDance to decide.”
O’Leary stressed that he thinks ByteDance should give their offer serious consideration after their free speech argument in court “fell on deaf ears.”
“We’ll make it very free speech. We’ll make it way better and we’ll make sure we abide by the order of the courts. This is the right path,” he said.
Twenty-three years after the 9/11 attacks on NYC, new US intelligence documents reveal 234 “rehabbed” former Gitmo detainees have returned to terrorism and killing Americans — an alarming 32% recidivism rate. Most of them have not been recaptured and are still at large.
Nonetheless, lame-duck President Biden is quietly freeing more of these high-risk terrorist suspects from the Guantanamo Bay prison, all to fulfill his old boss Barack Obama’s pledge to permanently close the facility in Cuba.
Shortly after taking office, Biden reversed President Trump’s executive order to keep Gitmo open and is lining up more inmates to transfer out of the prison with the goal of emptying it and shuttering it — even though the remaining prisoners have long been classified by military intelligence as the worst of the worst and too dangerous to release.
Earlier this month, the outgoing president freed 11 Yemeni prisoners — all of them al-Qaeda terrorists, including two of Osama bin Laden’s bodyguards — leaving the number of remaining detainees at 15. He sent them to Oman, where we are told they’ll be monitored, rehabilitated and go on to live peaceful lives.
However, some of Oman’s counterterrorism programs “were postponed or canceled” after the COVID-19 pandemic, and “Oman’s iniatives to counter violent extremism remained opaque in 2023,” according to the State Department’s latest country report. It also stated that Oman has “limited resources” and needs to “improve its CT (counterterrorism) capabilities.”
The control tower is seen through the razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. AP
What’s more, Oman’s remote, uncontrolled borders with Saudi Arabia and Yemen present additional “obstacles for counterterrorism,” the report warned.
One of the bin Laden bodyguards released by Biden — Sana Ali Yislam al-Kazimi — was a “facilitator for the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch,” according to a declassified military dossier, and could slip back into his old role across the border.
Just six months ago, Oman abandoned 28 other Gitmo terrorists it promised to reform under an agreement with Obama. Oman stripped them of citizenship and shipped them across the border to Yemen, a known terrorist redoubt.
Gouled Hassan Dourad, a Somali prisoner, planned attacks in Djibouti and Ethiopia.Ismael Ali Faraj Ali Bakush, aka Ismael Ali Bakush, was a fighter for the Taliban and al Qaeda. DoDZayn al-Ibidin, a senior Osama bin Laden lieutenant involved in the planning of 9/11, was captured in Pakistan in 2002.
Perhaps it needed to make room for Biden’s 11 new parolees, who include unrepentant al-Qaida operative Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, who’s tied to 9/11 planners and lusted for watching footage of the attacks while incarcerated and required “robust security assurances” from Oman.
Or more likely, officials in Muscat viewed them as an internal terror threat and wanted to get rid of them rather than “reintegrate” them into their society.
“Anyone who thinks they’ll be rehabbed simply doesn’t want to look at past incidents of detainees returning to the fight,” said ret. Army Lt. Col. Brian F. Sullivan, a former FAA special agent who specialized in counterterrorism.
Once al Qaeda’s third in command, Mustafa Faraj Muhammad Masud al-Jadid al-Uzaybi aka al-Libbi, plotted plane hijackings and the assassination of Pakistan’s president.Guantanamo Bay detainee Muhammad Rahim al Afghani, one of Osama bin Laden’s top aides and translators. via CAGE InternationalKhalid Sheikh Mohammed was the architect of the 9/11 attacks. He has agreed to a controversial plea deal that gives him life in prison but not the death penalty. AP
But Biden isn’t finished. Three other Gitmo fiends have been cleared for release — including an “explosives expert who trained al-Qaeda members and provided operational support to key al-Qaida figures” and “a key member of the al-Qaeda network in Somalia,” according to Gitmo parole board documents reviewed by The Post.
And three more are eligible for review by the parole board, including Abu Zubaydah, “one of Osama Bin Laden’s most trusted facilitators,” according to his Gitmo dossier. Congress would have to be notified 30 days in advance of Zubaydah’s release, giving Republicans time to raise objections.
Encep Nurjaman, an Indonesian head of al Qaeda in Southeast Asia, where he plotted the Bali nightclub bombing of 2002.Walid Bin Attash worked as bodyguard for Osama bin Laden and helped with USS Cole attack.
These “forever” detainees have been charged in the military court system. Biden wants to move them out, as well, but a law blocks their transfer to US prisons. Trump has vowed to keep Gitmo open.
Biden is hellbent on clearing out the cells despite being fully briefed by his intelligence agencies that one in three released detainees have gone back to fighting against America — and some have actually managed to kill more Americans.
“Based on trends identified during the past 20 years, we assess that some detainees currently at GTMO will seek to reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities after they are transferred,” a recent US intelligence report warned.
Mustafa-al-Hawsawi, a Saudi Arabian who provided financial and travel support to the 9/11 hijackers. via International Red CrossRamzi-bin-al-Shibh was supposed to be one of the 9/11 hijackers, but was rejected for a visa to the US. He helped facilitate the attacks.
According to the June 2024 declassified report by the Office of National Intelligence, a total of 234 of the 733 detainees released from Gitmo have reengaged in terrorist activities, including conducting and planning attacks and recruiting and funding terrorists. That’s a re-offense rate of 31.9%. (The share would be even higher if US intelligence included engagement in anti-US statements or propaganda in its definition of “terrorist activities.”)
Detainees have appealed to the Biden administration through their bleeding-heart pro-bono defense lawyers to ensure their release. They argue their bloodthirsty clients have reformed their violent ways thanks to “yoga classes” and other touchy-feely prison activities and just want to return home to help their sick moms or run their family shops.
Several terrorists have told the exact same sob story to the review board, as The Post has previously reported. But since those stories were exposed, the Pentagon has removed the detainees’ written submissions and hearing transcripts from the review board website. It claims they aren’t posted “at the request of the detainee,” but those materials have now been removed from all detainee files.
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi Arabian who plotted the bombing of the USS Cole.Ammar al-Baluchi, nephew of the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, he helped hide and transferred the money needed for 9/11. via International Red Cross
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin assured that each of the released detainees “underwent a thorough review,” yet the public is now blind to that process.
Even more stunning: The administration admits that resettling terrorists in Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan hasn’t stopped them from returning to their violent ways. According to the 2024 ODNI report, “Former GTMO detainees routinely communicate with members of terrorist organizations.”
“Some detainees determined to reengage have and will do so regardless of any transfer conditions,” the report adds.
Ali Hamza al-Bahlul was convicted in 2008 of performing media relations for Osama bin Laden and providing material support for terrorism. Was sentenced to life in prison.Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi commanded Al-Qaeda’s army, and served as the terror group’s accountant. As part of a plea deal, he will be held in prison until 2032.
Gitmo inmates previously repatriated in Afghanistan are now under the care of the Taliban, who reclaimed control of Kabul in late 2021 (thanks to Biden’s disastrous troop withdrawal) and are once again sheltering al-Qaeda leaders, who no doubt have reunited with those Gitmo alumni and are plotting a 9/11 encore.
“The men Joe is sending to Oman will be no different,” said ret. Army Capt. Sam Faddis, a former CIA operations officer who served in the Middle East. “We will see them again soon on the battlefield.”
He added: “Given the open-border policies of the Biden administration and the extent of our penetration by terrorist networks, that battlefield may be right here at home.”
Paul Sperry is a senior reporter for RealClearInvestigations and author of the bestseller “Infiltration.” Follow him on X: @paulsperry_
When looking at the meagre share price returns of the FTSE 100, it may be tempting to ignore the index altogether. Why bother with it in an ISA when all the really sexy returns are being generated in New York?
However, overlooking the Footsie in favour of higher potential returns elsewhere can be a mistake. For proof, consider these three blue-chip shares. Five grand invested in each of them just two years ago would now be worth around £55,000 in total!
Rolls
The star of the show has been Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR). Since the start of 2023, shares of the iconic engine maker have soared 520% higher!
That was when CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç took the helm. Since then, international travel has bounced back and there’s been a significant rise in defence spending. Rolls’ profit margins and balance sheet have improved massively.
Looking ahead, the company forecasts underlying operating profit of £2.5bn-£2.8bn by 2027, up from an expected £2.1bn-£2.3bn last year.
However, the stock now trades at 27 times this year’s forecast earnings, which isn’t cheap. It suggests to me that much of the anticipated growth is priced in.
Therefore, if earnings come in light — because of ongoing supply chain issues, for example — then the stock could fall sharply.
M&S
Perhaps surprisingly, the next stock is Marks and Spencer Group (LSE: MKS). Shares of the posh supermarket are up by a whopping 178% since January 2023.
I don’t follow M&S too closely, but clearly I should, since it returned to the FTSE 100 in mid-2023. The reinvigorated company has achieved market share gains across clothing and food categories for four consecutive years.
On 23 December, it recorded its biggest ever day of food trading, while its online joint venture with Ocado is now delivering a record number of orders per week.
However, one risk worth noting here is the recent rise in the National Insurance and minimum wage announced in the UK Budget. To preserve profits, M&S may be forced to pass these higher costs on to customers. This might prevent it taking more market share in the ultra-competitive supermarket industry.
IHG
Finally, shares of InterContinental Hotels Group (LSE: IHG) have been on fire, surging 111% in the past two years to sit just off an all-time high.
Like Rolls, IHG has enjoyed a strong recovery in travel since the pandemic. It owns a diverse range of brands, including Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and InterContinental (luxury).
In Q2, global revenue per available room (RevPAR) grew 3.2%, then ticked up another 1.5% in Q3. Impressively, the latter was achieved despite a 10.5% drop in RevPAR in Greater China. This highlights the strength and quality of the firm’s diverse global portfolio.
After its two-year doubling, the stock is trading at 24 times this year’s forecast earnings. That valuation doesn’t leave much room for error if, say, weakness in China spreads to the Americas and Europe.
Foolish takeaway
Admittedly, there was an element of cherry-picking here. Yet all three shares are well-known blue-chips, not obscure names.
Moreover, 3i Group stock (up 172%) actually did better than IHG, as did International Consolidated AirlinesGroup (up 148%).
So this proves that there are likely plenty of wealth-building UK stocks about, just waiting to be found.
Passive income’s often linked to side hustles or far-fetched schemes like solar farm leasing. But I know a much simpler, more accessible way to generate it – one that actually works and fits the definition perfectly. It’s passive because it requires little effort, and it’s income because it starts flowing almost immediately.
I’m talking about investing in FTSE 100 companies with regular earnings, loyal customers, proven business models and a history of paying high and rising dividends.
FTSE 100 companies work for me
This isn’t risk-free. Share prices can fluctuate and dividends aren’t guaranteed. But I offset these risks by diversifying across a spread of companies.
An investor with £10,000 – or even just £500 – can make a great start. Dividends should begin rolling in soon and, given time, compound to grow further.
My calculations suggest £10,000 in UK blue-chips could eventually yield more than £400 annually in passive income.
But there’s a catch. This won’t happen overnight. Investing is a long-term process. While the effort’s minimal after the initial stock selection, patience is essential.
Did I mention the income’s tax-free? By using a Stocks and Shares ISA, there’s no income tax on dividends and no capital gains tax on share price growth for life.
Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.
Even the most reliable UK companies carry risks. Profits can decline, competitors can disrupt markets and regulations can shift. To manage this, a wise investor might split £10k evenly across five shares, known as diversification.
I avoid chasing the highest-yielding shares blindly. For example, telecoms giant Vodafone offered a tempting 10% yield, but its dividend will be cut in half shortly.
By contrast, FTSE 100-listed Imperial Brands (LSE: IMB) has a trailing yield of 5.88% and this looks more sustainable. A £2,000 investment in Imperial Brands would have delivered £118 in dividends. That’s just in the first year.
Imperial Brands has a mighty dividend
Reinvesting those dividends buys more shares, creating a virtuous cycle of compounding growth. Imperial Brands also rewards investors with share buybacks. On 8 October, it announced plans to repurchase up to £1.25bn of shares by October 2025.
Even better, its share price has risen 40% in the past year, delivering capital growth alongside dividends. However, there’s risk. Smoking’s a declining business. While smokeless alternatives could help, they might face regulatory hurdles too.
I personally avoid tobacco stocks, but if I didn’t then Imperial Brands would be on my shopping list.
Let’s say an investor built a diversified portfolio of dividend growth stocks delivering an average total return of 8% annually, including reinvested dividends. In the first year, their £10,000 investment would generate £800.
Over 30 years, that £10k could grow to £100,626, assuming the same 8% average compound growth. At that point, withdrawing 5% annually would yield £420 a month.
The earlier an investor taps into the income, the less they’ll earn. But the longer they stay invested, the greater the rewards. And with minimal effort.
Sometimes people have to accept that we don’t always make the best investment decisions. Therefore, I thought I’d turn to ChatGPT and ask it to name the top growth stock in the S&P 500.
Which one is generative AI’s favourite?
The generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool initially gave me a list of six companies from the index. Technology giantNvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) was the first name on the list. Surprise, surprise.
The other names were Amazon, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, defence company Axon Enterprise, and cybersecurity firm Fortinet.
”Can you narrow it down to one company?” I next asked it. Nvidia was the answer.
The reason given was the company’s domination of the graphics processing unit (GPU) market and leadership in the AI revolution. It touched on the tech giant’s expensive valuation, but thought this was justified because of the company’s strong growth and outlook.
In all truthfulness, this didn’t enlighten me. The points it provided were very basic and generic, so, I was somewhat disappointed.
My thoughts on Nvidia
I agree that Nvidia is a great company. Its growth frankly astounds me. Revenue is set to rise by a staggering 112% in FY25. It’s then expected to rise by 52% in FY26.
Achieving this level of growth as a small company is difficult. However, it’s particularly exciting to see the company turn $27bn of sales in 2023 into an expected $196bn by 2026. For a blue-chip stock, this is seriously impressive.
The success is also feeding into its bottom line. In the last quarter, earnings increased by 168% year on year.
For this reason, the stock price has risen by 859% since the start of 2023, leading many to believe Nvidia stock is expensive. However, I disagree with this notion. I actually believe its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 32.8 is cheap for the firm.
Nvidia’s GPUs are becoming a cornerstone in the AI sector. It also looks likely to dominate the AI arms race with growth rates that are far superior than the already strong compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37% for the industry.
One concern I do have about the company is potential Trump tariffs. If materials to produce its products become more expensive because of these, it could have a very detrimental impact on the company’s earnings.
My qualms with ChatGPT
I want to finish this article by saying that while I understand why it chose Nvidia as its top choice, I’m disappointed that it missed out Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) from its initial list.
The company was the biggest winner in the S&P 500 in 2024, with its shares rising by 341%. This is because it’s also experiencing accelerated growth from the rise of AI.
However, maybe the generative AI tool had its reason. For a company with a market cap of $155bn, Palantir’s trailing 12-month revenue of $2.6bn is concerning. Any weakness could send the stock price falling. For example, an insider sold $36m of Palantir stock a few days ago (7 January), which prompted an 8% share price drop.
Regardless, I don’t think ChatGPT provided me much use in my quest to find the best growth stock in the S&P 500. I believe it’s still better for an investor to do their own thorough research instead of using AI for stock-picking purposes.
Week in Review: Carey Mulligan fronts Prada spring 2025 campaign, Vivienne Westwood Couture Bridal 2025 collection, and H&M Wellness Edit.
Vivienne Westwood Couture’s 2025 bridal collection turns wedding dresses into art, showcasing a line between fashion and sculpture. Meanwhile, Carey Mulligan brings drama to the Prada spring 2025 campaign where she transforms into fresh looks.
On a softer note, H&M’s Wellness Edit embraces serene styles and muted tones for athleisure wear. Kendall Jenner partners with Adanola to spotlight versatile activewear that suits both workouts and casual days.
Deva Cassel takes the spotlight in the Dior Makeup spring 2025 campaign. Photo: Dior Beauty
Alessandra Ambrosio stuns on the cover of Vogue Brazil, bringing her signature bombshell appeal to a chic beach setting. Deva Cassel, in Dior Makeup’s spring 2025 ad, dazzles with shimmering looks that embrace pastel shades.
Tod’s pre-spring 2025 campaign delivers effortless luxury with images captured in Sicily, Italy. Iman captivates in a striking V Magazine editorial, proving her enduring influence in fashion.
Vittoria Ceretti stars in Chanel Makeup’s spring 2025 campaign. Photo: Chanel
Chanel’s spring 2025 makeup line celebrates vibrant colors and fresh looks. Charlize Theron embodies flawless elegance in the Dior Capture skincare campaign.
