You’ll get income and a chance to ride the wave that usually comes at the end of the quarter, says Louis Navellier of Blue Chip Growth in this exclusive interview with MoneyShow.com. The Fed has dissenting votes now, and they are not all happy campers, but that low-interest-rate policy will obviously cause people to seek high-dividend stocks. That weakens the dollar, which will help inflate corporate profits more for the multinationals.

People can buy the high-dividend-yielding blue chips now. For the smaller-cap ones, you might want to wait until the retest. Volume is going to pick up after Labor Day, and by the end of September you are going to have a lot of buying on quarter-end window dressing. If you remember at the end of June in the second quarter, we had just nine incredible days.

Source: Money Show

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Summary only...

Ticonderoga Securities analyst Neil Herman points out in a research note this morning that the software giant has a history of increased its payout in September. He thinks the company “should and will” do the same thing following an upcoming September board meeting. Herman’s view is that the company should match the payout ratios of peers – a move that he says would involve more than doubling the current rate of 64 cents a share. The stock currently yields 2.5%. “We believe that a large dividend increase would be a major catalyst for the stock, particularly in these uncertain times,” he writes.

Herman explains that he compared the company’s operating cash flow and free cash flow to the company’s 12 largest dividend paying peers, and the net income payout of the 171 largest dividend paying companies. He writes, “If Microsoft were to match it peers on payout ratios, it would equate to a dividend yield increase to 6.0% from the current [2.5%], and include an approximate doubling of the company’s dividend. By doubling its dividend, Microsoft’s payout ratio would be close to the average of other large-cap companies.

Source: Forbes

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Summary only...

We have picked companies from diversified sectors like energy, financials, telecommunications and materials with high dividend yields of 5% to 22% and potential upside of 3% to 31% over the next 12 months. These companies posted strong results in the latest quarter and maximize returns to investors in the form of dividends and stock value. On average, these stocks have 52% buy rating and 46% hold rating. Cascading negative news during the past couple of weeks has alerted investors to exercise great caution with their equity investments. Subsequent to the S&P's downgrade of U.S. credit rating, investors sought safe-haven investments and seem to favor high-yielding Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), which are considered reliable income sources

Essentially, these REITs are not taxed on their income but are required to pay 90% of their taxable income in the form of dividends. Investors can look at these high-growth dividend stocks to navigate their portfolios though the current market volatility. As per data from Bloomberg, these stocks have recorded superior five-year dividend growth rates.

Source: The Street

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Dividend investing involves investing in stocks, mutual funds, or ETFs that pay dividends. Recently, I’ve started to move cash out of a savings account and into stocks that have really high dividend yields. The result is that I’m earning more than 5% just on dividends alone. Why have I made this change? Dismal interest rates.

Like any investment, investing in stocks that pay dividends is no sure thing. For example, a company may have a high dividend yield thanks to a low stock price that reflects a company on the decline. If earnings begin to dwindle, it’s very likely that the company will lower dividend payments. And in some extreme cases, my stop paying any dividends at all.

Source: Dough Roller

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Summary only...

Slow economic growth. Whipsawing volatility. In an environment like this, it is little wonder investors are piling into stocks with steady dividend payments. Mutual funds specializing in dividend stocks have seen inflows of $12.6 billion so far this year, four times as much as in all of 2010—even as stock funds as a whole have posted outflows of nearly $25 billion, according to fund tracker Lipper.

The best way to view dividends, say money managers, isn't as an end in themselves but rather as a means to other goals such as reducing volatility or boosting (but not turbocharging) income. Used smartly, dividend stocks can even generate returns that match the overall market—with beefier income streams. But investors shouldn't live on the div alone.

Source: Wall Street Journal

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Summary only...

Best Yielding Asian Stocks by Dividend Yield - Stock, Capital, Investment. The Asian and Pacific region is one of the global areas with the highest GDP growth followed by Africa. In accordance to the statistics of the International Monetary Fund, the region realized a real GDP growth of 7 percent, a value that is outperforming the world’s growth by 2.3 percent points and the growth of the Western Hemisphere by 4 percent.

I screened stocks from the Asian and Pacific region with a dividend yield of more than 3 percent and a market capitalization above USD 300 million. 135 stocks remained of which 9 are high yields (a yield of more than five percent) and 24 stocks have a yield of more than 3 percent. Here are my 3 most promising stocks from the screening results: Cninsure (CISG), Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) and PetroChina (PTR).

Source: Guru Focus

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Summary only...

All of the pundits talking up value and dividend stocks are, in my humble opinion, right. Even though three weeks ago most of them could only utter words such as LinkedIn (LNKD). That's ok, at least for now they may be touting the next great thing - dividend yields. The current market volatility has certainly stirred up some big yields.

All of the pundits talking up value and dividend stocks are, in my humble opinion, right. Even though three weeks ago most of them could only utter words such as LinkedIn (LNKD). That's ok, at least for now they may be touting the next great thing - dividend yields. The current market volatility has certainly stirred up some big yields.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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Summary only...

Many analysts are predicting a recession going forward. I don’t see it happening. How soon we forget: Just weeks ago you heard nothing of a recession, and now it is assured, according to the crowd. In my experience the crowd is usually wrong. There may be more volatility in front of us even with the more than 10% drop in the market recently; nevertheless, this may be a good point to start a position in these dividend-paying buying opportunities. As Warren Buffett says, “We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”

My dividend investing approach is based on constructing a portfolio of highly rated stocks with exceptional dividend yields that generate money throughout the year. Characteristically, dividend investing is popular among retirees and those who wish to live on their savings and are no longer able to work. One reason to invest in dividend-paying stocks now is due to the fact they will be the investment of choice to fund the retirement of many baby boomers, which will create enormous demand for these stocks.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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Summary only...

Best Yielding Dividend Aristocrats Shares by Dividend Yields - Stock, Capital, Investment. Stocks with a long dividend history are popular. If the company increased dividends for a long period too, there could no better investment for income investors.

One famous index that reflects consecutive dividend increasing is the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index. The index measures the performance of large cap, blue chip companies within the S&P 500 that have followed a policy of increasing dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years. 42 stocks are part of the index with a total market capitalization of roughly USD 1 trillion.

Source: Long-Term Investments

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Summary only...

The single biggest misconception about dividend investing is that rising or falling stock prices are directly linked to the dividend paid by a company. Investors, particularly those in retirement, are often pleasantly surprised to learn that even though stock prices might be falling their incomes from stock holdings are unchanged or even rising.

Clearing up the confusion is easy. Dividends are declared and paid by a company on a per share basis, not on a yield basis. For example, let's look at McDonalds (MCD). MCD currently pays a dividend per share of $2.44. At today's price of $85.61 per share, that $2.44 dividend equates to a current yield (dividend/price) of 2.8%. Whether the stock goes up down or sideways, the dividend will stay at $2.44 per share until the company changes it. In this case MCD has raised their dividend for the last 38 consecutive years.

Source: Rising Dividend Investing

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Summary only...

Many investors appreciate the pharmaceutical manufacturer industry for its potential to produce both income and long-term growth. Several large-cap drug makers offer above-average yields, and have records of growing their business and payouts over the long term. Additionally, historically many drug-makers have acted resiliently during previous economic downturns and recessions.

These companies are often considered defensive stocks. They still can go down, and most recently did, but many believe that this industry currently represents a strong long-term value. Also, several large pharmaceutical companies will continue to pay substantial dividends, benefit from emerging market growth and continue to develop new medical advancements. Further, medical price increases tend to outpace inflation.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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Summary only...

How does dividend yield impact stock movements in a downturn? Which dividend stocks best survive turbulent markets? To answer these and other related questions about performance in severe market downturns, stocks were screened and sorted based on their performances over the week-long downturn that lasted through August 9th, 2011. Over the course of this week, the S&P500 index dropped over 13.3% while the mean drop for a broader sample of 4541 equities was 10.1%, providing an opportunity to observe sector differences during extreme market drops.

These investigations found that the winning stocks featured primarily small caps, that utilities have proven to be the most resilient sector, and that the worst performing industry was Hotel/Motel REITs. Analysis of dividend stocks reveals no significant relationship between performance in the drop and dividend yield. Across all stocks, less than 2% of the variance in performance is accounted for by dividend yield.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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Summary only...

The rollercoaster stock market has investors running for shelter in the form of top-rated companies that pay high dividends or mutual funds that invest in them. All U.S. equity mutual fund categories have seen large outflows this year, except for so-called equity-income funds, which took in $11 billion through Aug. 10, Standard & Poor's said. Investors are piling into the safest stocks as the U.S. economy is slowing. Just today, Morgan Stanley lowered its forecast for global economic growth.

The firm's MarketScope Advisor unit recently highlighted its three top-rated "five-star" equity-income funds that are benefiting from those flows and suggests that "investors should follow suit" in their investment choices. Those funds are the $4 billion Columbia Dividend Income Fund(GSFTX), which has a yield of 2.36% and a loss of 3% this year; the $5.8 billion Vanguard Dividend Growth Fund(VDIGX_), which has a yield of 1.99% yield and a loss of 0.7%; and the $5.6 billion Vanguard Equity Income Fund(VEIPX_), which has a yield of 2.72% and a loss of 0.2%. The benchmark S&P 500 Index of U.S. stocks, in contrast, has fallen 4%.

Source: The Street

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Summary only...

Cheap Foreign High Yield Stocks by Dividend Yield - Stock, Capital, Investment. Topics of our time are Debt Crisis, Jobless Rate, Recession, Government Spending, Trade Deficit and QE by the Federal Reserve. These are themes that devaluate the U.S. dollar in the long-term. For investors it could make sense to escape from the country and allocate funds abroad in order to find new growth perspectives and to realize foreign capital gains.

I screened all high yield stocks (dividend yield of more than five percent) of U.S. listed companies with headquarter outside the United States. In order to limit the screening results, I decided to implement three additional pricing criterions. First, the stock should have a low forward price to earnings ratio (a value of less than 15). Second, the price to book ratio must be less than the current share price (a value below one) and finally, the price to sales ratio should be cheaper than one too.

Source: Dividend Yield - Stock, Capital, Investment

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Summary only...

Long-term investors often purchase stocks for their growth potential. Since capital appreciation is the goal, some stock-issuing companies reinvest their earnings in the company. The hope is that as they grow, they'll capture more market share, and the price of their stock will also increase. The reward for the investor is delayed, if it occurs at all. Other companies, such as Coca-Cola and General Electric, opt for instant gratification, paying part of their earnings—called dividends—to shareholders. Dividends are paid on a regular basis, often quarterly.

Why invest? There are several reasons to consider adding dividend-paying stocks to your portfolio:

• Dividend payers may provide supplemental income during retirement, for example. They offer another choice for potential income in addition to bonds and cash investments.
• Dividend-paying stocks have outperformed non-dividend paying stocks at times.
• Dividend income may help cushion your portfolio against stock market volatility.The prices of dividend-paying stocks have historically fluctuated less than non-dividend paying stocks. Considering an addition of these income-producing stocks to your portfolio could potentially help smooth the impact of market swings.
• A significant number of companies have increased dividends in recent years.

Source:  U.S. News and World Report

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Summary only...

The risk-off trade has not only focused attention on the bond market, but also dividend investing. Since dividends are often associated with defensive strategies, it is no surprise that the desire for income is getting more attention these days given the recent market volatility. “Economic uncertainty has helped to push bond yields and stock prices lower, to the point where dividend yields are now in excess of bond yields,” said Myles Zyblock, chief institutional strategist at RBC Capital Markets, highlighting the 10-year Government of Canada bond

This has only happened one other time in the past 30 years, near the depths of the financial crisis in 2008-2009. The income provided by dividend-paying stocks does tend to lower a portfolio’s performance variance, Mr. Zyblock told clients. However, he recommends a dividend-based approach in most environments as it has proven to be effective through a variety of market scenarios, over time, and across countries.

Source: Financial Post

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Summary only...

Newmont Mining (NEM) announced second quarter earnings last week of $1.06 per share against $0.78 per share in the second quarter of 2010. Revenue rose to $2.4 billion, up 11% from a year ago on the back of higher selling prices as year-over-year gold and copper production rose marginally. The shift into growth mode continues as two development properties were given the green light to move forward, Conga in Peru and Tanami Shaft in Australia.

On July 27, Newmont surprised investors by raising the quarterly dividend by 50% to 30 cents per share for the third quarter. Last quarter management hinted at a five cent increase according to the gold-price-linked dividend if the average sales price came in in the upper 1400s per ounce. According to the gold-price-linked dividend schedule, gold's move above $1,700 per ounce indicates a dividend increase of 10 cents to 40 cents per share.

Source: Thoughts from a Contrarian Investor

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Summary only...

Many investors own high dividend-yielding stocks not only for the income that they produce but because of the presumed defensive characteristics of these stocks. It is widely believed that a high divided yield essentially “protects” a stock against general market declines. This has historically been true, for the most part, in terms of relative performance. Indeed, during the recent market decline, although high-dividend yielding stocks have declined in value substantially in absolute terms, they have still outperformed the general market (SPY) handily.

However, there is reason to believe that if the current correction turns into a more intense sell-off, that high dividend yielding stocks in such traditionally defensive sectors as MLPs, income trusts and income-oriented closed-end funds could face a devastating collapse. Examples of some vulnerable stocks might be EEP, KMP, PGH, ERF, FOF and ZTR.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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Summary only...

This article discusses the potential for outsized returns through the reinvestment of monthly dividends for two companies – Armour Residential REIT (ARR) and Prospect Capital Corporation (PSEC).

Based on the current market price and monthly dividend amounts for ARR and PSEC, my calculations indicate that in a two-year time frame, one can increase the number of shares owned by 46% and 33%, respectively, with zero capital appreciation. Those numbers increase to 159% for ARR and 105% for PSEC when extending the time frame out to five years.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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Summary only...

Last week a remarkable event occurred. For the first time ever, the Fed stated it will force low interest rates for a very explicit time–two years. Prior statements have contained vague language about the time period, describing the time frame as “extended.” Suddenly dividend stocks are more attractive than ever now. The reasons are pretty obvious.

There are many stocks out there paying almost twice as much income as the ten-year U.S. treasury. Most of these dividend stocks are easier to analyze because they lack political complexity and rely mostly on traditional stock valuation disciplines. I also think companies have improved their financial operations greatly so that the dividends are sustainable, if not potentially increasing. Even if dividend stocks paid the same as treasuries, I still think stocks are a better play right now. Stocks have more capital appreciation upside with the extra bonus that many pay more than 2.25% dividend yield.

Source: Forbes

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Summary only...

David Tepper, the contrarian investor, is one of the most successful hedge fund managers on the street. His company Appaloosa Management was able to beat the market with a large margin almost every single year in the last decade. He earned a reputation by snapping up banking stocks when their shares were trading at the very bottom. This bold move returned a whopping 130% in 2009. His return in 2010 was also above 20%.

I noticed 7 high-dividend stocks in his portfolio. I have examined these dividend stocks from a fundamental perspective, adding my O-Metrix Grading System where applicable. They include: Pfizer (PFE), International Paper (IP), Microsoft (MSFT), Applied Materials (AMAT), Merck & Co. (MRK), KLA-Tencor (KLAC) and Medtronic (MDT).

Source: Seeking Alpha

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Summary only...

I recently had a conversation with a financial advisor who stressed the value of having a simple story when consulting individual investors. He noted that DCFs and detailed corporate analyses are great, but can you deliver a compelling rationale in understandable language to regular people? As I pondered his words, I thought of people like my parents, who really just need a dependable income stream and less of the volatility of recent weeks. Could I create an easy to follow system for the equity portion of their portfolio with a simple rationale to meet their needs? Here is my attempt.

To satisfy the stated requirements, I sought to identify large, well-known firms that consistently paid (and hopefully raised) dividends. These stocks provide more peace-of-mind as investors are familiar with the firms, their products, and their ability to keep paying dividends through good times and bad. The logical starting point was the Dividend Aristocrats (DA) list, as these S&P 500 firms have raised their dividends annually for 25+ years. They not only survived the turmoil of the last decade, they increased their payouts. That seems like a pretty simple, compelling reason for income-oriented investors to purchase them.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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Summary only...

Keefe, Bruyette and Woods says that regional banks with "compelling dividend yields" make for excellent "defensive ideas for a volatile market," in a report issued Friday. The regional bank names listed by KBW include "franchises [that] can justify higher valuations given the returns they generate above their cost of equity.

They also offer attractive dividends and "are in control of capital management decisions, as they are not subject to restrictions that come with certain forms of capital, such as federal bailout funds received through the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP.

Source: The Street

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Summary only...

In June, I invested my money equally in a selection of 10 high-yield dividend stocks. Those names offer triple the yield of the average S&P 500 stock. You can read all the details. Now let's check out the results so far. The portfolio is now outperforming the S&P 500 by 9.2% in its first few weeks. Even better, it's improved its total performance from last week, during one of the most brutal weeks this year.

Still, I'd prefer to see absolute and positive outperformance. I'm not particularly concerned about short-term fluctuations, though. This dividend portfolio is designed to do better when the market is performing poorly. In the meantime, we'll cash our dividend checks and wait for an opportunity to reinvest those proceeds. Both Seaspan and Frontier have taken the market downturn hard and could be attractive places to add reinvested dividends.

Source: Motley Fool

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Summary only...

Takeaway 1: The strong always survive. We may not have seen the last of the selling this time around. But the rule that stocks of solid, dividend paying companies always recover lost ground--as long as they stay strong--was demonstrated again during this week’s action. Remember, the important thing is always how your companies are doing and how well they’re supporting dividends. The rest is a side show, exciting but ultimately irrelevant to wealth building and garnering superior, safe current income.

Takeaway 6: The market volatility of the past week may indeed be winding down, if today’s action is any guide. But until the US economy really does accelerate, it’s bound to return from time to time. In the end, the action is likely to prove as ephemeral as this week’s turbulence appears to have become. But while it lasts, all too many investors will be at risk to making emotional and therefore potentially disastrous decisions with their money.

Source: Investing Daily

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Summary only...

For years, investors have jumped at the chance to buy dividend stocks. Now the market is giving you a chance to buy many of your favorites at bargain-basement prices -- and even though stocks are down again today, the bargains may not last for very long. It's been years since we've seen this much uncertainty in the financial markets.

Uncertainty may be bad for your current investments, but it's great if you have cash and are trying to figure out how to get into the market. Many have targeted dividend-paying stocks for their new investing money, as their combination of solid current income and good growth prospects -- combined with some defensive properties that help many of them hold up well during downturns -- is perfectly suited to the current market environment.

Source: Motley Fool

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Summary only...

When markets play the yo-yo game, investor confidence doesn’t have to follow suit. Of course that’s easier said than done. So what makes the difference between the investors like Warren Buffett -- who have nerves of steel -- and the ones who yell at the TV while watching CNBC? Simply stated, investors like Buffett don’t lose sleep at night, because they consistently focus on acquiring companies that hold strong fundamentals, and on doing so at opportunistic times. And that is something anyone can do.

The current ratio is a liquidity ratio that illustrates how easily a company can cover short-term obligations with current assets. A rule of thumb is that if a company has a current ratio of less than 1, then it can’t cover all its short-term obligations if they all come due at once. The net margin illustrates how much is retained in terms of profit relative to dollars earned. Higher margins give a firm more pricing flexibility and allow it to better weather an economic storm.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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Summary only...

When nearly every stock has fallen sharply in value, it may be hard to take comfort in any fundamental investment advice. What good does it do to "stay the course" when your retirement assets are vanishing in real time? Despite the market's loss of nearly a sixth of its value in only a few weeks, the stocks of companies with strong dividend records remain a relatively safe haven.

Market downturns spur a flight to safety by investors. Demand for U.S. treasury securities has risen, ironically, since Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. credit rating to AA+ from AAA. That's because few people feel there's a safer investment out there, despite what S&P says. Similarly, blue-chip stocks have held up better than other equities. While all stock indexes have plunged, the decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 big stocks has been smaller.

Source: U.S. News & World Report

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Summary only...

I am staying underweight in stocks, with an emphasis on higher-quality, larger-cap U.S. companies that pay solid dividends. I like the iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (ticker DVY), as it currently yields more than a 30-year U.S. Treasury. But I will not likely add more to existing stock positions unless the S&P 500 Index drops below 1,075. If this occurs, I would want to see whether price moves in copper, corporate bonds and Chinese stocks were exhibiting signs of recovery. If so, I'd feel more confident about putting new money into riskier asset classes, such as emerging-market stocks.

My clients typically hold 5 percent to 10 percent of their portfolios in gold bullion (via exchange-traded funds). If you do not own any gold, I recommend adding it gradually by investing in gold ETFs (i.e., GLD or IAU). Whatever strategic investment moves you decide to implement, be sure they are done within the confines of a diversified portfolio.

Source: The Sacramento Bee

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Investors probably get pretty tired of all the dill-ightful spice puns that show up in articles about seasoning giant McCormick (NYSE: MKC) , so I'm not going to waste time using them. Instead, I'm going to cut right to the chase: This dividend stock's excellent global growth will delight investors for years to come.

A strong company with an actionable strategy for growth, McCormick should be on every buy-and-hold investor's radar. Intense effort to expand overseas buoyed by a great dividend history make this stock a winning consideration for your portfolio.

Source: Motley Fool

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It's been an ugly few weeks on Wall Street. Stocks have fallen far and fast. But all the panic selling has created a sweet buying opportunity for some companies, according to investment experts. Stocks have tumbled 15% during the last month, and are down almost 20% from the year's highest level reached in April. The losses suffered during two of the last four trading sessions have been the worst since the 2008 financial crisis.

Following that slide, stocks are trading at a deep discount -- about 12 times forward earnings. Not only is that compelling on a historical basis, but it's also at a time when companies are delivering strong earnings and have a record amount of cash on their balance sheets, noted Doug Cote, chief market strategist at ING Investment Management.

Source: CNN

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When investors across the world panicked over the past couple weeks, Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE:BRK.A) Warren Buffett did what has made him a mega-billionaire — that is, he went on the hunt for bargains. In fact, he is not even convinced the U.S. is headed for a recession. OK, so what is Buffett buying?

He has not disclosed any positions. But we’ll get an idea when the next SEC filings are released. Yet it would be reasonable that Buffett has been adding to his existing holdings, especially those companies that are sporting strong dividends. Here are some possibilities: Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and General Electric (NYSE:GE).

Source: Investor Place

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I’m not here to teach you how to be a great investor. On the contrary, I’m here to tell you why very few of you can ever hope to achieve this status. It doesn’t matter how intelligent you are, how many books you’ve read or how good you are with numbers. The truth is that you may never be as good as you think.

This was a speech given by Mark Sellers of Sellers Capital to Harvard MBA student’s in 2007. It is a speech that helps to expose weaknesses and build on your strengths. You can read all the Berkshire letters you want, but when it comes to crunch time, the majority of people end up buying high and selling low. “You make your money during bear markets; you just don’t know it at the time.” – Shelby Cullom Davis

Source: Old School Value

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By its very nature, value investing tends to be at odds with timing strategies or "technical analysis" which attempts to discern the twists and turns of the market. There is the famous value investing mantra that "in the short term the market is a voting mechanism; in the long term the market is a weighing mechanism." However, the events of the last 12 years(the 2000-01 crash, the 2008-09 crash, the flash crash, and the last few weeks) make it almost impossible for an investor to ignore timing considerations. In an account with any kind of margin, a mistake in timing can lead to a wipe out. Even in unmargined accounts, enormous amounts of money can be gained or lost depending on the timing of purchases and sales.

The conservative approach is to focus on positions which are on the "it is irrelevant what other people think" end of the spectrum described above - bonds, preferred stocks, yield oriented stocks like BDCs, REITs, MLPs, and solid dividend paying blue chips. Of course, you should never exhaust your "dry powder" on one day or even in the course of one week or one month. But investors should have in mind a "nibble level" for stocks they are targeting and should start nibbling when the stock hits that level regardless of how bad it makes them feel.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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Amid the drumbeat of weak U.S. economic data and continuing European debt worries, global stock markets sold off in the week of Aug.1. Then came the U.S. credit downgrade from Standard & Poor's. The U.S. stock market dropped between 4-5% on Thursday, Aug. 4 alone. It continued to drop the following week, before dramatically bouncing back on Tuesday, Aug. 9th.

The good news is that I believe dividend-paying stocks are one of the best places to shop in a downturn. Don't get me wrong. Dividend payers aren't immune to downturns. And they aren't as stable as cash in a savings account. But the last time I looked, cash won't pay you 6%... 8%... or even 10% or more per year.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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In the United States, Monsanto Co., Leggett & Platt Inc. and Dover Corp., among many others, also hiked their dividends. This was the same week the U.S. government had its triple-A credit rating slashed, triggering a market bloodbath reminiscent of the 2008 financial crisis. What are investors to make of these seemingly contradictory events?

Two things: First, there are some serious problems in the global financial system that could put a dent in global growth and play havoc with stock prices. Second, the world is not coming to an end, a fact that was underlined by the market’s powerful rebound yesterday. As the recent spate of dividend hikes demonstrates, corporations are still making money and sharing the wealth with investors, a trend that will continue.

Source: Globe and Mail

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Dividend-based equity portfolios tend to perform better than others regardless of the economic environment, and are attractive amid the recent turbulence, Royal Bank of Canada’s Myles Zyblock said in a note today. Using dividend-paying stocks to raise portfolios’ income exposure could provide insulation during market volatility, Zyblock wrote in the note.

“We find dividend-based portfolios tend to outperform through time and across various macro environments,” Zyblock, who is based in Toronto and is RBC’s chief institutional strategist, said. “A strategy that offers a high return per unit of risk is something we can buy into, especially in today’s volatile market.”

Source: Bloomberg

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In times of panic such as the last few days, many investors start to panic, which makes it very difficult to see a clear picture. Are all stocks going to $0? Is everything about to blow up? After days when markets lost over 6%, such questions become more common. In times like these, some assets become mispriced, giving investors with a lot of cash reserves great opportunities.

The trickier part of course is trying to time the market and I would not even try. The market might decline another 5-10% and maybe even more but trying to buy at the bottom will require a lot of luck and most likely lead you to miss the opportunity. I personally prefer holding high quality dividend stocks that pay a higher dividend yield and hold a lot of cash than buying a 10-year government bond.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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“Buying opportunity” does not mean “back up the truck.” Never “double down” on a stock that sunk to what may seem to be a ridiculous value. Buying a stock because it’s “cheap” is no way to build wealth over the long term, and that’s the point of dividend investing. Other considerations--such as the relative weight of the particular stock in your overall portfolio, or the opportunity to use funds to further diversify into other sectors, regions or asset classes--are also important.

The US government, is as explicit terms as possible, said it would not default. Other credible agencies--Moody’s, which reiterated its AAA rating on the US, and Fitch--agree. In fact S&P itself has conceded that it doesn’t see a US default in the future. This is purely a symbolic act, more a statement on Washington gridlock than the health of the US economy and its ability to support public debt. And the latter is what the market is concerned with.

Source: Investing Daily

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At the end of last year, I chose three dividend stocks I thought would be solid performers for 2011. A little more than halfway through a bumpy 2011, we find that these three picks on the whole are beating the S&P and offering up bigger dividends while you wait. The three dividend stocks are...

Frontier Communications (NYSE: FTR ) , Altria (NYSE: MO ) , and Annaly Capital (NYSE: NLY ) . Each pays a huge yield, ranging from Altria's 6% to Annaly's 14.5%. I selected these fat dividend stocks because of their ability to lead to solid total returns over a long period of time.

Source: Motley Fool

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Ron Popeil is a closer. The greatest TV pitchman of all times never failed to get the sale, and without exception would pile on the selling points with the enticing line, "But wait, there's more!" In the end, he was unique and hard to resist. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said right now for the Wall Street consensus builders. Understandably shell-shocked and hunkered down in their caves, there is a uniformity - a conformity - to their post traumatic strategy that I find troubling and easy to resist. It goes something like this: "We like high quality, multi-nationals that pay good dividends."

Source: Yahoo Finance

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Ken Fisher is the author of seven money management books, three of which are New York Times bestsellers. He's been writing the Portfolio Strategy column for Forbes for more than 26 years, and he's the fourth-longest running columnist in Forbes' history. He is currently ranked #252 on the 2010 Forbes 400 list of richest Americans. He founded private investment firm Fisher Investments in 1979. He is also one of the fund managers we follow closely.

According to 13F filings, Fisher Asset Management has had at least 542 securities with a total value of $38.6 billion as of June 30th 2011. We compiled Ken Fisher's dividend stock picks at the end of June. We required a minimum dividend yield of 5% (market data is obtained from Finviz). Here are Fisher's favorite dividend stock picks: NOKIA CORP-SPON ADR (NOK),TELEFONICA SA-SPON ADR (TEF), BANCO SANTANDER SA-SPON ADR (STD), ISHARES IBOXX H/Y CORP BOND (HYG), SENIOR HOUSING PROP TRUST (SNH), CIA SIDERURGICA NACL (SID), CIA SIDERURGICA NACL (SID) ...

Source: Seeking Alpha

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When investors look towards Asia, they generally do so from a growth point of view. After all, the region's exploding populations, expanding middle classes and conservative government accounting is helping spur new infrastructure investment and creating the consumers of tomorrow. Overall, the continents long term promise is great and investors that capitalize on this growth will be rewarded. However, given the market's recent uncertainty and global sell-off, many investors are worried about that growth in the short term. Luckily, Asia is more than a one-trick pony.

Despite being viewed strictly as a capital gains engine for portfolios, Asia has historically been an income seekers dream. Asian equities have traditionally yielded between 75 to 100 basis points more than U.S. stocks. Currently, stocks of Asian companies outside of Japan have an average dividend yield of over 3%. What's more impressive is the dividend growth rates for these stocks. Data analyzed by Bloomberg found that Asian dividend growth outpaced both the United States and Europe on an annual basis.

Source: Investopedia

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With growth slowing, interest rates persistently low, inflation on the rise, many companies flush with cash, the economic recovery cycle in its later stages and the tax treatment of dividends still favorable, a strategy focusing on stocks with the potential of increasing dividends may be particularly timely for investors. Investors too often overlook the importance of dividends, particularly the contribution to total return from reinvested dividends. These also can provide significant inflation protection in the form of a growing stream of income.

Dividends contributed more than 44% of the total return of the S&P 500 from the start of 1986 to the end of 2010, according to research from T. Rowe Price Group Inc. Our approach to dividend growth investing involves seeking growth at a discount. We use fundamental research to identify companies that offer an attractive valuation, a sustainable competitive advantage, better-than-average returns on invested capital, and excess free cash flow. We prefer firms at an inflection point, where policies on returning capital to shareholders are changing.

Source: Investment News

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This industry is never going away. And even when the economy struggles, such as is the case now, stocks in this industry rarely disappoint investors. They provide consistent dividend payments at growing rates and can be great defensive plays.
I'm talking about waste management companies -- a reliable and profitable industry that has been meeting growing demand as population growth and consumption increases and recycling becomes an important practice.

Even during the worst recessions, people continue to produce waste, which must be collected and processed. In the United States alone, waste management is a $52 billion industry that's growing faster than the country's gross domestic product. Garbage-collecting companies benefit from reliable, annuity-like income streams, which are the result of multi-year contracts with customers that are service-based rather than volume-based. In addition, dividends are secured by generous cash flow, which are often two to three times greater than earnings.

Source: Street Authority

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While most people understand the current global debt crisis is a serious matter, many investors may still be thinking along these lines: 1. Companies are healthy right now, 2. Earnings are fine, 3. Dividend stocks do well in a bear market and 4. My investments are not directly impacted by government debt.

While there is some truth to the statements above, it is vitally important for investors to (a) remember the domino effects that occurred in the economy and financial markets during the mortgage and housing crisis, and (b) to have a specific risk management or "stop loss" strategy in place for all their investments.

Source: Safe Haven

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The beach is sparkling in the sun, the water looks inviting, and I’m sitting in front of a computer screen because Mr. Market is once again sliding into depression. But a little panic is invigorating because there are bargains to be had, and I’m on the hunt for a few good dividend stocks. Dividend payers can be attractive in downturns because they tend to be large, mature firms with fairly stable growth prospects that are unlikely to get washed away when the tide goes out.

Don’t get me wrong: They aren’t risk-free, and they may get banged up a bit in a real collapse. But you can only buy them at reasonable prices when the outlook is grim. Naturally enough, not every dividend stock will do. Experienced investors know that stocks sporting extraordinarily high yields deserve extra scrutiny because they can be risky.

Source: Globe and Mail

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Dividends today are not a guarantee of payments in the future. If a company is paying a 4% dividend yield today, and you want to keep receiving that yield in the future, be sure that the company meets certain criteria and has a positive outlook to keep funding its dividend. There are several things to consider:

- Is the company paying too much of their earnings out to shareholders?
- Is the company’s dividend yield too high?
- Is company debt under control?

Source: NASDAQ

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Are markets close to a bottom? Yes, says Meggan Walsh, portfolio manager of Invesco Diversified Dividend (LCEAX). She bases her view on an unusual event that occurred during the turmoil of the past week. After stocks hit a low, the dividend yield of the S&P 500 rose to 2.2%, a bit above the yield of 10-year Treasuries. In recent decades, stocks rarely have yielded more than Treasuries. The last time it happened was during the financial crisis. The S&P yielded more than Treasuries for a couple of days near the market trough, and then stocks went straight up, Walsh says.

Whether markets are cheap or rich, stocks haves nearly always yielded less than Treasuries. With stocks yielding 1.23% in 2000, 10-year Treasuries yielded 6.5%. In August 2010, the S&P dividend yield was around 1.80%, while Treasuries yielded about 2.7%. Investors have traditionally accepted the low dividends because they figured that stocks could deliver capital appreciation and outdo Treasuries over the long term. But during the recent selloff, investors lost confidence in stocks. That resulted in higher yields for stocks.

Source: The Street

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I don't know which is more impressive: That the town of Wichita Falls, Texas, has suffered 100-degree heat for 44 days straight, or that the Dow just came within inches of postings nine days of consecutive losses -- its longest losing streak in 33 years. You're probably more interested in the latter. And after stocks' pullback, and a flight-to-safety in Treasuries, the average Dow stock now yields more than 10-year bonds. History is kind to stocks when that situation occurs.

Does that mean markets are about to hit a big upswing? No. But it means a few high-quality stocks now deserve more of your attention. Here are five such candidates: 1. Waste Management (NYSE: WM), 2. Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), 3. Paychex (Nasdaq: PAYX), 4. Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and 5. Southern Company (NYSE: SO).

Source: Motley Fool

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With the stock market seemingly dropping almost every day lately, investors are concerned and perhaps have become overly negative. It is easy to lose sight of long term goals when the world seems to be full of problems, battling one crisis after another. It often appears that the challenges facing the global economy will never be resolved, but it is important to realize that the world has always had major challenges and economic problems.

Here are several reasons why it makes sense to remain positive on stocks and do some selective bargain hunting, perhaps in some of the names below: 1. The price of oil is dropping, 2. The markets were able to close above a key support level on the S & P index around 1249, 3. Stocks are at historically cheap levels, 4. Interest rates are extremely low and likely to stay low for the foreseeable future and 5. Many market gurus and analysts believe the markets are set to end the year higher.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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Last week, we looked at a retirement withdrawal strategy that crashed and burned for Mr. and Mrs. Growth. They were withdrawing from a $1,000,000 nest egg using the familiar 4% rule. That rule starts with a 4% withdrawal in Year 1 and then adds 3% each year to the withdrawal amount to keep up with inflation. It turned out that the growth in the Growth’s retirement assets just could not keep up with the compounding effect of that 3% per year inflation increment. Their average annual return also equaled 3%. They ran out of money in Year 25 of a 30-year plan.

For me personally, this is my takeaway: Don’t rely on a total return strategy and portfolio withdrawals to fund retirement. Don’t employ automatic inflation escalators in your withdrawals every year. How this method has gained dominance in the retirement industry is a mystery to me. The risks of failure, and fear of failure, are just so great.

Source: Seeking Alpha

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Look, I don't know whether the market has bottomed out or not after the mess our Congress has made of raising the debt ceiling. However, because my insatiable need for a solid dividend stream is still there, I am always on the lookout for strong earners. Sometimes my dividend-hunting strategy is as simple as running a stock screen with only three criteria: market cap over $2 billion, P/E between 5 and 20, and dividend yield over 8%. Not very sophisticated, I know, but I only use it as a start.

Using the screen this time, I came up with 16 companies that met my requirements, and from those I culled out just three: Annaly Capital Management (NLY), SeaDrill (SDRL) and Cellcom Israel (CEL).

Source: Daily Finance

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Amidst an overarching climate of uncertainty, John Buckingham of The Prudent Speculator sees a number of possible investing opportunities among the stocks that have performed the worst since July. While investors should remain cautious, Bucking urges his readers to keep their faith in equities.

“We’ve endured plenty of scary sell-offs in the 24+ years. Just last year, for example, stocks dropped 17% between April 23 and July 2, yet the S&P 500 still finished the year with a 15% total return. And who can forget the drama in March 2009 when the S&P 500 was in free fall, off 28% at its lowest point, only to end that tumultuous year with a 26% increase?” One reason to stick to stocks, particularly those that pay regular dividends, is the long-term returns of stocks relative to bonds. His Buckingham Portfolio boasts a dividend yield of 2.5%, which beats the 2.4% yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury.

Source: Business Insider

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