Panicky investors reacted negatively to the Federal Reserve's
headline comments yesterday, but may have missed the part where the
Fed said they're ready to act as needed if growth slows. Don't get
me wrong, a pullback here is not a bad thing for dividend investors
as we would like to see better entry points for our
favorite dividend names
anyhow.
Looking at today's market movers, it was safe to say most of the
names we were monitoring traded in the red for much of the day.
Monsanto (
MON
)
reported earnings this morning
and closed down. Wall Street analyst downgrades helped push stocks
like IBM Corp (
IBM
), Tim Horton's (
THI
), and McDonald's (
MCD
) lower. Bucking the downtrend were shares of Brown-Forman (
BF-B
) and Joy Global (
JOY
), with both stocks seeing positive comments from analyst
upgrades.
Student Loan Debt: You Won't Believe These Stats
The Washington Post recently ran a story highlighting the age
demographics of Americans carrying student loan debt. It's no
surprise to see nearly two-thirds of the total debt is held by
those in the 20-39 year-old age range. Where things get scary is
when you see 16% plus of student debt held in the 40-49 year-old
age range, 11% of debt held by those in the 50-59 year-old range,
and 4% plus of debt held by Americans in their 60′s. $36 billion in
student loan dollars are outstanding for
Americans over 60
! This type of personal debt can be a scary thing for people in
this age group, since it's normally the time folks planned to have
little or no debt.
So, how do so many older Americans owe so much in student loans?
They likely either picked a career path early in life that didn't
work out as well on the salary standpoint, or decided to go back to
school to re-tool their skills in their 40′s. The hope, of course,
is to invest in a career that will eventually pay enough to wipe
away the loan debt relatively quickly.
I have been beating the drum loudly in my newsletter that
parents (and grandparents) need to get their children on some sort
of precise path regarding career options. The last thing any of us
want is to see sky-high piles of debt for the younger generation,
with little employment prospects after they do graduate.
Restoring the Magic
Starbucks (
SBUX
) has seen its fortunes turn around after bringing back CEO Howard
Schultz to fix new issues the company faced as they grew
globally.
Mr. Schultz decided to fine-tune processes like using a serrated
internal ring inside a pitcher to guide a barista in how much milk
should be used, instead of pouring excess steamed milk down the
drain. This one move saved the company millions of dollars a year,
believe it or not. We all have the ability to mimic these sorts of
cost-control measures in our own lives if we just take the time to
examine how much money we may be flushing away needlessly.
The fixes are often right in front of our eyes, from cutting
back on certain indulgences or changing priorities on how we
allocate funds. Money is great to have, but it needs a purpose.
Spending money on yourself to enjoy the finer things in life isn't
a bad thing, but I suggest you make a pact with yourself, for
example, to invest $2 for every $1 you spend on personal wants. I
wouldn't mind seeing that ratio even higher from an investment
standpoint, but it's a start to getting back on a reasonable road
to building wealth - all the while enjoying life in the
interim.
An Important Note Regarding the Best Dividend Stocks List
We want to make sure everyone understands that the stocks on our
Best Dividend Stocks List
are the names we currently like for new investor capital,
regardless of what date the stock was first recommended on. If and
when a stock is removed from the list, we will clearly state
whether the stock should be sold (which is rare but occasionally
will happen), or simply held in one's account until we see a better
entry point or catalyst.
And here's one last thing to remember about what we do here at
Dividend.com: it's not just the names that we recommend that can
help you build wealth, but also the things we try to steer you away
from that are just as important. Forget about speculative or penny
stocks, chasing unprofitable IPOs, and listening to the manic
talking heads in the business media!
Our
Beat The Markets with Dividend Stocks
eBook Has Arrived!
We just debuted our brand new 275-page eBook, exclusively on
Dividend.com! In this digital-only book, we look ahead to 2012 and
the main factors that could affect dividend investors. A $39.95
value, the eBook is a
free download
for paid
Dividend.com Premium
subscribers.
Beat The Markets with Dividend Stocks
contains a full economic forecast for 2012, including in-depth
analysis on 65 of the biggest dividend stocks out there. It's a
great way to get prepared for your investing next year! So head
over to the
Dividend.com Premium homepage
now to download your copy.
A Dividend Capture Strategy for Active Investors
We now offer complete U.S. dividend data for all
Dividend.com Premium
members, so anyone that focuses on "Dividend Capture" trading
strategies should have plenty of good stuff to research each day.
Just check our enhanced
Ex-Dividend Calendar
, which is the best in the business, to search for upcoming
payouts.
Speaking of dividend capture, Dividend.com Premium members can
also access a 9-page report we published on the essential elements
to any successful dividend capture strategy. Be sure to check it
out here on the
Premium homepage
.
Thanks for reading everybody. I'll see you tomorrow!
Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the
Best Dividend Stocks
, as well as a detailed explanation of
our ratings system here
.