We are seeing the standard pause today around the all-important
psychological Dow 10K level.
The market is making due with what will be a light volume week,
with the Labor Day holiday coming up this weekend. We traded just
under 3 billion shares on the NYSE yesterday - that's 30-40% less
than the average volume we've been seeing over the past month.
Although, we did see a pick up today, with trading getting closer
to the recent daily average.
Looking at today's action, commodity stocks tried once again
taking the leadership role, with Peabody Energy (
BTU
) , Freeport McMoran (
FCX
) , and Cliffs Natural Resources (
CLF
) all closing higher. Gold prices picked up the pace again,
approaching new 52-week highs. Mining companies such as Newmont
Mining (
NEM
) and Goldcorp (
GG
) led the charge. When sellers popped up late, shares of Mastercard
(
MA
) , Monsanto (
MON
) , and Broadcom (
BRCM
) all saw buyers ringing the register.
Interesting data out yesterday from the Commerce Department
talked about the savings rate falling in July. Experts are painting
the drop as perhaps a build in confidence once again for the
consumer. It could be more or less a seasonal factor, with vacation
time and back to school shopping causing a dent. Washington likes
to interpret the data as a good thing, but everyone knows that the
time has come for people to take charge of their own finances.
Repeating the care-free spending habits is not a good thing,
although the economy needs to get the motor started somehow.
We need to look at other ways to get the economy going that
involve innovation and building our own goods in a competitive way.
I know it sounds simple, but there are many things that are out of
balance when it comes to company profits and how much money they
need to make. How hard is it for a company to manufacture a pair of
jeans that sell for $150, for around $30, and not manufacture them
overseas just to make an extra $15? This is just one example of
trying to ideally bring more jobs back home. The problem is trying
to balance out a solution without getting Washington any more
involved in the corporate side than it is already (banks, auto,
mortgage, etc.)
I don't have any easy answers, but I can tell you that every
individual needs to take it upon themselves to plan their own
retirement and not leave it up to the hands of others entirely
(i.e. Social Security). Getting started by investing in quality
dividend-paying stocks is a great way to build supplemental income
to whatever other plans you may hopefully have in place. I just
know for many today, there are little to no plans in place, so the
key is to start right away.
As always, our current dividend picks can be found on our
industry-leading
Best Dividend Stocks
list. 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
.