The markets weren't enthralled early on by this morning's
commentary from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, who once
again repeated the Fed is prepared to take whatever means possible
to keep the economy from coming off the tracks. However that early
concern faded by midday as the likelihood of further bailouts were
back on the table.
As for stock-related headlines, earnings were driving some of
the action as well. Some names not faring as well included
transport play J.B. Hunt (
JBHT
), State Street Corp (
STT
), and uniform provider Cintas Corp (
CTAS
). On the flipside, there were some earnings plays bucking the
early selling, including Mattel (
MAT
), M&T Bank (
MTB
), Coca-Cola (
KO
), and Mosaic (
MOS
), which announced a doubling of their annual dividend payout.
Again, Mosaic is in the commodity space (fertilizer play) so the
dividend payouts can be much more volatile and not as consistent as
other sectors we follow.
Check Your Time Frame Gauge
Whenever the market sprinkles in a bit of volatility (which is
more often than we like), investors tend to get panicky.
Unfortunately, even seasoned dividend investors fall prey to the
effects of big intraday moves.
When it comes to making money over the long-term, the "instant
results" generation is at a huge disadvantage. Thanks to the
mainstream business media, most of the focus today is on checking
your financial scoreboard several times per day. As a result, many
modern market watchers are more like gamblers than real investors.
It's gotten to the point where most people will simply ask "What
did the market do today?" to get a gauge on their current wealth
status.
It is not surprising to see the occasional free trial user of
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time and time again, the vast majority of all short-term traders
lose money.
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So if you or someone you know is frequently caught up in the
manic daily market headlines, take a step back. Remember that
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the stock market. As long as you stay the course and put money to
work consistently, you'll outperform nearly every short-term trader
over the long term.
Income, Income, Income
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of heightened volatility. We want to make sure we have only the
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Best Dividend Stocks List
. Also, if we see the market putting in what looks like a decent
bottom, we will be prepared to scale up the list of stocks we like.
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