Traders were weighing several indicators this morning as they
consider which direction the market could be headed. The Thursday
jobless claims data continues to track better than we have seen in
quite a while. Retail sales were a bit of a mixed bag, though, as
we got a bunch of monthly sales updates this morning from numerous
retailers (as is the case very first Thursday of the month).
Before we look at the retailers, earnings results did make a
mark early on. A
solid beat, along with a dividend increase
, had shares of TD Bank (
TD
) moving higher. On the flipside, investors were a bit disappointed
with the earnings numbers from PetSmart (
PETM
) - stock did pull nicely off earlier lows (
report here
) and auction house Sotheby's (
BID
) (
more here
).
Looking at the winners and losers from this morning's retail
data, The Gap (
GPS
), The Buckle (
BKE
) and Abercrombie & Fitch (
ANF
) were seeing some investor interest, while shares of J.C. Penney (
JCP
) and Kohl's (
KSS
) lagged for much of the session.
Taking Ownership Means Being Able to Make Tough Choices
Like many New York Mets fans, I'm disgruntled with where the
team is headed in the wake of financial trouble surrounding current
Met owners, the Wilpon family. The family is embroiled in a mess
with none other than Bernie Madoff (a former family friend who was
investing large sums of money for the Wilpons). Some believe the
Wilpons were privy to the illegal going-ons with Madoff and his
firm.
The Wilpons' financial fortunes since the start of the
allegations have taken a turn for the worse, so much so that the
team spent the offseason cutting over $50 million in payroll. That
sort of sum is unheard of, especially for a major market team that
tends to spend whatever it takes to remain competitive. Met fans
are frustrated and the team is losing money, but the Wilpon family
has no intention on selling the team at this point (even after the
family has had to borrow money from Major League Baseball to pay
recent bills). Clearly, by refusing to acknowledge the financial
severity of the situation, the owners have put the franchise and
its fans in a terrible state.
There's a financial lesson to be learned here, namely: don't be
like the Mets. If you find yourself in financial trouble, it's best
to accept the hard facts and make tough decisions quickly. Whether
you are an owner of a company or simply the head of a household,
jeopardizing the future of those around you because you don't want
to admit how bad things are is nothing short of reckless.
Sometimes in life, you need to cut your losses and avoid doing
any long-term damage. From that point, you'll then have to solid
foundation to build upon. I understand the Wilpons have owned the
Mets for many years and don't want to sell the team, but if they
can't keep the team afloat, let alone put a competitive product on
the field, does their decision to hold on really make any
sense?
New MLP Report Just Released!
In
The Essentials of Investing in MLPs
, we outline the do's and don'ts of investing in high-yield Master
Limited Partnerships (MLPs). Our exclusive new MLP report outlines
everything you need to know about these popular high-yield
investments, including:
- Understanding their unique company structure
- What you absolutely need to know about their special tax
treatment
- Why MLPs may not be suitable for retirement accounts
- How to find the best high-yield partnerships
- …and much more!
Head to the
Dividend.com Premium
page to download this brand new report today!
25 Years of Dividend-Increasing Stocks
We recently updated our list of dividend stocks that have been
paying out dividends for 25 years or more. Be sure to check out
the latest list of names here
.
Dividends Really Matter
Financial blog DailyReckoning.com recently took a look at the
difference dividend payouts made in the overall return investors
saw throughout the prior decades. Here are some of the
highlights:
- The Nasdaq is down 28% since the end of 1999. Even the "blue
chip" S&P 500 stocks are down 15% during that time frame…until
you add back those "boring" dividends. With dividends included, the
S&P 500′s 15% loss flips to a 6% gain.
- Without dividends, the S&P 500 index would have produced a
loss for the 25 long years from August 1929 to August 1954. Then
again, without dividends, the S&P 500 produced a 5% loss during
the 13 years from September 1961 to September 1974. But with
dividends included, the S&P's loss became a 46% gain.
- Over the course of the last half-century, dividends have
contributed more than half of the stock market's total return -
56%, to be exact.
Of course, you can't discuss the potency of dividend investing
without making mention of how awesome compound returns are. I can't
stress enough the power of compound interest: you take a small
amount of money and turn it into a large amount over time. Finding
the right companies at the right price points which not only grow
earnings, but also grow their dividend payouts as well!
Year-to-Date Results Just Posted
Be sure to check out the year-to-date watchlist posts up on the
site today. You can see how well many of the dividend stocks we are
tracking have done through the first two months of 2012. As always,
you can find these and other members-only articles on
Dividend.com Premium Articles Page
.
Go Beyond This Newsletter
We know many of you enjoy reading the daily newsletter, but
remember that with our
Dividend.com Premium
service, the newsletter is just one small component of what we
offer. Here are the "Big Three" benefits of our Premium
service:
- The
Best Dividend Stocks List
is used by tens of thousands of investors to help build their own
portfolios.
- Creating your own
Watchlist
allows you to track the performance, news, and upcoming dividend
payouts of the particular stocks you care about.
- Finally, we offer the most complete and easy-to-use dividend
data on the web. Many subscribers use this data as part of a
"Dividend Capture" trading strategy, but long-term investors can
use it to keep track of impending payouts. Just visit our
Ex-Dividend Calendar
for a complete outlook on which companies will be paying out
soon.
We don't ask for a credit card to use our free trial, and we
don't bill you when your trial ends. No obligation whatsoever! So
keep enjoying the newsletter, but please give
Dividend.com Premium
a shot if you haven't already subscribed!
Thanks for reading, and 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
.