According to data just released from Standard & Poor's
Case-Shiller this morning, U.S. home prices fell in January from a
month earlier, hitting new multi-year lows. The average home price
has now fallen back to 2003 levels - nearly a decade ago.
Meanwhile, the market tried to do its best to ignore the
continuing negative real estate data news. Earnings results from
the likes of McCormick & Co. (
MKC
) (
more here
), Lennar (
LEN
) (
report here
), and Walgreen (
WAG
) (
read more
), had those shares ending the day in positive territory.
Elsewhere, investors bid up shares of Pfizer (
PFE
) (
read more
) on an analyst sum-of-the-parts call. As the markets pulled back
late in the day, financials like Morgan Stanley (
MS
), Bank of America (
BAC
), and Citigroup (
C
).
In yesterday's newsletter, I reminded everyone about getting in
gear to fund your retirement accounts as the mid-April tax deadline
approaches. A few thousand dollars may seem like much to contribute
for some, but when it begins to add up and compound interest kicks
in, you'll be sorry you didn't consider it. If this year is not
doable, make sure you are ready when next year comes around and the
door is open once again.
Income, Income, Income
At Dividend.com, we maintain our focus on the best
income-producing investments the markets have to offer during time
of heightened volatility. We want to make sure we have only the
most pullback-resistant names on our
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.
Stay tuned and be sure to look for
Dividend.com Premium
member alerts along the way. Don't count on the government or your
employer to set you up for a remarkable retirement. Take control,
do your own research, and achieve your goals yourself!
Avoiding Knee-Jerk Reactions
It never fails. We regularly encounter situations that deserve
careful consideration, but all too often we just go with our
initial reaction.
Often times this practice leads to negative results. How many
times have we seen or heard a customer at a restaurant fly off the
handle when the food they ordered came out wrong, or took a bit
longer than they were expecting? It's not the end of the world,
after all. But they overreact anyway, embarrassing themselves and
their fellow diners.
Investors can get into loads of trouble when they make knee-jerk
reactions. For year, the business media has been a broker's best
friend, fanning the fast buying and selling flames with breaking
news (which seem to break every other minute these days). As these
stories break, inevitably stocks move quickly up and down as
investors make quick decisions without carefully considering the
news.
Smart investing means thinking every portfolio move through. As
I've gotten older, I've done my best to avoid making any knee-jerk
reactions. Maybe patience comes naturally as we age, but it is
something that can be of great benefit the earlier in life we are
aware of it.
The Buck Stops Here
NFL fans are buzzing about the recent punishment handed down by
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who suspended New Orleans Saints
head coach Sean Payton for the entire 2012 NFL season.
For anyone who has not been up to speed on "Bountygate",
apparently the league had investigated allegations the Saints
players and coaching staff had put in a system that would reward
players with certain dollar amounts on knocking specific opponents
out of the game. With the NFL coming under scrutiny from former
football players about not doing enough to protect the health and
welfare of the players, the news of rewards to be given out to
likely injure opponents was the last thing anyone wanted to hear
about.
There may be further fallout to come as specific players may
also face suspension. Some have argued the punishment was too
severe, and it's widely-rumored that other teams had put similar
"bounty-like" reward systems in place as well.
As someone that has been in charge of their own businesses for
the past couple of decades, I see the suspension as a decision that
simply had to be made. It's the harsh penalty needed to send a
clear message. Whether you run your own business and you have the
ability to fire someone for an act that threatens the success of
your business, or simply the head of a household who needs to
express discipline when necessary, the sooner you nip something in
the bud, the better the health of your overall organization.
Dividend.com's Very Own National TV Commercial Has Debuted
Our first-ever television commercial! has started running on
CNBC and the feedback has been wonderful. If you haven't seen the
link yet,
you can check out our commercial here
.
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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
.