The market tried to end the week on a positive note, but the
best investors could do today was to end with the indices mixed by
the close.
Financial giants Wells Fargo (
WFC
) and JP Morgan (
JPM
) both reported results this morning. Both earnings reports were
met with a tepid response from investors. Meanwhile, transports
play J.B. Hunt (
JBHT
) had the opposite reaction, with investors cheering its third
quarter earnings.
Wall Street analyst upgrades played a role in moving stocks like
Wynn Resorts (
WYNN
), Lowe's (
LOW
), and Wal-Mart Stores (
WMT
) higher. Coal-related names and disk-drive makers had a rough go
of it, however, with stocks like Walter Energy (
WLT
) and Western Digital (
WDC
) feeling the weight of cautious analyst commentary.
Happy Money
A constant debate rages on regarding whether money plays a huge
role in finding happiness. I saw a snippet recently on the Katie
Couric show, where a recent experiment tested the "money equals
happiness" hypothesis. In the study, individuals were given an
envelope with either a check to buy something for themselves, or a
check to buy something for someone else. Perhaps surprisingly, the
subjects in the experiment tended to enjoy themselves a bit more
when buying something for someone else, rather than spending on
themselves. The more I thought about the results of this
experiment, the more it seemed to make sense.
I began thinking about my own situation, and tried to count how
many times in the last year I went out and bought something
exclusively for myself. The honest truth is I couldn't think of
any. Anything my wife and I buy these days tends to be centered
around our kids and what they need (certainly not everything they
want!). But you get the idea. It's entirely possible to be happy
without spending much money on yourself.
My parents were all about sacrifice, and didn't care so much
about fancy material things, so I guess that quality kind of rubbed
off on me. Don't get me wrong, though, there isn't anything wrong
with buying things for yourself. Rewarding yourself once in a while
for a job well done can be an important part of your path to
success.
Getting back to the money experiment I saw on TV, most of the
show's studio audience seemed to agree on one thing: having money
was almost always better than not having it. You can't solve every
issue with money, but we all know it can certainly alleviate some
of the everyday stresses people face. Whether you have already been
successful in your life and currently focus on building upon a
strong existing financial foundation, or even if you've just
started planting some initial money seeds (in the form of quality
dividend stocks), you can bet I will touch upon almost every piece
of subject matter that addresses one's goals, obstacles, and
processes in my daily commentary.
Looking ahead to the next week for stocks, fourth quarter
earnings will start to pick up considerably. On tap are results
from the likes of IBM Corp (
IBM
), Coca-Cola (
KO
), Phillip Morris International (
PM
), and General Electric (
GE
), just to name a few. The focus will also continue to be on the
economic data, the Presidential election, and as usual, the latest
Wall Street analyst calls.
Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the
Best Dividend Stocks
, as well as a detailed explanation of
our ratings system here
.