Despite a plethora of earnings already out this morning, lots of
momentum traders and money managers are gearing up for results
after the market closes today from tech titans Apple (
AAPL
) and Amazon (
AMZN
). You can bet the business media will offer every conceivable take
on these reports, including how they'll affect the markets tomorrow
- and possibly for the rest of the year. We will be watching as
well, but we also realize there are many other companies that
investors should be focusing on, especially if the time line is
longer than a trading day or a week.
Back to some of this morning's big movers on earnings,
Colgate-Palmolive (
CL
) finished lower on their weaker-than-expected results. The company
may have also surprised some with their job cut announcement. Here
is a company trading near all-time highs, yet still plans to cut 6%
of their workforce. We certainly understand a company running lean,
but cutting jobs while the company shares are doing so well
certainly gives us a pause as to what the company may be seeing in
the period ahead.
Other names pulling back following earnings results included
Mead Johnson Nutrition (
MJN
), Starwood Hotels (
HOT
), Sherwin-Williams (
SHW
), and Cliffs Natural Resources (
CLF
). Best Buy (
BBY
) came out with yet another gloomy outlook on profits, and shares
ended down as well.
Trying to end on a positive note, Wynn Resorts (
WYNN
)
announced a generous special dividend
as well as intentions to raise its regular dividend payout in 2013.
The news comes despite the company's revenue drop from last year.
Procter & Gamble (
PG
) shares were also higher on raised guidance. Similarly, however,
the company reported a drop in revenue from last year. Its quite
likely P&G will need to consolidate a bit to meet increased
earnings projections, since revenue growth may be tougher in the
quarters ahead.
Working Till 80 (Good Luck with that Strategy)
A Wells Fargo survey just released showed a growing number of
middle-class Americans plan to postpone their retirement until they
are in their 80′s. 30% of the survey respondents indicated their
wish to keep working til at least 80e, compared to 25% last year.
The best time to hustle and invest as much capital as possible is
while you are in your peak earnings years. This range is generally
between 35 and 55 years old. Now if you work for yourself, you have
a greater chance of maintaining a higher salary beyond 55 if you so
choose to keep running your own business.
There are numerous factors working against those who plan to
work until age 80. One such factor is that finding work today is
getting harder, as the skill-sets for particular jobs continue to
change. You may have the desire to work, but the job you are in
could be eliminated down the line due to changing technologies, not
to mention the mantra of doing more with less. As companies get
more efficient, only the best of the best will have the opportunity
to remain a salaried employee. Companies continue to engage in
practices to avoid heavy and lasting pension obligations. We
haven't even discussed health concerns many face. When you see
stats saying nearly half of the American population will be obese
by the year 2030, rising health care costs will only continue -
another fixed cost companies are trying to work their way
around.
I admire those who want to suit up well into their later years,
but to me, it should be by choice and not one of necessity. Do
everything you can while you are in your middle years and don't
forget to keep investing in assets that produce income. The
equation of salary plus income investments makes for the best
possible retirement. Heck, if you need two jobs to do so while you
are younger, do whatever it takes to increase the money coming in.
And of course, do your best to control the flow of the money going
out.
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!
New Watchlist Article Out Today
Be sure to check out our weekly Top 50 High-Yield Watchlist
Names post that is out today, exclusively for
Dividend.com Premium
members. This list gives readers a good idea of what stocks we're
watching behind the scenes here for potential upgrades.
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"Dividend Capture" trading strategy, but long-term investors can
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Ex-Dividend Calendar
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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
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.