Today's early rally couldn't muster much momentum, as the
markets' initial euphoria following what was an expected favorable
ruling in German overnight had trouble gaining traction with some
investors as the indices bobbed from positive to negative for much
of the afternoon session. Apple (
AAPL
) was a prime example of the afternoon volatility as sales of the
iPhone 5 launched today.
Positive Wall Street analyst commentary did help carry some
names today, including Kohl's (
KSS
), Phillips 66 (
PSX
), and Visa (
V
). Cautious commentary did the opposite to payroll processing plays
Automatic Data Processing (
ADP
) and Paychex (
PAYX
). Utility stocks continued to drip lower. If you remember, we'd
warned against the too-much-too-fast run-up in utility share prices
months back. We still like several of the stocks we'd downgraded
for the long-term, however (think Consolidated Edison (
ED
) , Duke Energy (
DUK
), and Southern Co. (
SO
)), but we have avoided having investors commit any new capital to
the names at the higher levels we had been seeing.
Easiest Path to Take (For Politicians Especially)
It was certainly no surprise to see Germany pass measures
earlier today to preserve the European Union and join the brigade
inspired to print their way out of debt (taking a page out of the
U.S. Federal Reserve's playbook). Some doubted German Chancellor
Angela Merkel would take that route. But alas she did as most
politicians do, in taking the easiest route possible. The markets
have been going higher in the short-term, so why take the chance
the markets could dive (despite the idea short-term global economic
pain is what will inevitably fuel fiscal responsibility and true
economic recovery)?
Now it's easy for me to stand on a pulpit and take my cynical
view, but I can honestly say the older I get, the easier it is to
recognize the obvious problems. Too many conflicts of interest
remain in the world of politics, and the more active a role
governments have in public markets/private industries, the more
reckless their behavior can become. You certainly don't need to
over-think and debate where the problems derive from - and
especially the solutions being put forth.
The only thing I can do is pay close attention to these and
other events as we try and navigate the global landscape from a
market perspective. Higher taxes and bigger consumer costs (from
the everyday inflationary costs we are supposedly not seeing from
the reported economic data) are becoming the obvious results from
the roads currently being taken. How that boils down to building
wealth in such an environment is the $64,000 question being
evaluated by myself and the team here at Dividend.com each day.
Borrowing oneself out of debt goes against most every practical
financial concept ever conceived, so we sit and look to understand
how this present-day governmental approach will play out.
As everything does play out, we will continue to search for the
areas where investors' capital may be best served during the
ever-changing economic process.
An Important Note Regarding the Best Dividend Stocks List
We want to make sure everyone understands that the stocks on our
Best Dividend Stocks List
are the names we currently like for new investor capital,
regardless of what date the stock was first recommended on. If and
when a stock is removed from the list, we will clearly state
whether the stock should be sold (which is rare but occasionally
will happen), or simply held in one's account until we see a better
entry point or catalyst.
And here's one last thing to remember about what we do here at
Dividend.com: it's not just the names that we recommend that can
help you build wealth, but also the things we try to steer you away
from that are just as important. Forget about speculative or penny
stocks, chasing unprofitable IPOs, and listening to the manic
talking heads in the business media!
A Dividend Capture Strategy for Active Investors
We now offer complete U.S. dividend data for all
Dividend.com Premium
members, so anyone that focuses on "Dividend Capture" trading
strategies should have plenty of good stuff to research each day.
Just check our enhanced
Ex-Dividend Calendar
, which is the best in the business, to search for upcoming
payouts.
Speaking of dividend capture, Dividend.com Premium members can
also access a 9-page report we published on the essential elements
to any successful dividend capture strategy. Be sure to check it
out here on the
Premium homepage
.
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
.