The markets are off to a slow start this morning, but there were
some decent gains over the last few trading sessions, so a pullback
is not out of the question.
Commodity plays gave back some recent gains, with Peabody Energy
(
BTU
) and Freeport McMoran (
FCX
) just a couple of the names ending in the red. Credit card plays
American Express (
AXP
) and Capital One Financial (
COF
) pushed the financial sector lower. Oracle (
ORCL
) got a pop this morning on news they have scooped up former
Hewlett-Packard (
HPQ
) CEO Mark Hurd. Hurd is good friends with Larry Ellison, CEO of
Oracle, who had been quite outspoken about Hurd being forced out of
HP following the recent scandal. Volume was slow on this first day
back, with just 3.1 Billion shares traded on the NYSE. The Nasdaq
ended with 1.63 Billion shares changing hands.
As you may have noticed, I have been extending some of the
articles on Dividend.com to include a bit more personal
finance-related materials. This is all in an effort to bring some
real financial perspective when it comes to everyday issues
affecting us outside the world of investing. I get e-mails from new
investors all the time that are really focused on timing when it
comes to investing - this focus is entirely wrong, however. You
see, I am cautious about the markets, but at the same time, I want
to put my money to work for me in the best places I can possibly,
regardless of the economic environment. This is what investing
should always be about. I am not here to cheerlead the markets, but
rather be a guide to where the best places are for investors to put
their money at the current.
The danger with trying to time the market is that you need to be
right twice (when you buy and sell). Plus, it can be a nasty habit
to fall into. You'll essentially morph into a trader, rather than
an investor whose original idea it was to generate income and
compounding returns from dividend-paying stocks.
Keep these words in mind when you are unsure of what an
investor's job is. Don't lose focus, and you can bet that we will
be continuing to watch the markets carefully so that the names on
our recommended list are the names we have the most confidence in
when it comes to putting your hard-earned money to work.
As always, our currently recommended names can be found on our
industry-leading
Best Dividend Stocks
list.
Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the
Best Dividend Stocks
, as well as a detailed explanation of
our ratings system here
.