Bobco23

Fear and Loathing in 2009

if 2009 turns out as badly as you suggest, and I think it will, you certainly don't want to be in any of the stocks you recommend other than MO. GE capital and the dirth of business for capital goods wil be a big problem for GE. Even if GE maintains the dividend in 2009, the stock will sell down in anticipation of a 2010 cut and weak performance. DOW will face falling demand even though costs will decline. Margins will invert. Retail? Please.

Many stocks now offering attractive dividends will slash payouts as their businesses decline further in each succeeding quarter.

If you want to generate some relatively safe dividends look at the regulated electric utilities (FPL,SO for example), pipelines (ETP, MMP, KMP for example), consumer staples (such as PG and WMT), defense (GD, LMT), and some assorted compaines with strong competetive positions such as PM, LLY, and PEP. 2009 could be very bad for all the reasons cited.