ERCaptain

7 Dividend Stocks to Prove Buy-and-Hold Isn't Dead

I tell people that when I reach retirement, I am really not that interested in bonds for income. I want rising income. Bonds don't do that. I don't even care that much about what is happening to the stock value behind the scenes as long as the management, earnings, dividend are in good shape. Look at the 20 year returns and the "rising income" of dividend stocks. It is amazing the yields that you get on your original investment if you "BUY AND HOLD" long enough.
Great advice!

Blankfein Defends Goldman, Is Flippant with Facts

Thanks for a good article.

Frankly, I cannot believe the mentality of the "Goldman is Evil" crowd. As they storm up the hill toward the castle with their torches abaze, Goldman makes money for it's shareholders. They have not broken the law. They have used their brains and power to stay afloat and have kept owners (stockholders) and employees in the business they were intended to carry out.

Goldman has encouraged graduates of the Goldman system to be involved in public service. Some people see this as a political ploy, but anyone who looks at their history will see this is not new.

Their bonus structure is currently politically unpopular, but it exists because they have lower "wages" and they get paid bonuses if they produce profits. There may need to be some changes to that model (they are not a partnership anymore, but continue to act like a partnership).

I am not a Goldman employee or a shareholder.

P.S. "Dark Lord Sith Blankfein, Please call me. I would like to work for you."

CIT's Failure Could Threaten Financial Sector's Overall Recovery

CIT has jumped through hoops to try to meet FDIC requirements. They did not come to the serving line early enough to get any bailout money. The system is not prepared to adsorb one million companies that do their financing through CIT.
If CIT fails there will be enormous negative impacts on the markets.
If CIT fails there will be enormous negative impacts on small business.
If CIT fails the government can socialize the small business funding practices and put more power in the hands of the beaurocrats. Small businesses are traditionally not your Democractic voting block, so this will be pay back. To bad CIT isn't unionized -- that may have helped.

AIG Needs Dissolving

Sorry, Fuld was CEO of Lehman (who was just as bad). I should have mentioned Libby and Greenberg.


On Sep 23 01:38 PM ERCaptain wrote:

> AIG did this to themselves. The incredibly arrogant and poor leadership
> offered by Fuld led this company into this situation. Do not listen
> to the defenders of AIG that point to someone else being at fault.
>
> AIG is a painful reminder of a poorly managed regulatory environment
> and terrible corporate governance. The gov may have done what it
> needed to do to spare the economy the downside of locked up capital
> markets, but now that things are stabilizing, AIG must be broken
> up, sold off, and forgotten.

AIG Needs Dissolving

AIG did this to themselves. The incredibly arrogant and poor leadership offered by Fuld led this company into this situation. Do not listen to the defenders of AIG that point to someone else being at fault.
AIG is a painful reminder of a poorly managed regulatory environment and terrible corporate governance. The gov may have done what it needed to do to spare the economy the downside of locked up capital markets, but now that things are stabilizing, AIG must be broken up, sold off, and forgotten.

Not All Dividend Stocks Are Overvalued

And BTW there is an irony of axelrod608 posting about equity index annuities here.
Axelrod698 I almost forgot to remind you to ask "Who gets the dividends?" In an EIA, you do not get the dividends. Since dividends make up 40 - 60% of an equity portfolios long term return, the fact the the insurance gets to keep your income in an EIA is not a big sales point. I bet they didn't mention that to you either, did they?
In a Variable Annuity with subaccounts you get the dividends.
Again, there is a difference in annuities. Educate yourself on the kind that you have.
Use your FREE LOOK before time runs out!

Not All Dividend Stocks Are Overvalued

This can be productive. You just really need to educate yourself. Equity Index Annuities are in a category all of their own. You may be confusing a Variable Annuity or a Fixed Annuity with the product that it sounds like you actually bought. It sounds like you bought an Equity Index Annuity.
Try this --
Google -- "equity index annuity warnings"
or "equity undex annuity SEC"
or "equity index annuity AARP"

There are a plethora of warnings from FINRA, SEC, AARP, Consumer groups, investment sites... if you still like the EIA after you educate yourself, go for it. But it you haven't done all of your homework, you deserve the product that you get.

There is a place for variable annuities and fixed annuities, I have not yet found equity index annuities to have a role that could not be filled with a better product!

Use your FREE LOOK period to do all of your due diligence.


On Sep 10 02:08 PM axelrod608 wrote:

> I can see this is about as productive as the "health care debate".
> So tell me why, all you naysayers, every textbook on family finance
> has a section on annuities ? Why did Ben Bernanke put the majority
> of his net worth into annuities ? Is he a financial dummy ?
>
> People who don't know the depth and breadth of the annuity choices
> out there would be better served educating themselves rather than
> dismissing an integral part of the investing market.
>
> Or, perhaps the bad rap on annuities is the stockbrokers' way of
> discouraging business away from themselves.
>
> There are good and bad stocks, good and bad annuities. To say all
> stocks or all annuities are bad is just wrong.
>
> No mas.

Not All Dividend Stocks Are Overvalued

axelrod608 -- Just ask yourself this question. Do people always get what they want when they buy insurance?

What is insurance for? For me, it is for risk transfer. I have a risk, and I want someone else to cover it.

As soon as an insurance salesperson starts telling me that my insurance is an investment and not risk transfer, I would be heading for the door.

Peace!

Not All Dividend Stocks Are Overvalued

You would be well served by getting a second opinion ASAP! Ask for the prospectus for the product (oh, wait, there isn't one!) These "guaranteed" products also give you massive surrender penalties -- the indexing to the market performance is complex. Can you describe to me in detail how it works? There are "participation rates" (Do you understand how those work?) which can be impacted by decisions you make.

You are in the "FREE LOOK" period right now (if you don't know what the free look is ask someone other than the person who sold this to you what it is). Do yourself a huge favor and look at the SEC website that warns about these products (which are sold as an investment, but are really nothing but an insurance policy dressed up to look like an investment.) Also review the nightline investigation and the AARPs warnings about these products. Just be sure you fully understand this. Most people I know who have bought these are greatly dissapointed when they begin to discover what they really have and what the "costs" are.

A good rule of thumb is -- if it is too complex for you to really understand how it works, you probably should not own it. The studies that have been done show that most insurance sales people really do not have a good grasp on the product they are selling. And remember, an insurance product does not have a prospectus!

FREE LOOK and live.


On Sep 10 09:42 AM axelrod608 wrote:

> You can get "returns" like this from a CD without the risk of share
> price dropping.
>
> Unless you're buying them in a tax advantaged account like a Roth
> IRA, the dividends are taxable. These sub-4% returns are less than
> inflation and taxes. Plus they have risk.
>
> Last week I put a small chunk into a fixed Allianz annuity with a
> 10% bonus, guaranteed 7.5% annual interest PLUS it has an opportunity
> for market gains, should there be any. The interest accumulates tax
> free. It is GUARANTEED to at least double in less than 10 years.
> And it is written by a RESERVE insurance company. Not one person
> has ever lost a penny with a reserve product. No risk. It is semi-liquid,
> you lose the bonus and pay a penalty to close it. If I die, it goes
> tax free to my kids.
>
> I don't have enough money to buy risky low-return dividends that
> don't keep up with inflation and taxes. So I don;t "get" these piddling
> dividend stocks.
>
> Yes, there are many kinds of annuities, most of which are risky and
> written by non-reserve companies. Yes, you have to know what you're
> buying. But in this market and what I see on the horizon, I see no
> future for sub-4% dividends to keep up with inflation and taxes.
>
>
> I have no interest in Allianz.

CIT Averts Bankruptcy

I love the freudian slip, or parapraxis, below. From the context of his response I am sure they meant "good bye".

On Aug 17 01:23 PM User 472708 wrote:
> ... Which should lead to more defaults. Maybe another 6 months and good buy CIT..

CIT Averts Bankruptcy

As a medium term and long term CIT bondholder, I would be glad to accept the 87.5% payout.

Note to CIT -- Please call me. I would like to discuss the parameters of our divorce in a way that would be mutually beneficial.

Six Companies with Sustainable Dividends

One can argue about the quality of the individual stocks listed, but one cannot argue the power of a rising dividend.

With a strategy of having dividend stock portfolio of rising dividend stocks, and investor would have outperformed their non-dividend paying counterparts by about 7.7% a year for the last 20 years (rising div 11.2% non div 3.5% -- source "Factset, returns 7/31/88-7/31/08")

Thanks for the article.

Microsoft-Nokia: A Dog Deal Born from Weakness

A few months ago Palm was also being written off. I am so glad I got that warning too -- I mean look at it. Palm was old and their new operating platform was a cry of despair.
And oh yea -- the $1000 invested in December is worth over $11,200 today.
Be careful, just when you think Nokia and MSFT will be down and out...
I remember the same thing happening with AAPL too.

Unemployment: Historical Chart Sends Scary Message

Milton Friedman has been hailed as "the most influential economist of the second half of the 20th century…possibly of all of it".

I laughed to see someone giving a Milton Friedman quote a down vote.

Of course with Paul Krugman, and others of that ilk (i.e., to intellectuals educated to belief in socialism), spouting off new versions of economic history and fictional characterizations of today's events, I should not be surprised.


On Aug 13 12:08 PM ERCaptain wrote:

> We have a system that increasingly taxes work and subsidizes nonwork.
>
> Milton Friedman

Unemployment: Historical Chart Sends Scary Message

GadflyOnTheWall,
I know that what you are writing is also correct. But, I think what jstratt was referring to was the same thing I have observed. There are MANY MANY people who are taking advantage of what they see as "free money".
As an exception I have a friend that is on his 4th employer in the last 12 months. Previously he had worked for his employer for about 10 years. Each place he would take a new job at, he was caught in their round of new layoffs. However, he is the exception, not the norm that I have also observed.
We are subsidizing nonwork for longer periods of time, thus the period becomes longer because more are taking advantage of the longer periods. It doesn't take too many doing this to increase the mean.

On Aug 13 01:16 PM GadflyOnTheWall wrote:
> Please do not do a blanket opinion on people ...
> These people have told me that they would rather be working than
> collecting unemployment.