donzelion

81 Dividend Growers to Consider

While I share David's priorities (yield, safety, consistency), I do take modest positions in companies with slightly lower yields for the sake of sectoral diversification (e.g., some industries are allergic to dividends, others consistently overdo it - like financials up to '08, and I don't want my portfolio to consist entirely of mega-caps).

Dividend Aristocrats Will Continue to Outperform

Beg to differ with Whidbey. Historically, dividends were offered to lure investors to buy a stock when investors were squeamish about the integrity of the manager and skeptical about company financials. Hindsight lets us impute additional motives to investors, but nobody investing in dividend payers in 1930 knew which companies would continue to exist as dividend paying enterprises. Dividends have as much staying power as investors have skepticism about management.

Ultimately, the driving factors aren't so different from fees at mutual funds - a dividend payer may or may not be a better run company, just as a fund's stock picker may or may not be a smarter stock picker, but reasonable dividends/low fees translates into advantages that compound over time.

Despite Massive Layoffs Nationwide, These 28 Companies Are Hiring

For many major corporations, the pattern has been

(1) lay off personnel, then rehire some in a different position, or as a consultant (reducing long-term pension liabilities, changing vesting rights, and lowering health care liabilities)
(2) lay off personnel from one division, but give others the right to get first dibs on jobs in another division
(3) lay off personnel in union shops and relocate operations in "right-to-work" jurisdictions

Getting a clear picture of employment plans is about as straightforward as analyzing financials from banks with extremely complex financial products. An investor must be extremely cautious about drawing conclusions from any such hiring.