Brad Castro

Short Amazon: Risky Investment at Current Price

AMZN is a dominant retailer with virtually no debt on the books. And they're going to be a dominant retailer for a long time to come.

But I agree that it's unlikely that AMZN is going to continue trading much higher in the short term (30 days). Still, I wouldn't short any dominant, well run business no matter how "overvalued" I thought it was.

Profiting with a Dividend Avoidance Strategy

Love the name - Dividend Avoidance. An interesting approach and one that, depending on overall market conditions, is undoubtedly superior to the fabled Dividend Capture.

Thanks for illustrating . . .

Congress Still Looking at a Stock Trading Tax

Follow up - Two Mark Twain quotes:

"Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."

"All Congresses and Parliaments have a kindly feeling for idiots, and a compassion for them, on account of personal experience and heredity."

Congress Still Looking at a Stock Trading Tax

A-holes.

Sticking with AT&T After Solid Earnings Report

A $4 billion reduction in debt in one quarter is impressive, but there's still a mountain of $72 billion to go. That could explain why the yield remains so high.

Lots of debt makes me nervous, although I was comfortable enough to write some puts on T following the earnings release - I don't see much downside from here in the short term (although I've been wrong many times before).

Canadian Royalty Trusts – Will Dividends Rise or Fall?

Just wanted to thank you putting this together - as I mentioned in my comments to your previous article, I was very interested in your take on the CanRoys. You make a good case.

Covered Calls: No Free Lunch

I agree that writing covered calls strictly for income can be a problematic strategy because of the occasional big moves in the underlying stock. A big move higher and you miss out on a lot of capital gains. A big move lower and the premium you receive won't do much to protect you on the downside.

But you don't have to write calls on all your positions, and you don't have to write calls every month. If you instead approach covered call writing (and other conservative option strategies) as a way to enhance your long term investments rather than as a substitute for having long term investments in the first place, you can do quite well over the long term.

Investing in high quality, consistently profitable companies is the proven foundation. But if you can then find ways to safely generate (or lower your cost basis) even an extra 5-10% a year a year on those holdings, you'll dramatically speed up your investment results.

Unfortunately, covered call vehicles like BEP are too cumbersome and mechanical to ever stand a chance of outperforming anything.

Strong Cash Flow, Superb Operation Back Paychex Dividend

Good analysis. I agree that PAYX is one of those truly superior businesses, incredible ROE and incredible balance sheet. They focus on small to midsize businesses in an economy with nearly 10% unemployment, and yet they're still highly profitable.

On the negative side, I think it's much more likely that the dividend would remain frozen rather than ever be cut.

Ackman Explains Why He's Short REIT Realty Income

I agree with davidbdc.

And then there's the monthly dividend. Why would you short stock that pays a monthly dividend? When you short the stock, YOU pay the dividend.

O Canada! (Part III): Black Gold, Natural Gas and Growing Dividends Too

Thanks for the excellent 3 part series. These articles are great resources indeed.

One response to this piece: I would've preferred to hear your take on the upcoming tax-status change on canroys and where you see future fair value and dividend payouts/yields.

10 Dividend Stocks to Buy Now

"Keep in mind that these stocks are not the best, neither are they the greatest companies in the U.S."

I wouldn't invest in a dividend paying company unless I could say argue that they were the best or greatest companies I could find. And I wouldn't rotate in and out of my investments either. That seems to negate the power of dividend growth, but as you say:

"My approach sounds inconsistent with the staid dividend approach but my battle scars have been relatively few since 2004."

The important thing is finding a trading or investing style that works for you and suits your own personality.

Best of luck.

O Canada (Part II): There's Gold in Them Thar Hills - and Plains

Best paragraph of the article:

"That’s why I choose to invest in those companies in those nations that supply what the emerging markets need, rather than in the emerging markets themselves. The cream always rises to the top. And Canada, with a low but highly literate, educated and skilled, population, incredible natural resources, and the most water per capita of any big nation on earth, now rises to the top."

Buying Dividends: Next Week's Ex-Div Stocks

I've tried many times to find a dividend capture strategy that works consistently, but I've never been able to. I think you're much better off identifying long term dividend paying investments and acquiring them through put writing.

And after a few years of dividend growth in a high quality portfolio, you'll realize you don't need dividend capture. Be patient - dividend growth trumps dividend capture.

5 Excellent, Non-Pipeline Income Stocks

I agree with Senan - TOO sounds intriguing.

And I also agree with tripleback on coal. The political climate is just too uncertain. Realistically, the coal industry will probably be fine since long term it may not be practical to really hamstring the industry.

But I find there are plenty of other investing opportunities where I don't have to guess.

What Is McDonald's Thinking?

"Their operating cash flow is decent and their ability to create free cash flow is good, so that's a positive; but because of its terrible balance sheet I would rate the stock a buy only at the very low $30's."

Yeah, I'd buy in the low 30s as well - as much as I possibly could. I'll take this "terrible balance sheet" any day of the week.