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Are eBooks Saving Publishing Dividends?

Publishing is usually perceived as a mature industry characterized by a steady pace of growth, which excludes unsustainable highs and devastating lows. However, since the advent of the Internet and digital technologies that have revolutionized the industry, publishing has been changing its face. While the overall market is stagnating or growing at a low single-digit rate, e-publishing sales are reaching for the skies. Now, the introduction of tablet technologies and smartphones is buoying the record-smashing sales of eBooks. The explosive growth in electronic publishing is a sign of the publishing industry's transformation in line with new social trends and technologies. Despite the publishers' need to invest in adaptations in order to survive (in some cases in order... Read more

Opportunities for High Dividend Yields in the U.K.

Investors in pursuit of high dividend yields have plenty of reasons to focus on the U.K. equity market. Currently, on average, U.K. stocks are paying higher dividend yields than U.S. stocks. For example, the FTSE All-Share index is paying a dividend yield of 3.62%, compared to a yield of just 1.5%, on average, for the U.S. broad Russell 2000 index. Even large-cap U.S. stocks in the S&P 500 index are yielding a mere 2.1% on average. On the other hand, U.K. stocks are yielding much more than government bonds. For instance, the U.K. broad equity market's yield is 140% higher than the yield on the U.K. 10-year gilt. Obviously, all this should put U.K. dividend payers on the radar of the U.K. and global income investors. Still, income investors in the U.K. market have an... Read more

Attractive Dividend Yields in Canadian Stocks

The Canadian economy has shown exceptional resilience during the Great Recession and continues to charge ahead of the U.S. and other developed economies. However, due to their high exposures to volatile materials and energy sectors, the nation's leading equity indices have underperformed their U.S. peers by a large margin. Still, investors in the pursuit of a meaningful yield can find plenty of investment opportunities in Canadian dividend stocks. The Canadian market as a whole has produced lackluster returns over the past year. S&P/TSX Composite and TSX/S&P 60 indices lost above 3% over that period, compared to a gain of slightly more than 20% for the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indices. Dividend stocks have fared pretty well on both sides of the border. Despite... Read more

REITs: Investment Options for a Low-Growth, Low-Interest Rate Environment

In the current macroeconomic environment characterized by a high degree of uncertainty, modest growth, and low interest rates, investors are finding Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) attractive because of the trusts' relatively high dividend yields, relatively stable and predictable lease-based cash flows, and access to capital at favorable terms. As the global economies, especially those in Europe, are severely distressed, investors are seeking investment instruments with relatively low exposures to slowing growth and sovereign debt issues internationally. Thus, given the mostly-domestic profile of their income sources, U.S. REITs are gaining support among investors looking for havens from the international volatility. In principle, REITs are attractive as they offer... Read more

Are these 5 Dividend Stocks Entertaining Enough?

The entertainment sector is returning dividend yields above the average Dow stock. The Dow average yield is around 3.5% now, better than most but not as good as the 4% or better some in the entertainment sector are paying. Earnings and yields have helped to keep the sector up as a whole, with most stocks slightly up for the year. However, expectations for earnings growth among the entertainment stocks is waning and putting them under pressure. Many of the stocks in the sector are heavily shorted and could provide even higher yields in the near future. Movies are always popular and Regal Entertainment (NYSE: RGC) is leading the group with a 6% yield. Regal Entertainment is widely recognized as a leader in the movie viewing business and has at least been... Read more

Value, Growth and Dividends in Emerging Market Equities

Given the process of de-leveraging in much of the developed world, growth in the global economic output in the coming years will be driven primarily by growth in the emerging market economies. In fact, the IMF estimates that by 2014, almost two thirds of the world's GDP growth will originate from the emerging markets. As many of the developed markets are currently in recession, that share will be as high as 80% this year alone. The situation bodes well for the rise in emerging markets' corporate earnings, which are estimated to increase 12% this year. Favorable macroeconomic settings, driven by a buoyant domestic demand, and solid earnings growth make undervalued equities in emerging markets attractive for growth and value investors. One way to reap the benefits of... Read more

Digging For Dividends Among Regional Banks

Regional financial banks can be good sources of steady dividends. It is not uncommon to find yields in excess of 4%, far above the yields of t-bills and bonds. When looking in the sector you must look beyond the big names in the group in order to find the real gems. Banks like US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB), which were paying nice dividend yield percentages last year, are not paying the same now. They have not reduced dividend size, but their popularity has sent the stock price up, reducing yield percentage. US Bancorp, the largest regional bank on this list by market cap, is only yielding around 2.3% at this time, down from 2.6% two months ago and 3.55% last year. Fifth Third Bancorp begins to look better as a... Read more

Dividend Mutual Funds for Prudent Income Investors

The slide in interest rates to record lows has prompted investors to flock to dividend stocks in search of reasonable yields. While the yield on a 10-year Treasury bond has plummeted to 1.4%, below the average yield on the broad Russell 2000 and large-cap S&P 500 indices, the yield on many dividend stocks has provided meaningful returns for prudent investors. Dividend stocks are at the epicenter of income investing in the current market. In addition to individual stocks paying dividends, investors have plowed money into dividend mutual funds that have an added value of diversification across industries, which reduces risk and volatility of investment. Indeed, dividend mutual funds have been in high demand this year. According to EPFR Global, last year, investors withdrew... Read more

Stormy Seas Yielding Big Dividends

The super tanker operators have been good sources of dividend income for a long time, but now they may also offer a chance for capital appreciation as well as income. The oil shipping industry has been beaten up over the last few quarters as the price of oil has gone down. The weakened demand for oil has led to decreased demand for tankers and lower rates for shippers. These declines have hurt the revenues for shippers, who reported that the first quarter of 2012 saw declining demand for oil and tanker services. The weakness in earnings has helped to drive the price of these stocks down to five year lows and attractive entry points for long term investors. ... Read more

High-Yield Electric Utility Stocks Set for Strong Total Returns

When it comes to paying consistently high dividend yields and offering attractive returns on a risk-adjusted basis, hardly any sector can beat electric utilities. And not only do the stocks in the electric utilities sector pay relatively higher yields than other investment vehicles, they also do it by trading with a much lower volatility than the broad market. Now that a meaningful yield is scarce and the economy is descending into recession, investors in pursuit of attractive and stable income should flock to the electric utility sector. Electric utility stocks are considered defensive, recession-proof equity investments that offer safety during the market's volatile periods. They are the “least economically sensitive of the major equity market sectors,”... Read more