February 21, 2012
Written by Chloe Lutts
One of the major themes I wrote about at the beginning of this year (read the issue here) was a likely resurgence by emerging markets in 2012. As I wrote then:
“The second revival experts are calling for comes from the emerging markets. Powerhouses for a decade, emerging markets stocks suddenly took a break last year. Since most of the fundamental factors driving growth in China, India, Latin America and other fast-growing economies are still in place, several analysts expect the emerging market bull to resume in 2012.” Read More »
February 14, 2012
Written by Chloe Lutts
This week, I’m pleased to bring you the first in a new series of interviews with the expert contributors to The Dick Davis Digests. Our first contributor is Vivian Lewis, the editor of Global Investing. Vivian is a Harvard graduate who worked as a financial journalist in Europe for 18 years before founding Global Investing. In her newsletter, she and a team of global correspondents provide original research and recommendations on international stocks and funds. Read More »
February 10, 2012
Written by Chloe Lutts
I began writing this dividend-focused edition of Investment of the Week in response to demand: all our surveys and other evidence show increasing interest in dividend-paying stocks. Other analysts have noticed the trend as well; I’ve even seen some of our experts calling 2011 the “year of the dividend.”
Now, a few of our experts are starting to ask a question: have dividend-paying stocks become too popular? Read More »
February 7, 2012
Written by Chloe Lutts
Higher education is more important than ever. The unemployment rate for college graduates, currently 4.6%, is less than half that of high school grads (at 11%). And workers with a college degree earn, on average, almost twice as much as those with only a high school diploma. Read More »
January 31, 2012
Written by Chloe Lutts
One of the most important elements of investing is having a system and following it consistently. A good system makes investing easier, freeing you from constant decision-making. Even a simple rule like “sell after a 10% loss,” for example, frees you from constantly re-evaluating your holdings and deciding which, if any, to sell. Read More »
January 27, 2012
Written by Chloe Lutts
Most of the dividend-paying stocks I feature here come from the Dick Davis Dividend Digest, which exclusively recommends income-generating investments. However, the latest Investment Digest, featuring our contributors’ Top Picks for 2012, had its fair share of dividend-payers too. I’ve written before about how dividend-paying stocks are becoming more popular with all investors, not just traditional income investors, and our contributors are clearly no exception. Dividend-paying stocks are often less volatile than their non-yielding counterparts, and in these roller-coaster days, more stability is something most investors would like for their portfolios. Read More »
January 24, 2012
Written by Chloe Lutts
As I mentioned here a few weeks ago, last year’s second-best-performing Top Picks stock was Allot Communications (ALLT), recommended by SmallCapInvestor PRO. (The best performer was acquired a couple months after being recommended.) I mention this again because the 2012 Top Picks included several stocks that could be the next Allot Communications. Read More »
January 17, 2012
Written by Chloe Lutts
Video games have a little bit of an image problem. Partly it’s the name–having “game” right in there makes it hard for some people to take them seriously. Video games also suffer from being seen as a “niche” product and not something with mainstream appeal. But video games have grown into a billion-dollar industry nonetheless; they now rival DVDs for the entertainment we spend the most on (having already surpassed movie ticket sales). Read More »
January 12, 2012
Written by Chloe Lutts
Today I thought I’d start with a chart.
This chart, created by The Prudent Speculator based on data from Eugene T. Fama and Kenneth R. French, shows the long-term performance of dividend-paying and non-dividend-paying stocks. As you can see, over the long term, dividend-paying stocks have demonstrated both higher returns and lower volatility. And the larger the dividends, the better the stocks perform, on average. As the folks over at The Prudent Speculator wrote, “Not quite the Holy Grail, but higher returns with lower risk obviously make for a winning combination.” Read More »
January 10, 2012
Written by Chloe Lutts
After New York City, Los Angeles has the second most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. And yet, only 10% of L.A. commuters use public transportation to get to work, compared to over half of New Yorkers. With 90% of its commuters driving to work every day, it’s no surprise that L.A. has the worst traffic in the U.S. One study, from 2005, found that the average L.A. driver loses 72 hours a year to traffic delays. Read More »
