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October 31, 2009: Fixed Rate Capital Securities: An Interesting Alternative For Income Oriented Investors

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:13:55 GMT

In the early 1990s, a product called fixed rate capital securities was introduced to meet the needs of income-oriented investors and provide a cost efficient source of capital for issuers.[More...]

August 23, 2009: A Look At Food Processors

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:00:31 GMT

Many investors, including myself, feel that the market is due for a correction. Some predict with the increased national debt, weaker dollar and a Congress unwilling to grasp both, even worse things may occur that will effect our standard of living now and, especially, in the future. One sector that may withstand a negative outlook are food processors. I used a computer screen to isolate those with anticipated growth of 10-25% next year. All appear stable and quite a few are international in scope. I must admit to having several obscure companies grace my computer screen. I did investigate all of them to a certain degree and without exception they look quite acceptable for investment consideration. You may decide to explore the companies on this roster for further study and, perhaps, inclusion within the defensive elements of your portfolio. I am. Lifeway Foods (LWAY) $13.77/ $231m market cap [More...]

Buy And Hold Work Wonders For Warren Buffett For Years

Wed, 27 May 2009 11:32:04 GMT

Every time the United States goes through a recession, the pundits all race to be the first to proclaim that “Buy and Hold” is dead. I can’t watch a financial news channel or read a financial website without some mention of this proclamation. Well I’m growing tired of it, and if it were up to me, I’d prohibit anyone else from making this point for the rest of 2009. Buy and Hold is not dead, and I’m on a mission to prove it. Buy and Hold has worked brilliantly for decades, and it will continue to do so in the future. The stock you bought in 2007 is worth less now than[More...]

S&P 500 Stocks

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:35:00 GMT

The S&P 500 comprises of 500 large cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The largees public companies that are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ are included in the S&P 500 index. The S&P 500 index was lunched in 1957 and is a value weighted index which is based on the 500 American stocks with the largest market capitalizations. The S&P 500 is the most widely followed index After the Dow Jones Industrial Average index and it is considered a barometer for the American economy. The S&P 500 index is included in the Index of Leading Indicators. There are the number of trading vehicle that are designed to follow the S&P 500 index. Hundreds of billions of US dollars have been invested in this index. The SPY (Exchange Traded Fund) is one of the most actively trading stock over the world. The Rydex,[More...]

Dividend Aristocrats Keep Raising Their Dividends

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:46:00 GMT

Overall investors have mainly been focusing on dividend cuts in 2009. I believe that most stocks that pay out dividends are cyclical in nature. Thus, they do not have the specific competitive advantages, which provide for a long and sustainable annual dividend increases over time. The starting list for any dividend growth investor, who is looking for companies, which have a proven track record of consistently raising their dividends for 25 years, is the[More...]

Seven Notable Dividend Increases In The News

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:49:00 GMT

The markets remained nervous last week as several companies such as State Street, Macy’s and Motorola cut or eliminated their dividend payments. Of those three, seasoned dividend investors should only be concerned with State Street’s dividend cut. During economic downturns it is normal for cyclical industries to cut or eliminate their dividends. Companies with strong competitive advantages, as well as solid consumer brands should keep and even increase their dividends. The companies whose dividend cuts are concerning are the ones which have raised them for more than 10 or 25 years, which represent the so called [More...]

Checking In With Manu Daftary of Quaker Strategic Growth (QUAGX)

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:55:00 GMT

Towards the bottom of the right margin I have a list of some growth managers who I like to follow to see what they are thinking; I plan on taking a look at some every so often on the website. Generally funds only update their holdings once a quarter and we are approaching the deadline for fourth quarter 2008's filings. One such name of interest is Manu Daftary who sub advises Quaker Strategic Growth (QUAGX). The fund has roughly $650M in assets and he has been at the helm since 1996. The fund falls under Morningstar's large cap growth category which is confirmed by the average market cap of $23.5 Billion... however Daftary runs a concentrared style (currently 39 stocks with 40% of the money in the top 10 positions) with relatively rapid turnover. So while we tend to favor a smaller market cap, stylistically it's a similar approach on the long side. Once the market gets back to normal I will also[More...]

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:30:00 GMT

Highlighted stocks include The Hershey Company (HSY), J & J Snack Foods Corporation (JJSF), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR), Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) and First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX Fund (FXG). [More...]

Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris’ Credibility Under Stress

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:53:00 GMT

Chemicals as well as credit, are ruled by the planetary energy Neptune and the sign Pisces. On December 28, 2008 as transiting Uranus in Pisces[More...]

Best Dividends Stocks For The Long Run

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:41:00 GMT

In his book, Stocks for the Long Run, Wharton Professor Jeremy Siegel proves that stocks have been the best performing investing for the past 200 years in the US. Equities outperformed other assets classes such as gold and fixed income. Typically, stock returns are derived from price appreciation and dividends. Dividend payments have historically accounted for 40% of the average annual stock market return. A lesser known fact is that reinvested dividends have provided for 97% of historical stock market returns. During tough market conditions such as the 2008 bear market, investors realize the positive of getting a return on your investment even if prices are collapsing across the board. Add in dividend increases, and several[More...]

American Modern Insurance Launches Dual Environmental Program

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:54:00 GMT

American Modern Insurance Group combines tree conservation and restoration in its new TREE2 initiative, a national campaign appealing to the environmental conscience of new and existing customers.[More...]

The Midland Company Completes Merger with Munich Re Group

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:55:00 GMT

The Midland Company , a highly focused provider of specialty insurance products and services, today announced that it has completed the merger in which Midland has been acquired by Munich-American Holding Corporation, a subsidiary of Munich Re. Prior to the closing of the merger, Midland completed the previously announced sale of all of the shares of capital stock of M/G Transport Services, Inc. and MGT Services, Inc. to an affiliate of Brooklyn NY Holdings LLC.[More...]

The Midland Company to Participate in the New York Society of Security Analysts' 11th Annual Insurance Industry Conference

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 13:59:00 GMT

The Midland Company announced today that the company plans to participate in the New York Society of Security Analysts' 11th Annual Insurance Industry Conference to be held in New York City on February 12th and 13th, 2007. The Midland Company management team is scheduled to present at 2:50 p.m. EST on Tuesday, February 13th.[More...]

The Midland Company Increases Annual Dividend by 63 Percent

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 20:50:00 GMT

The Midland Company , a highly focused provider of specialty insurance products and services, today announced that its Board of Directors approved a 63.3 percent increase in the company's indicated annual dividend to 40 cents per share from 24.5 cents per share. As a result, the next quarterly dividend, payable April 4, 2007, to shareholders of record as of March 21, 2007, will be 10 cents per share, up from the previous level of 6.125 cents per share. As of December 31, 2006, Midland had 19,224,000 common shares outstanding.[More...]