Is the China trade over? A two-decade long run has catapulted the Chinese economy to amazing heights, but real cracks are starting to appear: inflation has perked up, the housing sector looks overextended and rumors persist that… Read More

As income investors, we can get caught up in yields… almost to a fault. But there is something else you should be studying that could make just as big a difference to your long-term returns: stocks that pay dividends. #-ad_banner-#That’s because dividend growth can make even lower-yielding stocks into big income producers over time. Take a look below at the income streams from a stock yielding 7% but not growing dividends, versus a 5% yielder that hikes payments an average of 10% a year in seven years. If you held 1,000… Read More

As income investors, we can get caught up in yields… almost to a fault. But there is something else you should be studying that could make just as big a difference to your long-term returns: stocks that pay dividends. #-ad_banner-#That’s because dividend growth can make even lower-yielding stocks into big income producers over time. Take a look below at the income streams from a stock yielding 7% but not growing dividends, versus a 5% yielder that hikes payments an average of 10% a year in seven years. If you held 1,000 shares trading at a $10 share price, then here is the income stream each would produce during one year: In just five years, that 5% yield would actually be worth more than the 7% yield. And just two years later, your income stream would grow to be 27% more than the stock yielding 7%. Keep in mind, this doesn’t take into account rising share prices. If both yields stayed the same, then the share price of the 5% yielder would have to grow to $17.72 — a 77% gain. Read More

As an asset class, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have a reputation for volatility. In some ways this reputation is well-deserved. After all, scores of ETFs are of the leveraged variety. These funds add extra juice by delivering double or even triple… Read More

Stocks have been in a deep slump since July 22. Is it a coincidence that earnings season for most companies in the S&P 500 was winding down during this time? As corporate commentary grew quieter, there were fewer fresh positive data points coming… Read More

What do you do when you find a stock with more than 988 million of its products in use… that holds more than $28 per share in cash… and is buying back $2 billion in stock? I think you buy it and hold it forever. And I’m… Read More

Here’s a bit of good news. With millions of Americans now taking anticholesterol drugs (known as statins), heart disease may soon lose its status as the leading cause of deaths in the United States. In 2009 (the year for which the most recent data is available), 598,000 Americans died of… Read More

America’s growing obesity epidemic has been for years one of the primary concerns among health-care professionals and organizations. Right now, about one-third of adults and 20% of children in the country are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So it’s easy to imagine the costs… Read More

In his famous book A Random Walk Down Wall Street, Burton Malkiel suggests that every stock is exactly fairly valued. There can be no such thing as an undervalued stock or an overvalued stock, since investors are armed with all knowledge impacting the value… Read More

If you’re a frequent StreetAuthority.com reader, then you know in the past few weeks I’ve told you a lot about the benefits of owning international high-yield stocks… even during a rough time in the market. Don’t get me wrong. I’m… Read More