Emerging markets have certainly been the place to be. In the past 10 years, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM) has returned an astounding average of +21.5% a year, compared to +5.1% for the S&P 500. However, this outperformance has been lost on many dividend investors who have likely considered emerging markets an exotic indulgence of growth investors. But emerging markets are an increasing force on the world stage that can’t be ignored — even by income investors. Read More

Emerging markets have certainly been the place to be. In the past 10 years, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM) has returned an astounding average of +21.5% a year, compared to +5.1% for the S&P 500. However, this outperformance has been lost on many dividend investors who have likely considered emerging markets an exotic indulgence of growth investors. But emerging markets are an increasing force on the world stage that can’t be ignored — even by income investors. These nations represent 40% of the world’s population and already control two thirds of its industrial output. And their influence is growing. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says emerging markets accounted for nearly all of the world’s growth last year, and they’re forecasted to grow at nearly three times the pace of the rest of the world in 2010. Investors don’t normally associate dividends with emerging markets. Many companies in these fast growing economies have used excess cash to fund expansions rather than pay dividends in the past. But things… Read More

Right now a little fewer than 40 million Americans — that’s almost 15% of the country — has reached retirement age. But that’s the tip of the iceberg. Every day, almost 8,000 Americans turn 65. In just a decade, seniors in the United States will number 55 million. That’s a… Read More

Interest rates near zero and record-low U.S. Treasury yields make finding good income investments a bit harder these days. Don’t get me wrong — it’s still possible to find attractive yields, but you need… Read More

I’d be surprised if you’ve heard of Larry Meyer, but in the past few days, he’s created quite a buzz. Larry Meyer is a former Federal Reserve Governor. He holds a B.A. from Yale; a Ph.D. from MIT. His pedigree is top-notch. So are his connections. Meyer is still buddies with the folks on the Federal Open Market Committee, the policy-making body of the U.S. Federal Reserve. And his friends tell him what goes on at their meetings weeks before the general public gets to read about it. You would… Read More

I’d be surprised if you’ve heard of Larry Meyer, but in the past few days, he’s created quite a buzz. Larry Meyer is a former Federal Reserve Governor. He holds a B.A. from Yale; a Ph.D. from MIT. His pedigree is top-notch. So are his connections. Meyer is still buddies with the folks on the Federal Open Market Committee, the policy-making body of the U.S. Federal Reserve. And his friends tell him what goes on at their meetings weeks before the general public gets to read about it. You would think sharing that information with anyone outside the current Fed members would be illegal. You would also think the fact that Meyer charges well-heeled clients $75,000 each for access to what he has heard — well ahead of the investing public — would be unlawful. Amazingly, neither action is illegal, according to a Reuters investigation. One of the Federal Reserve’s main tools is setting target interest rates, and profits can be made or lost based on what the Fed says at its meetings. It makes me mad… Read More

The S&P 500 Index is the most commonly tracked investment benchmark in the United States. When you hear about a portfolio manager “beating the market,” chances are it is in reference to outperforming the S&P 500. Read More

Canada has been an income investor’s playscape for decades. That reputation is mainly thanks to Canadian trusts, which aren’t taxed at the corporate level as long as they pay out the bulk of earnings as dividends. That’s allowed them to… Read More

In tough economic times, a high debt load can cripple a company. But when business is good, that debt can actually be a real benefit. That’s because equity comprises just a small part of the company’s total enterprise value (… Read More

My guess is you haven’t brought the Restoring American Financial Stability Act (the official name of the just-passed financial reform act) to the lake with you this summer. At 2,300 pages and filled with 100-word sentences written in complex legalese, the bill — signed into law with… Read More

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) just got with the program. The company announced Friday morning that it will increase its existing stock buyback program by $7.5 billion and modestly boost its dividend. Suddenly, using hefty cash balances to buy back stock… Read More

A seldom mentioned emerging market country is nurturing a future oil giant. Few are aware that Colombia is a growing and dynamic economy. Many people think of Colombia as a violent and lawless place dominated by drug cartels, or perhaps even… Read More