All the big effects of the hurricane didn't happen. |
Beyond the first quarter, you get a lot of ifs, ands and buts. |
But the bottom line is the charge existed. It's there. |
Cash is an asset that sits on the sideline and waits to be invested, |
Companies are finding it increasingly difficult to post record earnings. |
Companies are making more and spending less. |
Companies were shy, ... they are definitely doing more. |
Either show the results or give it back to us. |
For the companies, to bring the money back at this rate was a no-brainer, ... Even if they were not planning to make use of the money immediately, when faced with the option of tapping the funds at a 5 percent tax instead of 35 percent, most of them just decided to do it -- it makes sense. |
For the companies, to bring the money back at this rate was a no-brainer. Even if they were not planning to make use of the money immediately, when faced with the option of tapping the funds at a 5 percent tax instead of 35 percent, most of them just decided to do it -- it makes sense. |
Given the historically slow pace of change for dividends, the growth in dividend payers since January 2003 has been remarkable. |
Given the historically slow pace of change for dividends, the growth in dividend payers since January 2003 has been remarkable. Unlike the prior 20 years when the number of paying issues actually declined by 25%, since the start of 2003 the number of paying issues within the S&P 500 issues has risen by 10% to 386. For the remainder of 2006, we expect a continuation in both dividend increases and initiations among S&P 500 constituents, resulting in another double-digit gain in dividend payments. |
I would definitely agree that numbers are cleaner than they've been in several years. But a decade? I don't know. |
In the first quarter, people made the mistake of looking at how a few groups did as indicative of the whole sector, ... For this period, you really can't do that. |
Investors are looking for total return and a more conservative approach. Dividend stocks have a lot lower risk. The dividend acts like an anchor. In good times, the stock doesn't go up as much, but in bad times, it doesn't go down as much. |