Ouch, Berkshire Hathaway Negates 3 Months of Dividend Gains
Latest News about traditional investments.
(but we still love you Warren)
You need to think about this first before you calculate it. After the close of business tonight BNI with an index value of $26 billion and which pays a dividend will be removed from the S&P 500, and BRK.B, with an index market value of $127 billion (float adjusted) and which does not pay a dividend will be added. The removal will reduce the S&P 500 indicated dividend rate by $0.05, and also cause the index divisor (think of them as shares outstanding) to be increased by over 1%, to insure that there is no gain or loss in the index price. One of the side items however is that when you add up the index dividend rate in billions of dollars, you are dividing by a larger divisor, so the per share rate goes down. The full impact of the BRK / BNI deal is to negate all of the positive good dividend news we’ve had over the past three months. The simplified explanation is that your dividends in billions are only slightly lower but since you have more shares outstanding your piece of the pie is smaller (a concept to keep in mind when looking at Financial EPS).
That said, we are still holding to our initial 2010 overall 5.6% S&P 500 dividend growth rate, anticipating a good February, followed by a few decreases and better news in the second half (if the economy cooperates). Not that I knew about the change, but I certainly calculated it, just as I calculated if those three top issues (of the top 15 by market value) that don’t currently pay a dividend decided to yield their cash and pay (they would add $0.495 for each 1% yield; BRK would add another $0.141 for each 1% yield – no harm in knowing the numbers).
See file for issues, values and aggregates
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Original source for this article: Business Week
‘Fortress Companies’ – finding security with value investing
Latest News about traditional investments.
Kent Lucas, Editor of Taipan’s Safe Haven Investor, shares some of his keys for skillful value investing, as written for Taipan Daily.
Kent Lucas (Taipan Daily):
I’m sure many of you know all too well about the problem of insomnia. It affects four in 10 adults, according to the European Journal of Psychiatry. And a 2009 National Sleep Foundation study indicated that 67% of those surveyed experienced a sleeping problem at least a few days a week compared to only 13% in 1991.
I’m sure the wildly swinging stock market – down 50%, up 60% from the lows, etc. – hasn’t helped. Even as times get increasingly hectic, though, you want to make sure you’re getting enough quality sleep. It’s proven to help you function better during the day (and live longer).
The tie-in is that, when it comes to long-term investing at least, I’m here to help you sleep better at night. So today we’ll look at the importance of financial strength when searching for high-quality investment ideas.
The Financial Fortress
To that end, my game plan is investing in Financial Fortresses – rock-solid companies that can withstand economic fallout (and occasional serious beat downs from Mr. Market. (Picture a Sherman tank that can withstand serious artillery attack.)
There are many high-quality companies in outstanding financial position because of the many reasons, including having a “very wide economic moat,” that I previously discussed.
From my perspective, a Financial Fortress is typically an investment-grade company that either has
a) a great balance sheet
b) large cash flow generating capabilities, and/or
c) impressive asset efficiency
To give you some idea of what I mean, here is a sample list of companies that are cash-rich or otherwise don’t carry any long-term debt.
Fiscal Prudence
Companies with great balance sheets have low long-term debt levels or even no debt at all (with actual net cash on their books). This creates a solid cushion, enabling such companies to weather tough economic times or temporary challenges to the underlying business. Operating with cash on hand and little or no debt also allows for tremendous financial, strategic and operational flexibility to fuel growth and generate solid shareholder returns. And for our purposes of protecting and creating wealth, a company with a superior financial position increases the odds of generating above-market returns.
Some companies are just very conservative and refuse to take on significant amounts of debt. Among corporate financial theorists, there is plenty of research and debate in regard to potential optimal levels of debt, equity and so on.
For many if not most companies, taking on a certain amount of debt makes sense. Companies can manage what is known as their “capital structure” by issuing debt or raising new funds through equity offerings (issuing more stock) during a strong market period. Or, companies can be so profitable that they generate ample “free cash flow” from their day-to-day operations.
Click here for the rest of Mr. Lucas’ article on Taipan Daily.
Original source for this article: Contrarian Profits
The Ins and Outs of Depositing by Bank Transfer and Bank Wire
Latest News Letter from AlertPay online payment system.
As you all know, AlertPay is one of the most convenient and accessible payment solutions on the web. You can make and accept instant secure credit card payments to online sellers, but you can also deposit money into your AlertPay account directly from your bank.
How to add a bank account
Adding a bank account only takes a few moments. Just follow these steps:
1. Login to your AlertPay account.
2. Click on “Profile”.
3. Under “Financial”, click on “Bank Accounts”.
4. Choose country where your bank account is located and click on “Next”.
5. Choose whether you would like to use your account for bank transfers (deposits and withdrawals) or bank wires (withdrawals only) and click on “Next”.
6. Enter bank details and click on “Next”.
7. Review details, accept the EFT authorization and confirm.If you reside in Canada or the United States, AlertPay will send two micro deposits under $0.15 to your bank account within five business days.
Once you receive the micro deposits, you will see a prompt in the “Message Center” of your AlertPay account to confirm them. Simply click the status and enter both amounts to confirm your bank account. Then you can deposit money as often as you need to.
If you reside outside of Canada or the United States, you will not receive any micro deposits. Your bank account will be ready to go; however, your transactions may fail if you do not enter your banking details correctly.
Also, you must create a deposit transaction in your AlertPay account beforehand and bring the transaction details to your bank to complete the transaction.
How to create a deposit transaction
Just login to your AlertPay account and click on “Deposit” to initiate a deposit transaction. Follow the simple steps and you are on your way. Make sure to choose either bank transfer or bank wire for your transaction.
If you wish to deposit money into your AlertPay account by bank wire, you do not need to add a bank account; you only need to create your deposit transaction and bring the transaction details to your bank.
*Bank Deposit Codes (International members only)
For those of you who are located outside North America, you can deposit by bank transfer as long as we support this service in your country. If we do, it is imperative that you note the Bank Deposit Code in your transaction details, which are presented after creating your deposit transaction in your AlertPay account.
Bank Deposit Codes are 13 digits long and begin with 34. This code is required when you visit your bank and must be included in the “Details” or “Reference” area of your bank transfer. It is very important to note that a missing Bank Deposit Code will cause delays in the completion of your transaction.
Fast Facts
- Bank transfer deposits generally take 3-5 business days to complete, but up to 6 days to complete for our Canadian members.
- Bank wire deposits take 3-4 business days.
- Bank transfers are available in 46 countries.
- You can only add a joint bank account if it is not already added to a previous or existing account. Any bank account can only be added to one AlertPay account at a time.
- If your deposit coincides with a holiday, your deposit may be delayed by a minimum of one day.Thank you for making AlertPay your way to pay!
Money Debate recommends you to open a AlertPay account.
HY Markets Forex Broker
In this article you will find information about an interesting Foreign Exchange Broker.
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