Showing posts with label BCS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BCS. Show all posts
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Barclay Bans PIIGS
Analysts at Barclays (BCS) Capital have been told not to use the acronym PIIGS, which stands for the financially troubled European countries, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain. They weren't told why. But I assume it is a 'politically correct' thing.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Dividends from ETFs? Yes!
Many investors who have never purchased an ETF or Exchange Traded Fund, think that ETFs are primarily for for traders. However, there are actually hundreds of ETFs which pay dividends, and WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has turned up more than 20 with yields above 5%. There are several ETF categories to choose from including high yield bond, real estate, and emerging markets bond. Here are a few examples.
The PowerShares High Yield Corporate Bond (PHB) ETF pays a yield of 8.8%, and attempts to track the Wachovia High-Yield Bond index. The fund has been paying monthly dividends since December of 2007. It has outperformed the High Yield Bond category over the last three months. Some of the largest holdings include bonds from Baldor Electric (BEZ) and Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK).
The iShares S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (PFF) ETF yields 7.9% tracking the S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index. They have been paying dividends almost every month since May 2007. The ETF has outperformed its category and index over the last year. Larger holdings include preferreds from Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) and Barclays plc (BCS).
Do your homework on these ETFs before investing, especially the yield calculations, since many of the yields are based on recent higher than typical dividends that may not be maintained in the future. Always check the historical dividend payment history. A good starting point for high yield ETF ideas is the free database at wsnn.com, which can be sorted, added to, and changed.
Author does not own any of the above.
By Stockerblog.com
The PowerShares High Yield Corporate Bond (PHB) ETF pays a yield of 8.8%, and attempts to track the Wachovia High-Yield Bond index. The fund has been paying monthly dividends since December of 2007. It has outperformed the High Yield Bond category over the last three months. Some of the largest holdings include bonds from Baldor Electric (BEZ) and Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK).
The iShares S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (PFF) ETF yields 7.9% tracking the S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index. They have been paying dividends almost every month since May 2007. The ETF has outperformed its category and index over the last year. Larger holdings include preferreds from Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) and Barclays plc (BCS).
Do your homework on these ETFs before investing, especially the yield calculations, since many of the yields are based on recent higher than typical dividends that may not be maintained in the future. Always check the historical dividend payment history. A good starting point for high yield ETF ideas is the free database at wsnn.com, which can be sorted, added to, and changed.
Author does not own any of the above.
By Stockerblog.com
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Credit Cards May Bail Out the Holiday Season
Credit cards have been the source of the seed capital for many businesses that started off small and have since become extremely successful. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of Google (GOOG) supposedly started the company with credit card advances. Hedge fund manager Bruce Kovner and director, producer, writer, and actor Spike Lee also got their start with the help of credit cards, according to Wikipedia.
A variety of credit cards are now available and ubiquitous. And I don't just mean different interest rates and fee structures, or even personalized cards. You can get cars that smell with 90 choices of aromas.
For the average consumer, credit cards may not help with the funding of a business, but the cards will sure help out with holiday shopping. Every time there is a transaction, the card company receives a fee, and although the number and quantity of transactions may not be as much as previous, more robust years, activity this holiday season should be better than last year.
Here are some credit card companies that you might want to charge ahead with.
Discover Financial Services (DFS) is an issuer of the Discover Card, the third largest credit card brand in the U.S, as measured by cardholders. The Discover Card was originally developed by Sears, many years ago. Discover has a forward P/E of 20,has $10.8 billion in cash versus only $1.8 billion in total debt, and pays a small dividend of 0.5%.
American Express (AXP) is the financial conglomerate that offers the famous American Express card, travellers checks, gift cards, gift checks, prepaid cards and merchant services. They also offer banking, investment and travel services. The stock's forward P/E is 17,has $18.6 billion in cash and $55 billion in total debt, and it yields about 1.8%.
MasterCard (MA) went public in May of 2006. Its card brands include MasterCard, MasterCard Electronic, Cirrus, and Maestro. It has a forward P/E of 18, $2.95 billion in cash versus $22 million in total debt, and a small yield of 0.2%.
VISA (V), which also recently went public, has a forward PE of 19, $4.8 billion in cash with only a nominal $56 million in total debt, and pays a 0.6% yield.
Although a smaller play in the credit card industry, Barclays (BCS), the British financial services company, offers banking services, investment banking, and credit cards, primarily the Barclaycard. The stock has a P/E of 7 and a yield of 0.3%.
The biggest alternative to credit cards is Paypal, owned by eBay (EBAY), the online marketplace and auction place. eBay has a forward PE of 15, $3.16 billion in cash versus a picayune $200 million in total debt. They don't pay a dividend.
Maybe your portfolio can get a charge out of credit card companies. Don't leave your portfolio without one.
By the way, if you like companies with lots of cash and low or no debt, check out the free downloadable Excel databases of high cash, low debt stocks at wsnn.com.
Author owns EBAY.
By Fred Fuld at Stockerblog.com
A variety of credit cards are now available and ubiquitous. And I don't just mean different interest rates and fee structures, or even personalized cards. You can get cars that smell with 90 choices of aromas.
For the average consumer, credit cards may not help with the funding of a business, but the cards will sure help out with holiday shopping. Every time there is a transaction, the card company receives a fee, and although the number and quantity of transactions may not be as much as previous, more robust years, activity this holiday season should be better than last year.
Here are some credit card companies that you might want to charge ahead with.
Discover Financial Services (DFS) is an issuer of the Discover Card, the third largest credit card brand in the U.S, as measured by cardholders. The Discover Card was originally developed by Sears, many years ago. Discover has a forward P/E of 20,has $10.8 billion in cash versus only $1.8 billion in total debt, and pays a small dividend of 0.5%.
American Express (AXP) is the financial conglomerate that offers the famous American Express card, travellers checks, gift cards, gift checks, prepaid cards and merchant services. They also offer banking, investment and travel services. The stock's forward P/E is 17,has $18.6 billion in cash and $55 billion in total debt, and it yields about 1.8%.
MasterCard (MA) went public in May of 2006. Its card brands include MasterCard, MasterCard Electronic, Cirrus, and Maestro. It has a forward P/E of 18, $2.95 billion in cash versus $22 million in total debt, and a small yield of 0.2%.
VISA (V), which also recently went public, has a forward PE of 19, $4.8 billion in cash with only a nominal $56 million in total debt, and pays a 0.6% yield.
Although a smaller play in the credit card industry, Barclays (BCS), the British financial services company, offers banking services, investment banking, and credit cards, primarily the Barclaycard. The stock has a P/E of 7 and a yield of 0.3%.
The biggest alternative to credit cards is Paypal, owned by eBay (EBAY), the online marketplace and auction place. eBay has a forward PE of 15, $3.16 billion in cash versus a picayune $200 million in total debt. They don't pay a dividend.
Maybe your portfolio can get a charge out of credit card companies. Don't leave your portfolio without one.
By the way, if you like companies with lots of cash and low or no debt, check out the free downloadable Excel databases of high cash, low debt stocks at wsnn.com.
Author owns EBAY.
By Fred Fuld at Stockerblog.com
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