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Sunday, February 27, 2011

Sexy Stocks

The adult entertainment business has always been a recession-proof industry. In spite of the 'free' competition from the Internet, many sources say that the industry has been growing by as much as 50% per year. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com turned up a dozen companies in the sex business, including a couple that own brothels.

The classic adult oriented company, Playboy (PLA) is a New York Stock Exchange company that participates in almost all aspects of the industry including magazines, DVD’s, television shows, documentaries, web entertainment, e-commerce sites, and various Playboy brand products. They also own the Spice TV shows and related products. It is considered to be the largest adult entertainment conglomerate in the world. The company recently generated negative earnings, and revenues for the latest quarter were down 9%. The stock has a price sales ratio of 0.96, and a price earnings growth ratio of 1.12.

New Frontier Media (NOOF) is a Boulder, Colorado based company, traded on NASDAQ, which provides adult entertainment TV networks, cable television video-on-demand, satellite broadcasts, motion pictures and hotel room broadcasts. It trades at 12.2 times forward earnings and a PEG Ratio of 5.15. The price sales ratio is 0.75.

Rick's Cabaret International (RICK) is a Houston, Texas based company which operates adult nightclubs in cities throughout the United States including Houston, New York, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Miami Gardens, and Philadelphia. The stock trades at 11.2 times forward earnings, and has a PEG ratio of 0.32, and a PS ratio of 1.28.

To see the rest of these sexy stocks, check out the free list of adult business stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. Many of the publicly traded stocks in this business are low cap companies, so caution is urged when considering these.

Disclosure: Author owns RICK. No recommendation expressed or implied.

By Stockerblog.com

Odd Lots for February

The official definition of odd lot is a group of shares amounting to less than 100 shares. For purposes of Stockerblog.com, it is a group of snippets about various financial and business web sites. It has nothing to do with being 'odd'.

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Want to see a Risk Chart of your favorite stock? Check out RiskGrades.

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If you are a gold bug, you should buy the largest California Gold Rush Nugget in existence. The 100 troy ounce gold will be auctioned off by Holabird-Kagin Americana March 16 in Sacramento.

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I'm sure everyone reading this, won't be taken in by an online swindler. But maybe you know someone (a parent or child or friend?) who is not so Internet savvy. If so, have them check out Facecrooks which provides the latest up-to-the-second on online scams, especially relating to Facebook.

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"America’s First IPO” is an exhibit on the country’s first public company, the Bank of North America, and the origins of the US stock market, currently held at the Museum of Financial History until the end of March.

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Protect yourself from RFID crooks. Thieves can now use electronic pickpocketing to scan your credit card numbers from your new credit cards that have the RFID chips. The thieves can do this without even touching you. Identity Stronghold sells RFID blocking products.

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The perfect place to hide your gold, silver, and stock and bond certificates: A book safe you can make yourself.

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What would a $3 steak dinner be worth in today's dollars?

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Do you really think the government wastes money? Check out CAGW to substantiate your belief.

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The Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway letter to shareholders.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Below $3 Trading on the NYSE

Many investors believe low price stocks are dead, even those that trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYX). But look at Flotek Industries Inc. (FTK), the Houston based drilling supply company. The stock traded between 1.06 to 1.36 during the month of July last year. It closed at 6.53 on Friday. This is a 516% increase from its low in less than a year.

Or how about Global Ship Lease, Inc. (GSL), which 14 months ago was trading at 1.05, and last summer traded between 2.25 and 3.00 and now is at 7.34, more than doubling since July. The real estate investment company, Newcastle Investment Corp. (NCT), went from 2.42 six months ago to 8.47, a 250% increase.

According to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are over 20 stocks that are trading for less than three dollars a share on the NYSE, five of which pay dividends.

These low priced NYSE gems include such companies as Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (JTX). It is tax season after all. The stock closed at 1.17 last Friday and trades at 14.6 times forward earnings. Investors should be aware that the company generated significant negative earnings and carries a large amount of debt. The company's earnings call is scheduled for Thursday, March 10.

The medical device company, Theragenics Corp. (TGX), sells for 1.71 below its book value of 2.41. The stock has a forward price to earnings ratio of 21.4, and had a revenue increase of 10.6% for the latest quarter.

Magnetek Inc. (MAG), a two dollar a share stock, is a provider of digital power control systems. The stock trades at nine times forward earnings and posted a 35.5% increase in revenues for the latest quarter.

To see a free list of low priced NYSE stocks, go to wsnn.com. Do your homework before investing in these as many have been generating negative earnings and have low market caps.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the First Week of March


Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the market capitalization, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

Flowers Foods, Inc. (FLO) market cap: $2.4B ex div date: 3/1/2011 yield: 3.0%

Regal Entertainment Group (RGC) market cap: $2.3B ex div date: 3/1/2011 yield: 5.9%

Dominion Resources, Inc. (D) market cap: $26.4B ex div date: 3/2/2011 yield: 4.4%

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB) market cap: $26.4B ex div date: 3/2/2011 yield: 4.3%

Potlatch Corporation (PCH) market cap: $1.5B ex div date: 3/2/2011 yield: 5.5%

PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) market cap: $100.0B ex div date: 3/2/2011 yield: 3.1%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Which Are Better? Muni Bonds or Tax Free CEFs

With the stock market volatility and uncertainty, and the possibility of future tax increases, many investors are turning to tax free bonds, also known as municipal bonds and munis, or they are choosing the alternative tax free income closed end funds, of which there are over 250 available according to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. When deciding which is the better way to go, investors should know the advantages and disadvantages of muni bonds versus closed end funds, generally referred to as CEFs.

Municipal bonds have always been popular with high income taxpayers, since the bonds provide income that is tax free from Federal income taxes. If the bond is issued from the state where the taxpayer lives or from one of the territories of the US such as Puerto Rico, Guam, or the Virgin Islands, then the income is also exempt from state taxes. Munis are generally issued by states, counties, cities, and other governmental entities such as school districts, sewer districts, and water and power departments.

One of the advantages of munis is that you can pick and choose what governmental agency you want to loan money to. Investors may be better off sticking with those that fund projects with guaranteed income streams such as bridge tolls.

In addition, bonds have a maturity date. Why is that important? It means that no matter how high interest rates go, and no matter how low the bonds drop in value, at maturity, the bonds are paid off at par.

There are some drawbacks though. Bonds carry a high minimum investment. Although munis are issued in $5,000 denominations, a round lot is generally considered by many brokerage firms to be $100,000.

There is less diversification available to investors. Because of the higher minimum, investors can't own as many diverse bonds as they could with a CEF.

Also, interest payments are made only twice a year, and there is no professional management or monitoring of the bonds.

One last disadvantage is illiquidity. Munis are not traded on an exchange, and estimated prices given on brokerage statements may be way off from what brokers will actually offer you if you want to sell.

So what about tax free closed end funds? First, there is no minimum investment. If your brokerage firm would allow it, you could conceivably buy one share of a CEF.

The CEFs provide a monthly income, and with that monthly income, the investor's capital is returned faster, which means you can do faster compounding of your income. Also, since CEFs are traded on major exchanges, they are very liquid.

Taking a look at the negatives of muni CEFs, you do pay a management fee and other administrative fees, plus some CEFs use leverage, which increases the risks to the investor. Some CEFs may be trading at a premium to net asset value, which should be avoided.

With the exception of a few target funds, there is no maturity date, so if rates go up and continue to rise during your lifetime, you may never get your principal back.

As you can see, there are advantages and disadvantages to both municipal bonds and CEFs. You have to be the one to decide which way to go. If you want a list of municipal bond closed end funds, which can be downloaded, sorted, and updated, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

By Stockerblog.com

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Dumps Nike, B of A, and Comcast

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) (BRK-B), the company run by billionaire Warren Buffett, has decided to to eliminate a couple of high profile names from its portfolio, including Nike (NKE), Bank of America (BAC), and Comcast (CMCSK). Buffett also got rid of Lowes (LOW), Becton Dickinson, (BDX), Nalco Holding (NLC), and Fiserv (FISV).

Also, he sold off all 3.4 million shares of Nestle (NSRGY.PK). After all, Berkshire Hathaway doesn't need it since it owns See's Candies. If you've never tried See's, you need to try the candy once if you get to the western United States. (Berkshire owns the entire See's company so you can't buy stock in it. You will just have to buy Berkshire shares if you want a piece of that candy.)

In case you think Buffett is soured on the market, since he eliminated eight of his positions, he has made a couple purchases, adding to positions of existing holdings.

Buffett bought 6.2 million additional shares of Wells Fargo (WFC), and is currently Berkshire's second largest holding. Wells trades at 9.3 times forward earnings and pays a yield of 0.6%. Earnings for the latest quarter were up 20.9% year over year.

The third largest holding of Berkshire is American Express (AXP). Buffett increased his holdings in this large financial institution by a whopping 149.6 million shares. American Express has a forward price to earnings ratio of 11.2 and sports a yield of 1.6%. Earnings for the latest quarter were up 48.3% versus the same quarter last year.

To see a free list of all the latest holdings of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which can be downloaded, sorted, and updated, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. The stocks on this list have yields ranging up to 6.4%.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above stocks at the time the article was written.


By Stockerblog.com

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Sugar Stocks are Sweet

Sugar production actually started in India in ancient times, where sugarcane juice was turned into granulated crystals. Honey was obviously used as a sweetener in other areas of the world back then. Did you know that Christopher Columbus brought the first sugarcane cuttings to the New World? Now Brazil has the highest per capita production of sugar in the world. One growing byproduct of sugar production for food is fuel for energy such as ethanol.

Unfortunately, there are not too many sugar production companies that are publicly traded, but there are several that use sugar in their candy and chocolate products. Imperial Sugar Co. (IPSU) is a processor and marketer of refined sugar in several formats, including granulated, powdered, and liquid. The stock trades on NASDAQ at seven times forward earnings and pays a yield of 0.7%.

Cosan Ltd. (CZZ), based in Brazil, is one of the largest growers and processors of sugarcane in the world and the largest ethanol producer in Brazil from sugarcane. This New York Stock Exchange (NYX) traded company trades at 9.3 times forward earnings and pays a decent yield of 2%.

If you think the price of sugar is going up, but you don't want to invest in commodities directly, you might want to consider the iPath Dow Jones-UBS Sugar Total Return Sub-Index Exchange Traded Note (SGG), which attempts to replicate the Dow Jones-UBS Sugar Total Return Sub-Index. This ETN, which also trades on the NYSE, has a one year total return of over 25%.

The other alternative is investing in companies that use sugar in their products, such as The Hershey Company (HSY), Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. (TR), and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. (RMCF). To see a free down-loadable list of all the candy and chocolate stocks, which can be updated and sorted, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.


By Stockerblog.com

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Book Review: Where Does the Money Go? Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis

The book Where Does the Money Go? Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis by Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson provides details about the budget issues of the United States government, how a continued increase in the budget can cause a much greater problem in the future, and what can be done about it.

The authors of the book are editors of publicagenda.org, which I understand has taken some flack from the left wing, the right wing, and even the libertarians. However, in this book, I think that they are honestly try to provide a balanced view, including suggestions for resolving the budget crises from all sides, and providing pros and cons to those recommendations. Obviously, readers (including me) will strongly disagree with some of the suggestions that are brought up, e.g. increasing taxes, but other ideas many will consider favorable.

The book is thorough complete and easy to understand. If you want to understand the budget crisis, read Where Does the Money Go? Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis.

Water Utility Dividend Increasers

Nothing pleases an income investor more than an increase in dividends. Fortunately, some industries are doing well enough to provide these increases. One of those industries is the water distribution business.

Aqua America (WTR) recently boosted its dividend and has provided increases every year for the last 19 years. This Pennsylvania based company has paid dividends for 65 years. It trades at 24 times forward earnings and provides a yield of 2.7%.

Water stocks provide excellent income diversification along with a portfolio of electric utilities and natural gas utilities. Water utilities provide CD beating yields yields ranging from 2% to 5% according to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. Here are a few examples.

SJW Corp. (SJW) is a San Jose, California based water distributor which serves the Silicon Valley area and has customers in Cupertino, San Jose, Campbell, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Los Gatos, and parts of Santa Clara County. The stock has a forward PE of 23 and pays a yield of 2.9%.

American Water Works Co., Inc. (AWK) is a New Jersey based distributor of water in 35 states and two Canadian provinces. The stock trades at 16.5 times forward earnings, with a nice 3.2% yield.

Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (CWCO), based in the Cayman Islands distributes water in the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, and Bermuda. It also operates desalinization plants. The stock trades at a forward PE of 19 and yields 2.9%.

To see a free list of all the top yielding water stocks, most of which yield between 3% to 5%, which you can download, update, and sort, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Fourth Week of February


Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the market capitalization, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

DNP Select Income Fund Inc. (DNP) market cap: $2.2B ex div date: 2/24/2011 yield: 8.4%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) market cap: $170.9B ex div date: 2/25/2011 yield: 3.5%

MGE Energy, Inc. (MGEE) market cap: $979.1M ex div date: 2/25/2011 yield: 3.6%

Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. (BAGL) market cap: $259.5M ex div date: 2/25/2011 yield: 3.4%

Fifth Street Finance Corp. (FSC) market cap: $683.5M ex div date: 2/25/2011 yield: 10.2%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Delay on Next Free Email Newsletter

Those of my readers who enjoy receiving the free Stockerblog newsletter will experience a little delay. The email service I was using, BenchmarkEmail, canceled my account. Their reason was that I had too many complaints. When I checked the report for my latest email sent a couple weeks ago, I saw I had one complaint as of the day they canceled my account. That's one out of around 1400 subscribers. I called and talked to someone in both their technical support department and their sales support department, but they both said that there was nothing they could do, the decision had been made.

This is a complaint rate of seven one hundreds of a percent, in other words, less than one tenth of one percent. I can't even figure out how I got a complaint, as the only people on the subscription list are the ones who manually enter their email address, then they must confirm when they get the confirmation email. Maybe it was a husband and wife that share an email, and one didn't know the other subscribed. Remember, a complaint isn't an unsubscribe.

Anyway, not to belabor the point, I first have to find a new email service, sort out the emails of the ones who want to continue on the subscription, upload the emails, create my newsletter template, then finally create the next newsletter.

Anyone out there have any suggestions on good email services?

NYSE to Merge with Deutsche Boerse: Did You Read My Article Last Week?

Last week, I wrote an article about how the London Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange were merging and that there may be more stock exchange mergers on the horizon. Now the news is out. The NYSE Euronext (NYX), which runs the New York Stock Exchange, and Deutsche Börse (DBOEY.PK), which operates the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, have agreed a $10 billion stock merger.

It looks like there aren't too many ways left to invest in a stock exchange.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Audio Book Review: Fool's Gold: The Inside Story of J.P. Morgan

I do a lot of driving, so to make the time in my car productive, I listen to a lot of audio books. Last month, I listened to The 4-Hour Workweek
after already having read the printed version of the book. My audio book for the last couple weeks has been Fool's Gold: The Inside Story of J.P. Morgan and How Wall St. Greed Corrupted Its Bold Dream and Created a Financial Catastrophe by Gillian Tett. This is by far the most thorough and complete book on the financial meltdown. The book has widespread depth and breath of what took place, not only in the United States but also in Europe.

The book covers in extensive detail SIVs, CDOs, super senior tranches, senior tranches, mezzanine tranches, junior tranches, ABSs, CSOs, CBOs, synthetic CDOs, shadow banks, and much, much more. (Don't worry if you don't understand what any of this means, the book will explain it to you.) I personally like all this detail, because it gives me a better understanding of what went on. But the book is not about definitions, it is about the people and the companies involved, the investment banks and the commercial banks. J.P. Morgan wasn't unscathed, but it survived, now as JP Morgan Chase (JPM).

The book covers the complete history of the bank and the economy going back to the 1980's all the way to the present. Although I haven't read the book in printed form, I think Fool's Gold would be an interesting volume whether you listen to it or read it.

Free Stuff for Investors

The best things in life for stock market traders and investors may actually be free. There are many items for investors, including books and magazines, which are available without charge. Here are some worth checking out.

Free iPhone Investment Applications

There are several applications designed investors, which are available for the Apple (AAPL) iPhone which can be downloaded for free. For example, Bloomberg has a great iPhone app which provides the latest financial news, stock info, and more. There is another free app called iThread which is a database of hundreds of technology companies, along with who invested in them, who they invested in, contact information, officers, and much more. Great for venture capitalists or those that are looking for venture capital. If you are an investor in real estate, you can check out the Trulia app, which finds homes for sale and open houses in your area. To access these applications, just click on the App Store icon, then the Search icon, type in 'Stock', and click Search. Yahoo (YHOO) has a nice app called Y! Finance and so does Forbes, TheStreet (TSCM), and Morningstar. I usually check the price of oil, natural gas, and gold with an app called BlackGold.

Free Trading Magazine

A free subscription to SFO Magazine is available, which covers stocks, futures, options, forex and ETF's. This magazine, which has been around for many years, is designed for the individual trader. By the way, SFO stands for Stocks, Futures, Options.

Free Investing E-Books

You can get 13 Free Stock Market E-Books, all in a pdf format which can be downloaded and read on your computer or printed out. These are provided by swing-trade-stocks.com.

You can also receive a free stock market book, offered by traderslibrary.com. You can choose from one of three different investment ebooks.

Free Stock Market Games

A free stock market game, using a Virtual Stock Exchange, also known as a Stock Market Simulation or Fantasy Stock Market, which allows you to practice your trading for free, is available from howthemarketworks.com. A stock market simulator game is also available from investopedia.com.

There is also a free stock market trading game at Wall Street Survivor.

Free Stock Screeners

There are plenty of free stock screeners out there, and if you have an online brokerage account, they probably have a screener on their site. There are several other sites that have free screeners available including Yahoo! Finance, thestreet.com (TSCM), and MarketWatch.com.

Free Top Hedge Fund Info

Have you ever wondered what the top hedge funds and top mutual funds are investing in? Want to follow in their footsteps, piggyback on their stockholdings? You could spend many hours combing through SEC records to get this info, or you could do it the easy way, by going to Stockpickr.com, which has all that information at your fingertips for free.

Free Investment Spreadsheet Templates

There are several free investment related Excel spreadsheet templates available from 18stocks.com, such as 'How Long to Become a Millionaire' and 'Stock Recovery Analysis'.

Free Stock Certificate Valuation

Have an old stock certificate from a company like Enron or WorldCom or maybe you just have an old stock or bond certificate that you inherited from your grandmother? Want to find out what it is worth as a collectible? Maybe you want to get rid of it for tax loss purposes, or just turn your trash into cash. You can get a free valuation of your old stock certificate as a collectible at AntiqueStocks.com.

Free Sortable Stock Lists

One site that has dozens of free stock lists in an Excel format is WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. The lists can be downloaded, updated, and sorted, and include such industries as Brazil stocks, Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway Stocks, candy and chocolate stocks, casino stocks, china stocks, cloud computer stocks, lithium stocks, shipping stocks, and water purification and desalination stocks. There is also a free retirement analyzer spreadsheet template from the site.

Disclosure: Author owns AAPL and YHOO.


By Stockerblog.com

Born to Sell

Are you an investor who wants to generate income from a portfolio, or generate additional income beyond the dividends? You might want to check out the website called BornToSell.com, which allows you to easily and instantly look for the best buy-write opportunities, in other words, which stocks are the best ones to buy and write calls against them. You can search by expiration, moneyness, and sector.

I have actually used this site a couple times, with success. It has a very simple to use interface.

There is also a section which shows you the best options to write based on stocks you have already owned.

I have no connection to the BornToSell web site and I don't even know the owner. I just thought my readers would find this of interest.

Nanotechnology is Big Business


The mathematical definition of 'nano' is one billionth; so for example, a nanosecond is one billionth of a second. Nanotechnology is the science of manufacturing and utilizing extremely small particles and devices, sometimes as small as single atoms and molecules. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, which is approximately 80,000 times thinner than a human hair. Nanomaterials include carbon nanotubes used in electronics, body armor and cancer treatments, nanoclays which are used in composite materials, and nanoscale metals, alloys, and oxides, used in the energy and renewable energy industries.

WallStreetNewsNetwork.com just updated its list of over 40 different stocks that are involved in thenanotechnology field. They range from the microcaps (maybe these should be called nanocaps?) to the large multi-billion dollar corporations. For some of these companies, nanotech may represent only a small part of the business, such as Dow Chemical Co. (DOW), Eastman Kodak Co. (EK), EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DD), Ford (F), General Electric (GE), General Motors (GM), and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ). Here are a few examples of companies involved in this fast growing field.

Amkor Technology Inc. (AMKR) is in the business of microelectromechanical systems, microelectronic assembly, and testing. The stock trades at 6.5 times forward earnings and has a very favorable PEG of 0.86.

ABB (ABB) has a nanotechnology research division relating to surface structures and material parameters. The stock has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 15.9. The company also pays a yield of 2.0%.

Another dividend payer is Eaton Corp. (ETN) makes micro and nano connectors. The stock has a forward PE of 12.8 and a yield of 2.5%.

Cabot Microelectronics Corp. (CCMP) develops proprietary Advanced Nanoscale Surface Technology is designed to deliver Angstrom level finishes. The stock has a forward PE of 15.8.

An Excel list of over 40 nanotechnology stocks along with a description of their connections to nanotechnology, which can be downloaded, sorted, updated, and added to can be found at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author owned F at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Monthly Dividend Real Estate Companies

A little over a year ago, I predicted that the bottom of the real estate market would take place in November of 2009. There were positive signs in 2010 but as I mentioned in my article, real estate is like a giant ship; it takes a long time to turn, unlike the stock market, which can turn on a dime.

If you think real estate is turning around, there are alternatives to buying a rental house. Alternatives include real estate investment trusts and closed-ended funds that invest in real estate securities. These investments can provide liquidity and income, plus you don't have to worry about being called at 2 o'clock in the morning about a leaky toilet. According to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are several real estate stocks that pay dividends monthly, with yields ranging from 2.3% to 7%.

For example, Inland Real Estate Corporation (IRC), a real estate investment trust that owns and operates shopping centers and single-tenant retail properties in the Midwest, yields 6.2%. The company has been paying monthly dividends since July of 2004. The stock trades at 11 times forward earnings. It just reported lower fourth-quarter results, with funds for operations at 21 cents a share for the quarter versus 23 cents a share for the same quarter last year.

LMP Real Estate Income Fund Inc. (RIT) is an exchange traded fund that invests in various companies involved in the real estate sector. The stock provides a yield of 4.3% which is payable monthly. Dividends have been paid since 2002. The ETF trades at a price to earnings ratio of 3. The stock is currently selling below its net asset value as of year end of 11.07.

To see an Excel list of all monthly dividend stocks including real estate stocks, which can be downloaded, updated, and sorted, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written,


By Stockerblog.com

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Third Week of February


Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the market capitalization, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP) market cap: $6.8B ex div date: 2/14/2011 yield: 5.0%

CSR Limited ADR (CSRLF) market cap: $394.4M ex div date: 2/14/2011 yield: 5.6%

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (ED) market cap: $14.7B ex div date: 2/14/2011 yield: 4.8%

LTC Properties, Inc. (LTC) market cap: $722.5M ex div date: 2/16/2011 yield: 6.1%

Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) market cap: $8.0B ex div date: 2/17/2011 yield: 3.2%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Top Stock Exchange Stocks

The London Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange, which is owned by the TMX Group holding company, announced that they are merging, which will create one of the largest stock exchanges in the world, trading more than 6,700 companies. Will this be the beginning of more merger activity in stock exchange companies? If so, maybe it is time to look at the ones that are publicly traded.

NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYX) operates the New York Stock Exchange, Euronext and NYSE Arca. The stock trades at 15 times forward earnings and pays a yield of 3.7%.

The biggest American competitor to NYX is Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) which trades on NASDAQ of course. Although NASDAQ was founded in 1971, it went public in 2002. It is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities trading market in the United States and second-largest by market capitalization in the world. The stock has a forward P/E of 10.

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (ICE) operates regulated futures exchange and over-the-counter markets, and derivatives clearing exchanges. The stock trades at 20 times forward earnings.

CME Group Inc. (CME) operates the CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX futures and options exchanges that trade futures contracts and options on futures contracts on interest rates, stock indexes, and other investments. The stock has a forward PE ratio of 15 and sports a yield of 1.5%.

If you like interesting stock lists like this, you should check out the various stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: A relative of the author owns NYX.

By Stockerblog.com

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Top Yielding Stocks from the Country of the Richest Man in the World


Accordng to Forbes Magazine, the chairman and CEO of Telefonos de Mexico (TMX) and América Móvil (AMX), Carlos Slim Helu, is the richest man in the world, at least as of March of last year. He has an approximate net worth of 74.5 billion dollars now, more than $15 billion more than last year. Slim was born in Mexico City in 1940 to the son of a dry goods store owner.

Mexico has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with a growing middle class. The per-capital income has been rising, and inflation has been dropping over the last several years. Mexico is the 9th largest holder of US debt, and is one of the twelve largest economies in the world.

Investors looking for investments in the birth country of Carlos Slim can find several Mexico stocks that pay dividends, all but one of which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, according to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. One of Carlos Slim's stocks, Telefonos de Mexico (TMX), also known as Telmex, pays a high dividend of 4.4%. The company, which owns 90 percent of the telephone lines in Mexico city, trades at 12 times forward earnings.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (FMX) is a beverage distributor of Coca Cola brands in Mexico along with several other Latin American countries including Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina. The stock sports a yield of 1.2% and sells for 19 times forward earnings.

Another high yield Mexican stock is Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte (OMAB), which participates in the growth of the travel industry by operating airports in the central and northern regions of Mexico. The stock, which trades on NASDAQ, has a 3.8% yield, and a forward price to earnings ratio of 22.

To access a free list of all the major Mexico stocks that trade in the US, some of which have yields close to 5%, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. The list can be sorted, updated, and downloaded.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.


By Stockerblog.com

The Infrastructure Stocks Highway


It seems like every major city and even smaller cities I've driven through, I've noticed some sort of road, bridge, or tunnel repairs and upgrades. Even in Redondo Beach, California, the sidewalk along the cliffs above the beach is being torn up, and according to the locals, is being paid for by Federal funds. The beachgoers are hoping the replacement will be done by summer.

Many publicly traded companies are benefiting from all this construction. There are many ways of investing this sector, and according to the list of infrastructure stocks that WallStreetNewsNetwork.com recently updated, there are the suppliers, the contractors, and the consultants. Many of these companies are involved in additional industries, such as energy.

Michael Baker Corporation (BKR) provides professional engineering and consulting services for the public and private sector covering the life cycle of infrastructure. The stock trades at 14.9 earnings, and 11.7 times forward earnings, with a PEG ratio of 1.09.

URS Corporation (URS) provides consulting, engineering, and construction services for surface, air, and rail transportation networks, ports and harbors, and water supply and water treatment systems. The stock has a very reasonable price to earnings ratio of 14, a forward PE of 12.2, with a price earnings growth ratio, also known as a PEG ratio, of 1.23.

CEMEX (CX), based in Monterrey, Mexico, is the world's largest building materials supplier and third largest cement producer.The company recently generated negative earnings and has a forward PE of 37.7.

To see other top infrastructure stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Author does not own any of the above.


By Stockerblog.com

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Treasuries May Crash But Shorting Them Isn’t Worth the Risk

Treasuries May Crash, But Shorting Them Isn’t Worth the Risk
By: J. Tyler Matuella

Chasing the Next Treasure-y


Everyone has heard about the famed handful of investors—Michael Burry and John Paulson, amongst others—who saw the real estate bubble forming in the early 2000’s and purchased the lucrative credit default swaps to cash-in when the system collapsed. A couple of those investors made billions in a few months from essentially shorting mortgage-backed securities. Now it seems like there’s a new fad on the Street to discover the next bubble and short it, in hope of making record returns. Many of these hungry investors have turned their beady eyes to the U.S. Treasury market.

Record deficits, the European PIGS, and the Greek debt bailout have put sovereign solvency on the short list of investor concerns since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Even as the world has seemingly recovered from the dark trenches of the crisis with the resurgence of the equity markets, many investors are still waiting for the real bang.

But they’re not just referring to the Eurozone debt turmoil across the pond. There has been a lot of talk recently about shorting U.S. Treasuries right here at home as sentiment about the unsustainability of the debt has reached a fever pitch.

Real Concerns, Real Consequences


The concerns are valid. Some people are worried that the U.S. government’s ballooning debt, coupled with a decreasing demand for Treasuries as the equity markets heat back up, will force the U.S. government’s borrowing rate to rise.

On a more pessimistic note, other investment analysts think that gridlock in the nation’s political system will prevent the government from passing tax hikes and spending cuts that are needed for the government to rein in the debt—the eventual implication is a Greek-like debt crisis. As Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned in early January, "Even a short-term or limited default would have catastrophic economic consequences that would last for decades."

Perhaps the best case scenario (for the United States, at least) for the fall of Treasury prices is that there’s a compelling argument for significant inflation in the near future. Massive amounts of increased government spending, tax cut extensions, and record low interest rates indicate that the economic system is flooded with cheap, pent-up money that will have to be spent at some point. When that happens, inflation will take charge and Treasury yields will have to jump to continue attracting investors. But at least the inflation will eat away the value of the U.S. national debt.


Small Upside, Large Downside


Short positions are already risky. Such is the case with any investment that has a finite upside and an unlimited downside—(although the downside of shorting Treasuries is not unlimited since most investors won’t accept large negative yields). Treasuries take the risk to a different level, however, and I will explain why it’s nearly impossible to earn a huge profit from simply shorting a bond or using a credit default swap on U.S. debt.

If bond prices fall, theoretically the return from shorting a U.S. Treasury could be anything from a few cents, to the entire value of the bond if the government defaults. To those who are convinced that Treasuries will tank because the insolvency threat is real and coming, then it doesn’t sound like a bad investment.

But there’s a key problem with that logic. Even though it may seem obvious, U.S. debt is denoted in dollars. That’s a critical distinction from Greek or Portuguese debt, which is denoted in a supranational currency—the Euro—rather that their own national currency. If investors are looking to earn landslide profits from a steep fall of Treasury prices because of rampant inflation or government default, then that very situation will correspondingly come with a huge decrease in the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar. Since U.S. debt is denoted in dollars, the purchasing power of that windfall profit from the Treasury short could drastically reduce the real return, depending on the severity of the price drop. There won’t be an opportunity to protect the profit by converting it to a foreign currency because the dollar value will simultaneously drop as the winnings are earned.

Some investors have bought credit default swaps on U.S. debt that pays in Euros. However, the exact same problem occurs in that situation as well. Large per-trade profit margins for retail investors are restricted because foreign banks will charge a premium, around the time of the crash in Treasury prices, to insure U.S. debt because they’re not only dealing with the chance of default, but also the foreign exchange risk. CDS are even more risky since they only pay out in the event of an actual default, and it’s very difficult to imagine that the U.S. government would choose to default instead of just running the printing presses more.

The chart below shows the nature of the restriction of real return per bond if an investor does a “simple” short on a 10-yr bond purchased at $100 face-value (Real return numbers are not exact at each bond price increment.):

Is It Still Worth It?


Now that we can see there’s inherently only a small to medium upside to shorting the U.S. Treasuries, the question remains, is that limited potential for gains still worth the risk?

The easy answer is that it depends on investors’ risk tolerance. If you’re a big risk taker or someone with lots of cash like a hedge fund, and if you can afford short term losses and don’t mind earning smaller margins per trade, then go for it. The potential for large absolute gains from making high-volume, small-margin trades still exists on a day-to-day basis without harm to the currency. Investors take advantage of small bond price movements every day. However, as I argued before, any large drop in bond prices will be self-defeating and inherently restricting. The “big bang” of profits that investors found in shorting the real estate market in 2008 simply doesn’t exist in the bond market, in part because of the different nature of the financial instruments used.

To more risk-averse investors, trying to profit by day-trading in the bond market may prove particularly difficult, given the current state of world affairs. If the events in Tunisia and Egypt have taught us anything in the past weeks, it’s that the prices of equities and Treasuries are not governed by purely market forces. Between January 25th and January 30th, investors exited equity positions and fled to the security of U.S. Treasuries amidst fears that turmoil in the Arab world could roil economic growth and pressure oil supplies.

Even with all of the convincing economic evidence for why bond prices should have been falling, bond prices rose for almost a full week while equities fell. Once investors realized their fears had no economic grounding, bond prices fell back and equities returned to normal. If someone shorted bonds that week, they would have lost a lot of money—the problem is that every economic model in the world couldn’t predict what happened in Egypt.

A Riskier Way to Short the Treasury Market


For small-cap retail investors who are certain that bond prices will fall in the coming months, there’s an alternative to take advantage of the fall in bond prices and still earn a huge return without the currency risk. Some inverse U.S. Treasury ETFs, such as the Horizons BetaPro U.S. 30-Year Bond Bear Plus ETF (HTD), allow investors to use leverage to short the U.S. bond market. This ETF is denominated in Canadian dollars, and it hedges against exposure to the U.S. dollar every day. As long as the investor considers the denominated currency’s home country to be “debt-stable,” then this investment avenue effectively reduces the currency risk.

However, there are some salient problems with investing in inverse ETFs—especially levered ones—from a risk-return standpoint. The returns on a daily basis of HTD, for example, range from +200% to -200% because of the leverage. As a result, holding onto these types of funds for more than a few days can be deadly. Treasury prices may fall for four straight days, earning the inverse ETF investors massive returns with leverage, but only one or two days of small to medium-sized losses later can negate multiple days’ gains, even to the point where the net return on investment is negative. While market fundamentals exhibit compelling evidence for why Treasuries should consistently fall, a little political turmoil around the world could cause Treasuries to rise again short-term and severely hamper the returns from inverse ETFs. Since investors really shouldn’t hold onto these levered inverse ETFs for more than a few days at a time because of the compounding high risk of doing so, investors will have to keenly get into them just before the debt crisis in order to earn massive returns—that is, if a U.S. debt crisis occurs at all.

If You Do It, Do It Right


Going short on bonds probably isn’t the best way to take advantage of a debt downgrade or rising inflation in the U.S. vis-à-vis going long on metals. But for investors who insist on taking the risk, the best way that I have heard to do so is to short the bond, take the money gained from the sale of the borrowed bond, and immediately put it in a forex Euro futures contract. That way, the investor locks in the exchange rate and preserves the purchasing power of the initial investment. Even if the dollar greatly depreciates in the meantime, the investor will still walk away with a solid gain. Depending on how far the bond price falls, the investor could still earn 60-70% per trade, though that size return is highly unlikely. In addition, the risk of betting against the world’s reserve currency over the course of an entire yearlong contract makes it an even riskier position, and perhaps more apparent why shorting Treasuries may not be worth the risk.

Playing the Game Requires Knowing the Risks


The dollar still holds strong as the world’s reserve currency, which could prove an obstacle in the future to investors who short bonds amidst political turmoil in the Middle East. And since large profits (per trade) from shorting bonds are very unlikely even in the event of a debt crisis, it doesn’t make sense for most small-cap, retail investors to play the high risk, low return game that characterizes the bond market. However, for those who insist on profiting from shorting the potential debt crisis in the United States, doing a regular short and putting the initial payout in a forex Euro futures contract may be the best way to produce solid returns with minimal currency risk.


J. Tyler Matuella is a guest writer for Stockerblog.com

Friday, February 04, 2011

Top Super Bowl Stocks

The Big Football Game is this Sunday, February 6, 2011, between the AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the NFC champion Green Bay Packers, held for the first time at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The event involves sports and fans and celebration, but beyond that, it involves money and in a big way. I'm not just talking about the $135,000 seats still available in the Hall of Fame Suites at the stadium, I mean the amount of advertising dollars generated. It can cost a few million dollars for a 30 second ad.

Most of the companies that have chosen to advertise during the Super Bowl XLV broadcast are publicly traded stocks, so if you think these companies will benefit from this advertising, now is the time to pick out a few good ones and jump on the bandwagon. Here is a list of the advertisers along with their stock ticker symbols.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD)
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY)
Bridgestone Corp. (BRDCY.PK)
CarMax Inc. (KMX)
Coca Cola (KO)
Disney (DIS) Pirates of the Caribbean
E*TRADE Financial Corporation (ETFC)
Ford (F)
General Motors (GM) Silverado, Cruze, Volt
Hyundai Motor Co. (HYMTF.PK)
Kraft (KFT) Planters Nuts. Wheat Thins, Chips Ahoy
Motorola (MOT)
PepsiCo (PEP) Doritos
Salesforce.com (CRM)
Skechers USA Inc. (SKX)
Sony (SNE) Just Go With It, Battle: Los Angeles, Priest
Viacom (VIA) Paramount Pictures: Kung Fu Panda 2
Volkswagen AG (VLKAY.PK)

If you like interesting stock lists like this, don't forget to check out the other lists available at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author owns DIS and F at the time the article was written.

Super Bowl is a registered trademark of the NFL.


By Stockerblog.com

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Top Valentines Day Stocks

Most people know when Valentine's Day is, but in case you missed the memo, it is Monday, February 14, so if you haven't done the shopping for your Valentine, then you better get cracking. One option is to give a gift of shares of stock in companies that may produce Valentines Day related products. Here are some stocks that may benefit, including chocolate, jewelry, flowers, greeting cards, and gift wrap.

Hershey (HSY), founded in 1894, is the largest manufacturer of chocolate in North America and one of the largest chocolate and candy companies in the world. Hershey's Kisses were invented in 1901 and the Hershey chocolate chips were introduced in 1928. The stock trades at 22 times earnings, with a CD beating yield of 2.7%.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. (RMCF), based in Durango, Colorado, makes and markets caramels, creams, mints, and truffles. The company, which was founded in 1981, has over 300 franchise locations in 40 states, along with Canada and the United Arab Emirates. The P/E ratio is 15.8, and the yield is a delicious 3.9%.

1-800-Flowers.com Inc. (FLWS), the largest publicly traded flower seller, also sells plants, gourmet foods, cookies, cakes, candies, wine, gift baskets, and other gifts. The company recently generated negative earnings, but trades at 31 times forward earnings.

Tiffany & Co. (TIF), founded in 1837, is one of the top jewelry companies in the world, with over 60 U.S. stores and over 100 international locations. The metric carat as a weight standard for gems was developed by a Tiffany gemologist. The New York City flagship store is home to the 128-carat Fancy Yellow Tiffany Diamond. The stock has a PE of 23, and a yield of 1.7%.

Blue Nile Inc. (NILE), founded in 1999, is a leading web based retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry, and the largest online retailer of certified diamonds. The stock has a PE of 66.

Signet Group plc (SIG), owns 1,400 jewelry stores in the United States, under the trade names of Kay Jewelers and Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry. The stock has a P/E ratio of 17.

Zale Corporation (ZLC) has over 690 jewelry stores in throughout the United States. The company has recently generated negative earnings.

American Greetings Corp. (AM), founded in 1906 and based in Cleveland, Ohio, is the largest publicly-traded greeting card company in the world. The stock has a PE of 10 and a decent yield of 2.6%.

CSS Industries Inc. (CSS) markets gift wrap, gift bags, boxed greeting cards, gift tags, tissue paper, decorations, and decorative ribbons and bows. The stock trades at 17 times forward earnings, and a yield of 3.3%.

You will notice that more than half of these stocks pay fairly decent dividends. If you like high dividend stocks, check out the free listings at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. You can also find other unusual lists of stocks at wsnn.com, including Beatles stocks, birth control stocks, cloud computing stocks, and stem cell stocks.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Second Week of February


Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the market capitalization, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

Navios Maritime Partners L.P. (NMM) market cap: $797.3M ex div date: 2/7/2011 yield: 8.8%

AmeriGas Partners, L.P. (APU) market cap: $2.9B ex div date: 2/8/2011 yield: 5.7%

Cedar Shopping Centers Inc (CDR) market cap: $392.6M ex div date: 2/9/2011 yield: 6.1%

Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) market cap: $24.1B ex div date: 2/9/2011 yield: 5.4%

Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) market cap: $40.1B ex div date: 2/11/2011 yield: 5.6%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time article was written.

By Stockerblog.com