Corporate Profits and Share Buybacks Are Up But Dividend Payout Ratio Remains Low

U.S. Corporate Profits reached all-time highs recently this year despite all the ills plaguing the economy such as high unemployment rate, debts issues, political uncertainty, etc. Click to enlarge     via Decisions Based on Evidence from St.Louis Federal Reserve What are companies doing with the profits? The current yield on the S&P 500 is 2.01%. …

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Relationship between Stock Market, GDP and Earnings

In an article last year on the relationship between economic growth and equity returns in emerging markets I wrote: “In a study of 16 major markets by the Vanguard group, the correlation  between economic growth as measured by GDP per capita and long run stock returns since the 1900 was effectively zero.” However a recent …

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Dividend Yield and P/E Ratio by Country

The dividend yield and P/E ratios of select markets at the end of September, 2012 are shown in the graphic below: Click to enlarge   Source:  Income alternatives: The power of global dividends, DWS Investments The U.S. dividend yield continues to stay at about 2%. Among the emerging markets India has he lowest dividend yield …

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Comparing Top Dividend Tax Rates in G-10 Countries

The top dividend tax rate is currently 15% in the U.S. This 15% dividend tax rate is applicable to Qualified Dividends earned by all investors who fall in the 25% to 35% ordinary income tax range. Unless Congress takes action, the dividend tax rate is set to jump to the ordinary income tax rates on …

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The Five Best and Worst Performing Foreign Banks YTD

Some of the emerging equity markets are performing well this year when compared to developed markets. Among the BRIC countries, India is the top performing market so year-to-date (YTD). Despite a growing economy, Brazil is lagging relative to other emerging countries due to political interference in certain sectors of the economy. Argentina is also under-performing …

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