10 European High Dividend Stocks

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The ING (L) Invest Euro High Dividend Fund invests in shares of companies in the European Monetary Union states that offer attractive dividend yields. The top 10 holdings of this fund are listed with their ADR ticker and dividend yield as of October 15, 2010.

1.Company:Koninklijke Kpn NV (OTC: KKPNY)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.49%
Sector: Telecom
Country: The Netherlands

2.Company: Sanofi-Aventis (SNY)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.17%
Sector: Biotechnology & Drugs
Country: France

3.Company: Vivend SA (OTC: VIVDY)
Current Dividend Yield: 6.15%
Sector: Entertainment
Country: France

4.Company: bayer AG (OTC: BAYRY)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.38%
Sector: Drugs
Country: Germany

5.Company: E.ON AG( OTC: EONGY)
Current Dividend Yield: 6.14%
Sector: Electric utiliy
Country: Germany

6.Company: Unilever NV (UN)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.66%
Sector: Consumer staples
Country: The Netherlands

7.Company:Atlantia Spa (OTC: ATASY)
Current Dividend Yield:3.94%
Sector:Construction & Transportation
Country: Italy

8.Company: Banco Santander (STD)
Current Dividend Yield:5.36%
Sector: Banking
Country: Spain

9.Company: RWE AG (OTC: RWEOY)
Current Dividend Yield:6.71%
Sector: Electric utilities
Country: Germany

10.Company: Vinci SA (OTC: VCISY)
Current Dividend Yield:4.89%
Sector: Engineering
Country: France

The World’s Biggest Crude Oil Producers in 2009

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For the first time since 1991, Russia beat Saudi Arabia to become the the world’s biggest producer of crude oil in 2009. Russia’s average output was 10.0 million barrels per day compared to 9.7 million barrels by Saudi Arabia.

The Top 10 Global Crude Oil Producers in 2009

Source: Euromonitor International from BP Statistical Review of World Energy

In addition to crude oil, Russia is also the world’s biggest exporter of natural gas. While Russia was the world’s biggest producer of crude oil last year, in terms of proven oil reserves and production capacity Saudi Arabia still takes the top spot. Both Russia and Saudi Arabia are competing to export more oil to China. China is already the largest fastest-growing international export market. In August this year the first section of a major pipeline connecting Siberia and China was opened, allowing easier access for Russian oil to the Chinese market.

Some of the Russian oil & gas producers that trade on the US markets are : Gazprom(OGZPY), Gazprom Neft (GZPFY),LUKOIL (LUKOY),Surgutneftegaz (SGTZY) and Tatneft (OAOFY).

It interesting to note that Canada produced more crude oil than the Gulf countries of Iraq and Kuwait.

ICIS Top 100 Global Chemical Companies 2010

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The ICIS Chemical Business magazine published its annual ranking of the World’s Top 100 Chemical Firms based on sales in 2009. The top 10 chemical firms are:

  1. BASF (BASFY)
  2. Dow Chemical (DOW)
  3. ExxonMobil (XOM)
  4. Sinopec (SHI)
  5. LyondellBasell Industries
  6. Shell (RDS.A,RDS.B)
  7. SABIC
  8. Mitsubishi Chemical
  9. DuPont (DD)
  10. INEOS

The complete list of ICIS Top 100 Chemical firms in PDF format can be found by clicking here.

The Top 15 Global Chemical Companies of the Decade

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As part of its annual ranking of the top 100 chemical companies in the world, the ICIS Chemical Business magazine published the top 15 global chemical players over the last decade. The graphic below shows the top 15 companies based on turnover:

Click to Enlarge


A few observations on this ranking:

The German chemical giant BASF (BASFY) takes the top spot. Sales went from around $29B in 2001 to $87B in 2008. BASF continues to maintain the leadership position in the industry since 2000.With the purchase of  Ciba speciality chemicals and Cognis BASF has the plenty of potential for further growth.

While most of the companies in list held their positions since 2000, the five newcomers are SABIC, Sinopec (SHI), LyondellBasell Industries, INEOS and Sumitomo Chemical.

US chemical maker DuPont(DD) has had a low sales growth in the past 10 years with sales oscillating between $24B and $30B.

The oil majors ExxonMobil(XOM), Shell(RDS.A, RDS.B), BP(BP) and Total (TOT) are in this ranking due to their significant operations in the petrochemical sector.