The official unemployment rate in August stood at 9.6% with the total number of unemployed persons at 14.9 million. The real unemployment rate U6 is much higher. With so many millions of people unemployed one would think that American firms would not have a problem recruiting workers for any open position. However that does not seem to be case, at least according to Narayana Kocherlakota, President of the Minneapolis Fed.
From the latest edition of Bloomberg BusinessWeek:
In addition to the dividend yields, the dividend growth rate is also one important factor when selecting stocks with the potential for strong growth in both dividends and price appreciation over the long-term.
The table below lists 11 U.S. large caps that have grown their dividends at high rates over the past 10 years together with the current dividend yields:
[TABLE=557]
Source:Â PSG Alphen Asset Management
All the stocks noted above have 10-yr dividend growth rates of above 10% with McDonalds(MCD) and United Healthcare (UNH) exceeding 20%. Cigarette maker Reynolds American (RAI) and defense contractor (LMT) pay dividends of over 6% and 4% respectively and have had decent dividend growth in the last decade. New Jersey-based Becton Dickinson(BDX)Â is a global medical technology company engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of medical supplies, devices and reagents.The company has a strong presence in markets outside of the U.S. For example while revenues in the U.S. for the 3rd quarter were $830 million, revenues from outside of the U.S. totaled $1.049 billion.
Financial crises can occur in anywhere. Some in the developed world have long had the view that financial crises only in less economically developed countries. The US-made credit crisis, Euro currency crisis, Greek debt crisis and others in the past few years have painfully shown that they are wrong. History shows that the developed world has had it equal share of financial crises since the 1800s as the graphic shows below:
Source:Â Public debt – a potential crisis in the making?, PSG Alphen Asset Management
It is interesting to note that France and Norway have had the most number of banking crises.Germany has had 6 banking crises since the 1800s and 2 years of hyperinflation. The hyperinflation of the 1920s was one of causes that led to the rise of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in Germany.
The Global Finance magazine has published its annual ranking of the World’s Biggest Banks for 2010 based on assets. BNP Paribas (BNPQY) of France tops the list with total of assets of over $2.9 Trillions.
The World’s 50 Biggest Banks 2010:
[TABLE=556]
Source: Fitch Ratings except
*Standard & Poor’s
**Agricultural Bank of China
Six Chinese banks are represented in this ranking. Other these banks from China none of the banks from emerging markets made it to this list.
The Dow Jones Mexico Titans 20 Index measures the performance of the largest and most liquid stocks traded in Mexico.
The index measures the performance of 20 leading Mexican companies.The components of the index are selected based on float-adjusted market capitalization and trading volumes.
The Top 10 Components of the Dow Jones Mexico Titans 20 Index are listed below with their dividend yield as of September 23, 2010:
1. Company: America Movil (AMOV)
Sector: Telecom
Current Dividend Yield: 0.48%
2. Company: Wal-Mart de Mexico (OTC: WMMVY)
Sector:Consumer Services
Current Dividend Yield: 1.17%
3. Company: Fomento Economico Mexicano (OTC: FMXUF)
Sector: Consumer Goods
Current Dividend Yield: 1.19%
4. Company: Grupo Televisa (TV)
Sector:Consumer Services
Current Dividend Yield: 2.77%
5. Company: Grupo Mexico (OTC: GMBXF)
Sector: Basic Materials
Current Dividend Yield: 1.29%
6. Company: Cemex (CX)
Sector: Industrials
Current Dividend Yield: N/A
7. Company: Grupo Financiero Inbursa (OTC: GPFOF)
Sector: Financials
Current Dividend Yield: 1.13%
8. Company: Grupo Bimbo (OTC: GRBMF)
Sector: Consumer Goods
Current Dividend Yield: 0.57%
9. Company: Telefonos de Mexico (OTC: TFONY)
Sector: Telecom
Current Dividend Yield: 5.45%
10. Company: Grupo Financiero Banorte (OTC: GBOOF)
Sector: Financials
Current Dividend Yield: 0.35%
Since most of the stocks noted above trade on the OTC markets, the iShares Mexico ETF (EWW) provides another alternative to gain exposure to these companies. The fund has an asset base of $1.5B and America Movil alone accounts for about 27% of the portfolio.