BoE: We’ll print more money to help growth
Emerging Markets Provide Refuge for Equity Cult: Chart of the DayÂ
US is ‘hiding true amount of debt’
Warren Buffett: ‘We’re still in a recession’
Did France cause the Great Depression?
Ibbotson Finds Liquidity Rules
Gold and emerging-market ETFs still shine
9 Stocks that Have Consistently Raised Dividends for 25 Years or More
According to a research note by Goldman Sachs, the S&P 500 gained 255% in price appreciation in the last 20 years. When dividend reinvestment is considered, the S&P 500’s total return jumps to 439.3%. That amounts to a difference of an astonishing 184.3% in returns.
Goldman noted:
“Amid the slowing economic environment and historically high cash balances in corporate America … we believe that investors should continue to invest in companies whose dividend payouts will drive shareholder returns.â€
Hence Goldman Sachs searched for companies matching the following conditions:
The search returned the stocks noted below:
[TABLE=555]
Note: FCF = Free Cash Flow
Source: The Globe and Mail
In addition to the above nine equities, medical equipment maker Baxter International (BAX) also made it to the list. But the dividend data is not included in the list.Analog Devices(ADI), KLA-Tencor(KLAC) and Linear Technology (LLTC) are semiconductor firms that used to be hi-fliers during the dot com mania.
In a recent article I wrote that the average stock holding period in the NYSE fell to around 7 months in 2007. In addition to this very low holding period, investors today must endure tremendous volatility in the markets. The chart below shows the S&P 500 volatility has changed over the past 33+ years:
Click to Enlarge
Source: Volatility – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by Rob Brown, PhD, CFA, Benchmark Plus Management, LLC.
Since the Black Monday of 1987, the volatility measure has exceeded the value of 100 seven times.
Forbes magazine has published the sixth annual list of the best big publicly listed companies in the Asia-Pacific region.
From the magazine’s report:
“How do companies pass muster? We started with 936 that had at least $3 billion in revenue or market capitalization. We looked at the five-year record for revenue, operating earnings and return on capital. Then we checked the most recent results, share-price movements and the outlook. Judgment calls must be made, given the differences in transparency, accounting and conditions among countries. It’s a valuable exercise that calls attention to great management and entrepreneurial skill.”
Asia’s Fab 50:
[TABLE=553]
Some observations:
The global brand management consultancy Interbrand recently published the Best 100 Global Brands for 2010. Beverage giant Coca Cola(KO) continued to maintain the top spot followed by IBM(IBM) and Microsoft(MSFT).
The Best Global Brands 2010:
Click to Enlarge
Most of these top brands listed above belong to European and American companies. Some of the notable brands include Burberry of UK, Corona Extra of Mexico, Danone (OTC: DANOY) of France, Zara of Spain, Ikea and H&M of Sweden and Nokia (NOK) of Finland.