Re: Doing Your Duty

Folks.

From a finacial newsletter, some interesting facts...note the Hewlett Packard
info and how it relates to taxes, not competition.

John

*** Only the leading Nasdaq stocks in the Nasdaq 100 showed any real progress
on Friday. The Dow was down 31. There were 1,201 advances against 1,818
declines -- 65 new highs, 178 new lows.

*** The transports look weak...following a continuing climb in the price of
oil -- now at 26.56 a barrel.

*** Gold was up a smidgen. So was Microsoft. No breakdown in that stock yet.

*** Dividends are disappearing. About 80% of companies paid them in the `50s
and `60s...now it's only 20%. Many companies are using share buybacks in
place
of dividends. Buying back the shares raises the price of the shares.
Shareholders get a capital gain instead of a dividend, which is arguably more
tax efficient.

*** Alan Abelson, in "Barrons," reports that the earnings boost in Hewlett
Packard that sent the share 20% higher in a single day last week was, in
fact,
not an increase in operational earnings -- but just a decrease in taxes.
Earnings from operations were actually down.

*** And Ned Davis Research tells us that 72% of S&P 500 stocks are down more
than 10% from their 52-week highs -- 47% are down more than 20%.

Bookmark this post --- Email this post