Article contributed by guest author Jacob Lindahl of Inside Trading Stocks

Dividend paying stocks can provide a very nice boost to your overall net return on investment,and dividends should certainly be seen as a very positive thing. Especially during very tough stretches for the market, many investors have chosen to look toward high yielding stocks for some form of a refuge. There is absolutely nothing wrong with investing in dividend paying stocks, in fact it is a very good idea, but as an investor you must understand that not all dividends are created equal.

The amateur investor may like to go to a financial site of their choice and simply search for the stocks that have the highest paying dividend yields. This kind of uninformed dividend investing is very risky and dangerous.

It is certainly not enough to simply look for a stock that is paying some kind of outrageous dividend …

The Working Capital Model (WCM) looks at investment performance differently, less emotionally, and without a whole lot of concern for short-term market value movements. Market value performance evaluation techniques are only used to analyze peak-to-peak market cycle movements over significant time periods.

Security market values are used for buy and sell decision-making. Working capital figures are used for asset allocation and diversification calculations. Portfolio working capital growth numbers are used to evaluate goal directed management decisions over shorter periods of time.

WCM tracking techniques help investors focus on long term growth producers like capital gains, dividends, and interest— the things that can keep the working capital line (see Part One) moving ever upward. The base income and cumulative realized capital gains lines are the most important WCM growth engines.

Please refer to the chart in Chapter 7 of The Brainwashing of the …

It matters not what lines, numbers, indices, or gurus you worship, you just can’t know for certain where the stock market is going or when it will change direction. Too much investor time and analytical effort is wasted trying to predict course corrections— even more is squandered comparing portfolio market values with a handful of unrelated indices and averages.

Annually, quarterly, even monthly, investors scrutinize their performance, formulate coulda’s and shoulda’s, and determine what new gimmick to try during the next evaluation period. My short-term performance vision is different. I see a bunch of Wall Street fat cats, ROTF-LOL, while investors beat themselves senseless over what to change, sell, buy, re-allocate, or adjust to make their portfolios behave better.

Why has performance evaluation become so important short-term? What happened to long-term planning toward specific personal goals? When did it become …

Now more than ever, you can appreciate the need for comprehensive investment education. All of a sudden, fifty percent of your nest egg has disappeared— and the bad news? There never was a plan for income generation. Ouch!

Dwelling on coulda’s, woulda’s, and shoulda’s isn’t going to rebuild your portfolio. Attempting to become proficient in the speculation of the month will do little to decrease the long-term pain. Casting blame on government regulators and Wall Street scam artists does little to grow retirement income.

There are at least three things you can do to protect yourself now, and throughout your more quickly approaching than you realize retirement years:

(1) Actively support income tax code replacement surgery, be it Flat Tax, Fair Tax, or a combination; (2) actively support a Social Security reform plan with smaller mandatory contributions, higher guaranteed benefits, and trustee managed income …

Crash! The 2007 thru 2008 financial crisis halved 401(k), IRA, and Mutual Fund values in a matter of months. For many, retirement dates had to be pushed back; for others, new jobs had to be found. The tragic flaw? No income allocation in the investment program. Market value builds egos; income pays the bills.

Few employers cautioned Savings Plan participants that 401(k)s are just not defined benefit programs. Few mutual fund distributors suggested to benefit departments that their programs were missing something of critical importance.

Throughout the meltdown, all investment securities fell in market value. But the vast majority of income securities, including closed end income funds (CEFs), have continued to pay interest and dividends. Market value builds over-confidence; income pays the bills.

The Working Capital Model (WCM) is a comprehensive system for investment management that is based on uncompromising rules of engagement. …

Most people enter the investment process tip first. They hear something, grab an idea from a popular blog, accept a Cramerism or some motley foolishness, and think that they are making investment decisions. Rarely, will the right-now, instant-gratification, Internet-generation speculator think in terms that go beyond tomorrow’s breaking news.

It just doesn’t work that way in the long run. Investing takes place in an uncertain environment with at least three important cycles working their way through time at different rates of speed. Each should have an impact on investor decision-making. More often than not, short-term thinking and impulse decision-making are ineffective long-term investment strategies—

Today, in the midst of a cyclical “perfect storm”, how many Wall Streeters have the cold-blooded temperament required to focus on anything other than dwindling market values, depressing economic news, and income securities that just don’t …

First, the good news: From June 2007 through September 2008 (i.e., during the credit crisis) Income CEF payouts per share were virtually unchanged. From June 2008 through September 2008, payouts rose slightly— 29 funds raised their payouts and 17 lowered them. Your portfolio spending money should be higher than it was a year ago.

Brokerage firm monthly statements are designed to promote either fear or greed, depending on the current market environment. Nowhere on your statement can you find numbers that report your net investment, your total working capital, or your true asset allocation. Current and projected income numbers are given little attention, and monthly withdrawals are treated like losses of principal.

Income portfolios are reported upon using the same format as growth portfolios, and too much analysis is required to determine if the income production is either safe or adequate …

Forbes columnist Zack O’Malley Greenburg, said that many European banks are healthy and look like innocent victims of the subprime mess, and they are less likely to cut dividends.  He recommends the following banks as those likely to bounce back:

a. Allied Irish Banks

b. Banco Santander

c. Bank of Ireland

d. BNP Paribas -4% dividend

e. Commerzbank -4% dividend

f. HSBC Holdings

g. Societe General

h. Swedbank

Track Zack’s picks at:

http://www.trackthepros.com/categories.php?category_id=270

The UK housing sector, already best by plunging demand and prices, has been hit with a potential body blow which could tip the economy into a deep recession. Taylor Wimpey, the country’s biggest home owner, has shocked the UK market and observers with the news that it has failed to agree a deal with potential new investors, forcing the stricken house builder to admit on Wednesday that it could breach banking covenants if the housing market does not recover. Coming with the news of poor sales figures for big retailer, Marks & Spencer, the Taylor Wimpey news will undermine investor confidence across the board. The company had been looking for around 500 million pounds ($A1 billion) in new capital from existing big and new shareholders, and had promised to write down the value of its land bank in Britain, Spain and other countries by around 660 million pounds (around $A1.4 billion). The write-down ...

Florida summers are hot and humid, so we take a lot of family trips to our community's pool. It's a nice way to cool off, relax, and chat with our neighbors. I've met all kinds of interesting people over there, and had plenty of great conversations. But one particular exchange is permanently seared into my brain. And I think it holds a great lesson for investors. So today, I want to tell you the story. It all started when my neighbor said ... "The Only Reason Companies Pay Dividends Is Because They Are No Longer Growing!" Given my line of work, I expect financial debates. In fact, I welcome them. But I would have never expected to find one in a hot tub. It was a Friday night, and Disha and I decided ...