The markets took on a volatile tone once again today, following yesterday’s battering of the indices. Today’s themes seem to be centered around the EU and the timing of further aid for Greece, as well as the intense focus on the plunge in Apple (AAPL) shares witnessed recently.

Earnings results were actually helping the markets avoid an early dive with solid results from the likes of Qualcomm (QCOM), CenturyLink (CTL), Dillards (DDS), and CBS Corporation (CBS). On the flipside, investors were selling the earnings news from Whole Foods (WFM), Prudential (PRU), and Kohl’s (KSS).

As always, you can check out our coverage of all the latest earnings reports and analyst moves affecting dividend stocks over on The Dividend Daily.

Not even 24 hours after the election day results, the media shifted quicker than a needy 5-year old, not content with the task at hand and instead worrying about the next big thing. Let me set the stage a bit: you will get terrifying headlines, a record number of breaking news flashes, markets will have wild swings, and last but not least, politicians will dance until they get the opposing party to cave in on items that will likely come back to hit taxpayers in the pocket some how, some way. They will then gather together and pat each other on the back while plotting for the next battle.

At Dividend.com, we have been anticipating the late-year fireworks and have been running with a lean list of stocks we feel comfortable having investors consider for new and ongoing capital purchases. As the market continues to sort through the headlines, we will stay laser-focused on finding potential new names that could present opportunities for long-term investors to act on. Stay tuned!

We just wanted to let everyone know that we are working hard on a new 2013 Dividend Guide, loaded with our thoughts on what to expect in the coming year for dividend stocks. Again, this is only available to Dividend.com Premium members for download, so be sure you are signed up to receive the guide once it’s released! Last year’s Beat the Market with Dividend Stocks eBook was a smash success, and this year’s version will be even better. We anticipate releasing the new guide within the next couple of weeks.

We recently updated our list of dividend stocks that have been paying out dividends for 25 years or more. Be sure to check out the latest list of names here.

Financial blog DailyReckoning.com recently took a look at the difference dividend payouts made in the overall return investors saw throughout the prior decades. Here are some of the highlights:

- The Nasdaq is down 28% since the end of 1999. Even the “blue chip” S&P 500 stocks are down 15% during that time frame…until you add back those “boring” dividends. With dividends included, the S&P 500′s 15% loss flips to a 6% gain.

- Without dividends, the S&P 500 index would have produced a loss for the 25 long years from August 1929 to August 1954. Then again, without dividends, the S&P 500 produced a 5% loss during the 13 years from September 1961 to September 1974. But with dividends included, the S&P’s loss became a 46% gain.

- Over the course of the last half-century, dividends have contributed more than half of the stock market’s total return — 56%, to be exact.

Of course, you can’t discuss the potency of dividend investing without making mention of how awesome compound returns are. I can’t stress enough the power of compound interest: you take a small amount of money and turn it into a large amount over time. Finding the right companies at the right price points which not only grow earnings, but also grow their dividend payouts as well!

Be sure to check out our weekly Top 50 High-Yield Watchlist Names post that is out today, exclusively for Dividend.com Premium members. This list gives readers a good idea of what stocks we’re watching behind the scenes here for potential upgrades.

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Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.