Defensive Investing: Seven Signs Your Dividend is in Trouble
June 15, 2010 at 06:00 AM EDT
Both the U.S. stock market and the U.S. economy are navigating rough waters right now. U.S. employment, which had appeared to be moving into rapid expansion, suffered a setback in May, with the economy creating only 41,000 jobs. Meanwhile, the stock market - even with the recent rebound that brought it back to the 10,000 level - remains more than 15% below its cyclical high. That"s been the uncomfortable pattern: One economic report points toward a continued U.S. recovery; the next one points toward recession. Sometimes the contradictory research is separated by a single day, other times they are just hours apart. The resultant uncertainty is whipsawing U.S. stock prices - and is leaving investors feeling shaky. Fortunately, there is a ready remedy, not to mention a place of refuge, from this kind of grinding uncertainty - high-yielding dividend stocks . To discover the seven signs that a dividend isn"t secure, please read on...