Dividend Investing In A Brave New World

Donald Trump's presidency. Healthcare. Commodity price volatility. Long-term impact of "The Amazon effect."
While you may have an opinion on all the above, chances are you are probably a bit unsure as to what they may all mean to your investment portfolio over the longer term. You're not alone.
Nearer term, though stock multiples have expanded the past 6 months on expectations from the new business friendly administration, bond yields continue to slink back to their former economically bearish hole. As I write this on Friday, the 10-year Treasury is down another 6 ticks to sub 2.2 percent. Alas, yet another gleam of hope for stock averse income investors has been thwarted.
10-year Treasury since November election

On the brighter side, corners of the economy indeed seem to be improving. In the housing market, for instance, rampant sellers markets are popping up in more than a small handful of regions across the States. Despite some of these anecdotal positives, the Fed continues to struggle with selling its justification for a hawkish rate bias. Indeed, central bankers are contending with a crisis of confidence amongst those watching their wishy-washy words and seemingly less-than-convictive actions.
When we peel the wholesale economic onion, however, it would seem the middle class continues to be squeezed or spin its wheels, while the spread between the "haves" and "have-nots" increases in the nation. This, my friends,... Read more