Investors are anxiously waiting to see whether or not the U.S. Federal Reserve decides to raise interest rates this week.
But what most traders don't know is that rate hikes used to be a common practice before 2006.
By Alex McGuire, Associate Editor, Money Morning • @AlexMcGuire92 -
Investors are anxiously waiting to see whether or not the U.S. Federal Reserve decides to raise interest rates this week.
But what most traders don't know is that rate hikes used to be a common practice before 2006.
This chart shows the U.S. interest rate history from 1986 to 2015...
By Alex McGuire, Associate Editor, Money Morning • @AlexMcGuire92 -
Investors are anxiously waiting to see whether or not the U.S. Federal Reserve decides to raise interest rates this week.
But what most traders don't know is that rate hikes used to be a common practice before 2006.
This chart shows the U.S. interest rate history from 1986 to 2015...
By Tara Clarke, Associate Editor, Money Morning • @TaraKateClarke -
With interest rates at an all-time low, high-yield dividend stocks have replaced bonds as the best option to provide a stream of income in a portfolio. What's more, they deliver the added perk of equity ownership for potential growth. But dividend yield can also be a trap - if a company's share price drops because it's not performing well, while the dividend remains the same, the percent yield will rise. That's why investing based on high-yield as the sole metric isn't always wise.
To get around that problem, investors can examine other metrics besides yield.
Here's what to look at - and a list of eight dividend payers to consider...