Wyatt Research Week-in-Review: December 7-13

Stocks hit a bit of a wall this week.
The S&P 500 declined more than 2%, the first real down week since October. Such pullbacks are rare in December, typically the best month on Wall Street. Is it a bad omen for what’s to come after people are done splurging on holiday gifts? Not necessarily.
Temporary pullbacks have done little to slow this market of late. Every time stocks show signs of even the slightest weakness, the CNBC talking heads and Yahoo! Finance writers are out in force claiming that the sky is falling – that, yes, the long-feared correction is finally here. They’ve been wrong every time.
Still, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have some protection in your portfolio. With interest rates still near zero, that means dividend stocks – and in particular, reliable, steady dividend growers – remain the best safety play.
Our Marshall Hargrave unveiled five such dividend growth stocks this week. Steve Mauzy revealed rare high-yield stocks in the Internet commerce field. We also went in depth on two of the most historically reliable dividend growers on the market: Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG).
Here’s what else was on our minds at Wyatt Investment Research in an unusually down week on Wall Street:
Is This a Secular Bull Market?– Nearly six years of better-than-average gains begs the question: Has a secular bull market materialized on Wall Street?
Do You Own Stocks in the No. 1 Sector of 2014?– In January, I predicted that REITs would rebound in 2014. Twelve months later, they were the best-performing sector in the U.S. stock market.
Five Dividend Growth Stocks to Own Now– Dividend investing continues to be an investor favorite in the current low-rate environment. But do you know how to spot the best dividend stocks?
Japan – Short-Term Opportunity, Long-Term Danger– Japan’s economy is headed for a crash in the next two or three years. Until then, short-term opportunities abound.
Special Payouts Five times Larger than Regular Quarterly Dividends
Every 12 months Darren Young pockets $3,500 in dividends from this company. Frank Gerson, a 70-year-old New Yorker, collects $1,750 in cash payouts from this company. And Charles Lytle, who invested when we first recommended this company to our readers, earns a whopping $7,000 in dividends. Learn how you could earn the same kind of money – up to eight times a year.
A Haven Income Investment for a Roiled Market– An industry leader offers high-yield income and price stability to nervous investors.
The Spin-off is Back– As investors and companies look for new ways to create value in a relatively low growth economy, the spin-off is decidedly back en vogue.
Rethinking Your 401K Strategy– A growing number of companies seeking to save costs or avoid layoffs are electing to match a smaller share of worker 401K contributions … or stop matching altogether. But when your employer pulls back, you have some choices.
Capture Rare High-Yield Income on Internet Commerce– Few Internet companies are income investments, but there are exceptions.
Why Activist Investors Get a Bad Rap– Although activist investing seems a bit out of control, underneath it all there is some good to be found.
Thanks for spending time with us this weekend. We look forward to helping you get ever closer to your investment goals next week.