Dividends can produce as much as a third of your total return over long periods, and you can even retire on dividends.
There are 4 key stock dividend dates that are involved with dividend payments:
1- The Declaration Date is several weeks in advance of a dividend payment—it’s when company’s board of directors sets the amount and timing of the proposed payment.
2- The Payable Date is the date set by the board on which the dividend will actually be paid out to shareholders.
3- The Record Date is for shareholders who hold the stock before the payable date and receive the dividend payment. That date is set any number of weeks before the payable date.
4-The Ex-Dividend Date is two business days before the record date and it’s when the shares begin to trade without their dividend. If you buy stocks one day or more before their ex-dividend date, you will still get the dividend. That’s when a stock is said to trade cum-dividend. If you buy on the ex-dividend date or later, you won’t get the dividend. The ex-dividend date is in place to allow pending stock trades to settle.
We think very highly of stocks that have been paying dividends for five or more years, at TSI Network. Many of these stocks fit in well with our three-part Successful Investor philosophy:
1- Invest mainly in well-established companies;
2- Spread your money out across most if not all of the five main economic sectors (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; and Utilities);
3- Downplay or avoid stocks in the broker/media limelight.
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Top brands are a big plus
In Canada, the company sells its products under several well-known banners, including Great West Life, Canada Life and Freedom 55. The Canadian division supplies 51% of Great-West’s earnings.
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Low interest rates continue to spur loan demand. As well, last year’s purchases of MBNA’s Canadian credit card operations and Chrysler Financial, which provides car loans to buyers of Chrysler vehicles, also contributed to the higher earnings.
The bank set aside $438 million to cover bad loans in the latest quarter, up 15.3% from $380 million. However, that’s mainly due to the extra loans from the MBNA purchase.
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However, potash inventories have risen lately as big buyers like China and India negotiate new supply contracts. In response, the company will shut down its main potash mine in Saskatchewan for one month.
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Tim Hortons plans to start selling T-Discs online and in its 3,000 Canadian outlets in October 2012.
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RioCan is a buy.
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As well, Loblaw continues to invest in new computers as part of a plan to improve its efficiency and avoid product shortages in its supermarkets. In the three months ended June 16, 2012, the company spent $20 million on these initiatives. That’s the main reason why its earnings fell 19.3% in the quarter, to $159 million, or $0.56 a share, from $197 million, or $0.69 a share, a year earlier.
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