Russell 1000 Top Dog Stocks For April
18.05.12
This article reports results for the Russell 1000 Index as of April 17. This index was analyzed using a once per year trading system triggered by yield, called the "Dogs of the Index" to determine the best of the best dividend stocks.
A previous article in this series reported three top dogs in nine sectors creating a 3x9 sector index and top yielding stocks from each of nine business sectors along with the best yielding runner-up from any sector as the tenth to perfectly diversify a top ten sector index portfolio, named 1x9+1 sectors index . Upcoming articles in this series report April Dog Metrics applied to six additional indices: NYSE International 100 ; S&P 500 ; S&P 500 Aristocrats; NASDAQ 100 ; Dow 30 Industrials; JPMorgan New Sovereigns.
Dogs of the Index Metrics
Two key numbers determined the yields to rank the stocks in each index: (1) stock price; (2) annual dividend. Dividing the annual dividend by the price of the stock declared the percentage yield by which each dog stock was ranked. Investors selected portfolios of five or ten stocks in any one index or sector by yield to trade. They awaited the results from their investments in the lowest priced, highest yielding stocks they selected and prayed that the price of every stock they now owned climbed higher (having locked in a high yield percentage at purchase).
Source: Seeking Alpha
China's demand for geoducks sends prices, profits soaring in NW
18.05.12
Water laps against the Ichiban's stern as Joe Seymour and Darren Ford, dive suits peeled to their waists, stack crazy-shaped clams into crates.
It's hard to watch this careful arranging of fresh bivalves and not add up all the cash it represents.
A single pair of these gleaming mollusks sold at a Puget Sound dock could pay for an upscale Seattle dinner for two. A half-dozen sold in a Hong Kong grocery could fetch nearly enough cash to make a four-figure mortgage payment. Three milk crates of these shellfish purchased at a Shanghai restaurant could pay for a year of undergraduate tuition at the University of Washington.
Washington geoducks (pronounced "gooey ducks"), the strange, long-necked clams prized in Asia for their crisp, briny sweetness, long have been Puget Sound's highest-value seafood. But a confluence of regional and global events recently has sent geoduck prices soaring far higher.
Where a perfect, pearly white, 2.5-pound geoduck once brought $20 at the dock, a similar clam in the past year sometimes sold for three times more. In a restaurant in China, where 95 percent of the region's geoducks land, top-grade clams are selling for $100 to $150 or more — per pound.
Source: The Seattle Times