Richard Russell on the Disappearing Dividends

Nice scoop by the Daily Crux - Richard Russell's comments about current dividend levels...or lack thereof!

The second quarter of 2009 was a dismal one for corporate dividends. Standard & Poor's recorded an all-time low of 233 dividend increases plus resumptions and extras. During the April through June period, the 7,000 publicly-owned companies that S&P follows, were down 45.8% in dividend increases from a year ago.

Russell has been around the block more than a few times, and is as sharp as they come. Heed his message loud and clear - talk of green shoots is cheap, show us the money!

At historic stock market bottoms, dividend levels typically average around 6%. That's why it's called a bottom...tough to go wrong investing when yields are that high.

Where are yields now? A paltry 3% last time I saw. We'd need to see the S&P around 450 to see dividend levels where they should be at market bottom!

And if you're not buying a stock for the dividend, that means by default you're buying it in hopes of a rising mulitple. Well multiples are quite high across the board right now, and earnings continue to evaporate right before our eyes...so I would take a long, hard look at every stock you own that doesn't yield some serious dough.

Looking for quality, high-yielding stocks? Tom Dyson is your man - check out his 12% Letter here. And Tom knows how to go long AND short...crucial in today's nutty environment.