5 Ideas in a Declining Market

Pick Value Stocks Now!5 ideas to hedge a declining market with high yield dividend stocks

"I lost $75,000 last month, "an investor lamented recently when discussing his investments. "I'm still up $50,000, but I wish I had been able to pull out sooner."

What can be done to boost a portfolio's bottom line when the stocks market seems headed downward? One way is to boost returns by buying high dividend paying stocks. The problem is that article after article on the internet warn investors to keep away from any stock paying over 10%. In a market correction as big as this most recent one, high yield stocks can help lessen the horrible drop in your bottom line. Here are five ways to determine whether the stock is right to add to your portfolio.

First, use several sources to determine the Price per Earnings (P/E) of the stock in question. Your online broker may have one number, and then another source such as MSN Money, Yahoo Finance or Morningstar will have another. A P/E under 20 is a good price for any stock, but a high yield dividend stock may have a P/E as low as 2. Shy away from any stocks that have a N/A or a negative number in the P/E column.

Second, use two sources to check the stock's dividend percent. Morningstar, for example, will often have a different dividend percentage than Schwab. If you truly want only the high yield to juice up your portfolio, select only stocks that pay over 8%. Also, check the history of the payout. Make sure the company has a history of paying each quarter, and, if possible, that the dividend stays the same or increases with each payment.
Third, ask your common sense why the stock is paying so much. Is it taking a temporary correction because the sector is correcting? Take British Petroleum Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (BPT). Recently it fell to earth after the price of oil dropped. It had gone all the way from $108 to the mid $70's in a very short time recently, thereby boosting the dividend yield. If an investor could have grabbed the stock at its recent low, they would have captured a yield over 10% as well. Common sense says that oil will probably go up again, and sure enough, investors didn't let BPT languish long. It soon zoomed up to over $88 in a matter of days.

Fourth, check financial information. Morningstar has a wealth of information designed to help you determine the health of the company and some of it comes in easy to understand graphs. Check to see if revenues have been increasing yearly, and if the net income has also been steadily growing. A negative net is reflected in parenthesis, and you don't need to weigh down your portfolio with speculation. Also, look to see if any insiders are trading the stock. See if the executives of the company are buying the stock. That's a great sign that the company's health is solid.

Fifth, understand the risks that the stock is facing. Take Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), for example. It has phenomenal numbers: revenues that are rapidly increasing, a great P/E, and a mystifying dividend of 24%. A simple examination of the newspapers could tell you that some banks are having trouble. RBS might not be any different, but it also might be. First, the banks in trouble have been in the U.S. Second, a 24% dividend can put a lot of cash into your money market before the stock tanks, or could keep earning wonderful money for you as the stock begins to recover. It's a risk, but if you are willing to take a chance on a few thousand dollars, it could pay off handsomely for you.

Investing opportunities like these come seldom, it's true. But sector corrections come so frequently, that a savvy investor can constantly hedge the portfolio's bottom line with high dividend yield stocks. Use these five ideas to make smart stock picks and ease the pain of a downward market.

15 ways to become a couch potato

To become a successful couch potato, one must follow the rules outlined in this article. Some steps may be more intense than others may but practice makes perfect. I became a couch potato when I retired with disability and injured my back. There are many reasons why people become couch potatoes--especially those who are injured and bed bound. Of course, this is dependent on number, age, independence of children if any available.

Perform important tasks (if able) prior to entering the couch potato mode

Choose a comfortable reclining chair with a small table to hold your foods and drink. Pillows are also helpful

Make sure there are no other couch potatoes present because someone will be needed in order for you to continue in your mode. You don't need competition

You will need someone to refill your drink, etc. Ask in a nice and appreciative manner. Absolutely not in a condescending manner

Keep medications in reach, especially pain medications

Take restroom breaks on commercials or pause TV

Have all TV and Cable remotes available and TV guide on arm of chair. Always have reading materials on table. I have a two tier small table

Keep money on hand in case someone needs to go to store. Also, have checkbook.

Use closed caption when someone is present and will not shut-up or when you are unable to hear TV set

Position chair near door in case someone knocks or ring bell

Always have a cell phone or home phone with in reach

Have a garbage can near you

It is beneficial to own a lap top computer with a lap top table that fits over lap

Do not forget to exercise your legs to avoid developing blood clots that can occur if blood settles in the small capillaries. May slow blood flow and possibly lead to clots, which may break off to the lungs. One of the early signs is pain in calf area, never massage area.

Being a couch potato may last from 2 hours to 8 hours or more a day. It may lead to a better mood and a mental rest, which avoids exploding at family without reason.

Having an electrical plug within reach is very helpful, like for plugging in computer
While being a couch potato, be mindful of eating more junk foods than healthful foods. I munch on yogurt and broccoli. My motive is not to become lazy and gain weight. Your significant other may oppose to your self-imposed time out. It is like stepping out of you to view life afar and thinking of new strategies. Maybe it is doing better with budgeting, shopping only for immediate needs, decreasing eating out, and the need to take a break from the children or life while you and husband go on weekend vacation and stay in a hotel, rekindling the marriage.

Sometimes it is difficult to become a couch potato if you have a family to tend to; but remember you can participate in video games and read to your child while still being a couch potato. Remain reclining at all points (if able) but that does not mean you cannot become one once they settle down. I like to look out my window at my cardinals and their babies eat out of their container.

Good luck!

Red Wine anybody?

If you're an oenophile -- especially one who prefers a cabernet or merlot over a chardonnay or riesling -- you've got an increasing number of scientists in your corner. Turns out, according to extensive recent research, that red wine appears to deliver some serious health benefits along with the pleasure of its taste. It also could help any would-be mineral prospectors among you (more on that at the end).

So what new scientific findings back regular, moderate consumption of red wine? Consider these:

It might help fight cancer. Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center this month published a study that found that resveratrol, a natural antioxidant in grape skins and red wine, can help kill cancer cells in the pancreas. The antioxidant apparently works by crippling the workings of the mitochondria that provide cancer cells with energy.

It could reduce complications from diabetes. Red wine's resveratrol appears to help fight such diabetes-related complications as heart disease and certain kidney and eye problems, according to a study from the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England. The antioxidant seems to protect against blood vessel cell damage caused by a diabetic's high levels of blood glucose. "Resveratrol's antioxidant effects in the test tube are well documented but our research shows the link between high levels of glucose, its damaging effect on cell structure, and the ability of resveratrol of protect against and mend that damage," said principal researcher Matt Whiteman.

It might delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease. The polyphenols in grape juice and red wine show some ability to fight the accumulation of the brain plaques associated with Alzheimer's, according to research from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The polyphenols appear to work by reducing the accumulation of the beta-amyloid peptides that form the plaques.
It could help prevent heart disease. The polyphenols found in grapes, red wine and green tea seem to encourage blood vessel growth that can benefit the circulatory system and heart, a team of French researchers reported in a recent issue of the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. Even low doses equivalent to one glass of red wine per day appeared to provide health benefits, the team found.

It might fight food poisoning. Red wines -- especially cabernets, merlots and zinfandels -- appear to have anti-microbial powers that kill the bugs that cause food-borne illnesses, according to research from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Red wine showed the ability to fight pathogens that included E. coli, salmonella, listeria and Helicobacter pylori, the study found.
 
It could also increase Libido and put everybody in the mood. Enough said here.

Finally, if you're hunting for metals and have any wine to spare, you could have a leg up on finding natural mineral deposits. An exploration and mining scientist at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation recently found that wine or soft drinks, when mixed with soil, can dissolve
natural metals into solution, making it easy to test for local mineral deposits. The beverages seem to work best at hunting down minerals like silver, zinc, copper and nickel. "In many cases, the comparison of metals extracted using wine and soft drink were superior than those extracted using conventional, and much more expensive, commercial solvents," said one researcher.