Today, more than 18 months after the press started ringing the recession alarm, they’re still at it! And we contrarian income seekers are still happy to take the other side of that argument.

After all, this overdone fear mongering has handed us an opportunity to “lock in” bigger dividend yields than we’ve been able to grab in years. Our buy window is still open—at least for now.

Even the banks are spreading fear these days. Like Société Générale, which recently warned that even a “hint” of a recession could cause a 1987-style crash in stocks. DC-focused sources are taking up the story, too, with Politico plaintively writing: “If the bond markets aren’t scaring you yet, they should be.”… Read more

The time to panic is behind us. And perhaps (way) ahead of us.

This is the time to buy, my fellow contrarian. Let’s grab bargains for maximum profits and payouts while they are still available!

Have $50,000 to invest right now? Here’s how to “put it to work” for maximum upside and profits.

• Buy a nice dividend payer. Receive income…plus joy when these stocks pop!
• Be careful not to fall in love with your new money maker. There will be a time to sell and book gains. Probably in January.

If we can keep our cool and not marry ourselves to our new holdings, we’re looking at double-digit gains in a few months.… Read more

The 10-year Treasury yield’s latest journey to the stars is setting up a terrific opportunity for us to “lock in” historically high dividend yields—and upside, too.

The time to make our move is now. Here’s why: the surging yield on the “long bond” has hit stocks—especially dividend stocks—hard. But this surge is completely unsustainable.

Look, over the last few weeks, I’ve been saying the 10-year would bump its head on the “4.3% ceiling” and retreat. The fact that it’s blown through that ceiling only means its coming fall will be that much harder—and our favorite dividend stocks will rip that much higher in response!… Read more

I recently got a really good question from a reader, who wondered how our current market situation compares to the 2008–2009 crash.

The short answer is that it really doesn’t. But the longer answer is much more interesting, and profitable, because it outlines the unique opportunity we now have to collect historically high dividends from my favorite income plays: closed-end funds (CEFs).

The Current State of Play for Income Investments

On cue, the current selloff has prompted the media to get on the gloom-and-doom train. As a result, we’re starting to see more fear in the markets. It’s tough to understate the impact this fear can have.… Read more

The safest dividend is usually the one that was just raised. Recession or no landing, bull or bear, these payers don’t care.

And neither should their shareholders because these stocks are growing their payouts between 33% and 100% per year. Per year!

Here’s why we have safety in growth. Let’s consider Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL), a less-than-truckload (LTL) freight shipping specialist with trucks crawling America’s interstates.

While transportation is a cyclical business, ODFL is a pinnacle of stability, delivering 30% annual profit growth on average over the past seven years. And while the stock hasn’t gone up in a straight line, it has crushed the broader market in that time.… Read more

I get it: we’re all frustrated with this sluggish stock rebound. It’s been almost two years since stocks last hit all-time highs, and the S&P 500 is still sitting some 11% below the peak!

So let’s take a look at what’s behind this patience-testing market—and unpack a smart contrarian dividend play to take advantage.

2023 Is Not 2020 (or 2018)

Today’s frustration is understandable because over the last decade, we’ve grown used to markets that bounce quickly after a crash, with the 2020 COVID crash-and-rebound being the classic case. And we recovered so quickly from the 2018 pullback that you can be forgiven if you forgot about that one entirely!… Read more

Please, take that finger off the Sell button.

This is the best buying opportunity since the bank failure panic in March. Vanilla investors are giving away perfectly good dividends.

Let’s grab the bargains.

Why the panic? Well, the 10-year Treasury yield burst through the 4.3% ceiling I’ve been pointing to. This is why stocks sank. All lending and refinancing are based on the 10-year, so a higher rate suggests a slower economy ahead and lower corporate profits.

When the 10-year moonshots like it has over the past year, it breaks financial markets. Bonds drop because they trade opposite rates. Real estate investment trusts (REITs), meanwhile, get hammered for two reasons.… Read more

Were you able to refi your home when rates were low? I hope so.

Don’t tell my wife, but we almost missed the low-rate era. My better half kept asking about refinancing. “Yeah, yeah,” I said. “We will when rates bottom.”

In early 2021, they took off right under my nose. I stare at the bond market all day and nearly missed this thing!

Fortunately, we got a pullback in rates. I called my buddy, a mortgage broker, who dialed me in with a sweet 2.2% rate on our remaining balance. Two point two!

Had we missed that deal, I’d never live it down.… Read more

What happened to the stock-market rally? Simple: it’s been undermined by two overdone fears: of a housing-market correction and worries around a government shutdown.

But well reported-on events like these rarely have the big impact most people think they do. In fact, this pullback in stocks is a buying opportunity, particularly in high-yield closed-end funds (CEFs).

Don’t Buy the Gloom Narrative Around Stocks

Before we get to potential strategies and buys, I do have to say one thing: don’t let anyone tell you stocks are doomed. This year has too much positive sentiment, and the S&P 500 still hasn’t reached all-time-highs, so this isn’t a pause in a bull market.… Read more

It’s a great time to be an income investor. We have yields averaging 11.1% staring us in the face.

All we need to do is step past the broader fear, and we can dial in these dynamic dividends. Which oh by the way, pay us monthly.

To do so we’ll look past traditional ETFs in favor of select closed-end funds (CEFs). These vehicles simply pay more than popular funds. Plus, they tend to be more closely managed—a good thing in manic markets like these.

Getting paid every 30 days smooths out our dividend income. This is what a vanilla portfolio of quarterly payers looks like.… Read more