I suggest you only purchase companies that have a history of consistently raising their dividends.  These companies will survive and thrive no matter what happens in the economy.

Currencies back off… More problems for BOA? More on China…Aussie Retail Sales rebound… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

As you scour the globe for potential post-financial-crisis profit plays, don’t overlook Taiwan. Stock markets around the world have already started to rebound with joy as investors begin to believe that that the unpleasant global recession is finally nearing its bottom.

US GDP falls more than expected…FOMC holds course…Canadian dollar has a great week…Oil helps commodity currencies…And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Goldman Sachs thinks you can make 40% on Ford. I think that figure should be a lot closer to 400%. China has finally, truly and wholeheartedly embraced “21st century American-style capitalism.” God help them.

For millennia, gold has been a barometer of financial health and the ultimate store of value. It’s long been considered the ultimate safe haven investment when all else fails, or when economic conditions seem too good to be true.

Gold didn’t do much of anything in the Far East or Europe on Tuesday morning. There was a smallish rally at the Comex open that got stopped dead in its tracks at 8:30 Eastern. Gold had $10 carved off its price by the time the bottom was in…shortly before London closed for the day. It managed to regain that loss by the time Comex trading was over…but lost half of it by the time electronic trading on the Globex was through at 5:15 p.m. in New York.

Global airline losses may total $4.7 billion this year as revenues plunge below levels seen after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the International Air Transport Association said today (Tuesday).

Despite a sharply rising US$ all through Far East, Europe and the Comex open…gold managed to stay within five dollars of its Friday closing price in New York. Gold and silver’s prices peaked at 9:00 a.m. in New York…when both had managed to claw their way into positive territory for the day. But once the London fix was in at 10:00 a.m. in New York, the rug got pulled out from under them.

Fears of a global recession and persistent concerns about the banking sector lifted the U.S. dollar on Monday as global stocks mostly faltered and oil prices shot higher on expectations of another OPEC output cut.