What is next? It’s the question everybody is asking right now. And it’s a tough question to answer. solution is becoming more and more obvious with each passing day. However, Andrew Snyder in Today’s Financial News says the answer could be that we are close to a bottom in equities. But there is likely going to be some more “whipsaw action” over the next few months. 

As corporate earnings slump companies are cutting back on dividend payments to shareholders. In fact, 3Q 2008 is set to be the worst quarter in over half a century for dividend cuts.

Andrew Snyder says this creates a great opportunity for contrarian investors. As stock prices tumble, the ratio of dividend payouts to stock prices increases. This gives “smart investors a shot at some great low-priced, high-yield equity plays.”

Andrew says Altria Group (NYSE:MO) is a great option for dividend-seeking investors.

It takes big cojones to invest in the US banking sector right now. Barely a week passes without another financial giant hitting the wall. The sector has been one of the worst hit this year.

But are there firms that will benefit from the wholesale restructuring of the industry? Money Map editor Horacio Marquez says Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) “will jump from merely being one of the largest banks in the world to being a commercial-and-investment banking powerhouse.”

Horacio recommends using short-term volatility to buy BAC shares on market dips to gradually build up a long-term position by the end of the year.

The economic calendar this week isn’t particularly exciting, but coming off the pain inflicted on the markets last week, that could be a good thing. The market will have its hands full with earnings season starting up again, so a full week of reports could have been dangerous.

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) Friday agreed to buy all of Wachovia Corp. (WB) for about $15 billion in stock, however, Citigroup Inc. (C), which had already agreed to buy Wachovia’s banking operations, immediately issued a protest that could jeopardize the deal.