Dividends Count - Now More Than Ever

There is not much activity to report this week from my portfolio. No dividends received or no new purchases.

But this is not necessarily a bad thing. The capital value has fallen quite considerably with four out of five days showing a decline. But instead of panic selling and realising paper losses, this selection of stocks should continue to deliver the function they were purchased to do - to provide a strong and rising income stream to allow dividends to be reinvested.

This bear market is now showing a plethora of opportunities for income seeking investors such as myself. Even some companies that I would not normally consider safe are showing up possibilites of good dividends return on a yield basis even if a significant cut were applied.

The key remains to scout for companies with a long history of stable and rising payments coupled with good earnings cover. I just wish I had more capital available now to take advantage of the myriad available.

There are two big dividends due next week - Taylor Wimpey and Intermediate Capital Group. Taylor Wimpey's will be the last at such a level for some time I think as the dividend will almost certainly be cut next year along with most of the housebuilders, but will still provide a good yield return on my purchase price.

These dividends will take me above the £1000 mark in cash, and I can purchase GKN which I mentioned a couple of weeks ago.

Next week will be the four weekly review of capital performance. I'll post a summary here as soon as I've completed it. I suspect it won't be happy reading, but I am in this for years, not just a month.

The Dividend Seeker