On the weekend, the writer was at an event which many people took pictures either on their cell phones or digital cameras. Those with cell phones (similar to me)  tended to take pictures more on the go or an instant response. The ability to do that is wonderful and many phones have built in camera features that allow for that type of response. The other folks with digital cameras tend to go slower, they try to frame the picture first, taking their time and then took the picture. The digital photographer likely has taken hundreds of pictures and is looking for a great shot. Each person with the ability to shoot a picture and both are likely satisfied with the result which is why both methods are valid.

Linking to dividend producing stocks, the cell phone cameras in this example is buying an index. It is a good strategy, whatever company manages the index, changes the index at least twice a year, with the non performers being changed for the better performers and in the long run the index will and has shown it does go up. The digital camera in this example, are people who have learned that after research of ensuring what you do not want, dividend companies will over time give you a total return that is higher than the index. The total return is the companies making a profit, paying a dividend to you together with the share price increases that come with continually making money.Their are many valid methods, dividends work

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

Similar to many people, the writer enjoys flowers, but liking flowers and putting them in a wonderful display is a little different. Technically it is possible for anyone to do, however you need to have more than a little knowledge. Yesterday at an event, the writer was at, there was a lady talking about what can be done with the floral arrangement that can be bought at the grocery store for half price? After opening the display up, the lady examined the flowers and discarded some (knowledge was needed) and cut the stems of the remaining flowers. Next she filled the vase by going in a circle, she would turn the vase to fill it, then turn the vase. The final touch was to put smaller vegetables on a stick and insert them as the vegetables added colour and shape to the arrangement. It looked good and did not take too much time or money to do. Could anyone do it? yes.

Linking to dividend producing stocks, when you choose these stocks you will have picked many winners. Every year to make a profit through the economic cycles is a difficult thing unless the company has a monopoly or near monopoly. Even then, people are always looking for alternatives. If a company has paid a dividend and increased it, that says their management has something good going for it, which you can use to your advantage. Starting with dividend producing companies will tend to a total return that will grow your money. Can anyone do it? yes. Is it difficult? no.

The amount of dividend is one of the headings listed on a stock summary in the newspaper, if you do not see one, take the stock off your list. When you do see the number, put the stock on your list. You will notice the list you have made is much smaller than the number of shares listed on the exchange. All companies on the exchange have a website, and show a listing of dividends paid in the past. As you do your research you can determine if the company appeals to you. The best part of dividend producing stocks once you have made your selections, for the part you do not have to check the stock listings on a regular basis. When the company pays its dividend, it is that time you can review do I keep it or move to something else? If you decide to keep it, then you are good for doing other things which you enjoy which may include stop and smell the roses.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

In every field of endeavour, there are tools of the trade. There are basic tools which will do the job but the more you know, the more you can do. At this time of the year, for me and many others, gardening tools are looked at. Every year, new tools willl have changed to either they are more balanced or lighter or more durable or more colour, but something to allow you to do the work, even better. If you are an occasional user, there maybe ony a little difference, but if you are a daily user of tools, it is good to look at the  premium ones. Most gardeners have a mixture of quality and favourite tools.

Linking to dividend producing stocks, every investor has their own system or tools, most have evolved over the years. The basics of reading or gathering information has never changed. How you do that has changed, but you need to use various information sources and with the Internet, there is an abundance of them. For the industry you are in, reading the trades is important because part of your job is connecting the dots, both from the past and looking into the future. In the financial forecasting world, all models looking at the past are wonderful. The models differ on the future and you must use your experience to narrow the field. From this blog’s perspective, if a company has produced continuous dividends, that is a great starting point  to ensure you do not lose money investing. How much you make will depend on many variables, but not losing money together with dividends and long term capital appreciation means you are on the right path.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

The season has changed to that magic word Spring, for those of who like plants, gardening is one of the things on our minds. However just because the season  changed, in the my part of the country, it does not mean you can start digging in the dirt and plant for the ground is still frozen. In the meantime, various magazines and catalogs can be read; flower shows attended. In all the readings, one of the lessons to learn is to grow anything, the correct conditions must be available. If the small piece of backyard is shady, then plants needing lots of sunlight are not going to grow well, however lovely the pictures are. Adapting to the conditions of the space makes a happy gardener. In all the books some of the first questions to be asked is when is the sunlight in your space and how good is the ground to grow things? The sunlight is a given but the garden can be enhanced, most will need composting material, because the land is not rich, in my case it is clay based.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, similar to gardening, not every stock is going to do well without the basics. If the company is not profitable, it will not pay a dividend, but if you love growth stocks that is where it fits in. If you love profitable companies, then narrowing the field is the first step. The second step is consistency of the business and whether the company has paid a dividend for a number of years. Each time you narrow the field you eliminate some companies and are left with very good choices where there tends not to be a wrong answer. If you have the option of two very good companies in different fields, that is where you personal preferences comes into place.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Warren Buffet has made and continues to make a lot of money, which is a really good reason to pay attention to what he does. Recently his company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. had their annual meeting and many people went to hear Mr. Buffet’s comments. There are were 3 take aways which are easy to say and harder to implement.

Lesson One – do not chase beating the index.

Lesson Two – be patient with your investments

Lesson Three – do not lose your money.

Lesson One  – the stock index will rise and fall, if your investments are providing steady dividend payments, some years you will outperform, some years you will be around the index.

Lesson two – this is the hardest lesson which is wait for when you feel is the best opportunity. Mr. Buffet has a great many ideas being given to him and his team on a daily basis. The trick is to not do anything with most of them, let time help you or patience be your guide. Mr. Buffet has often waited years before making a big decision. Also you may have noticed when companies have gone to Mr. Buffett for help, his rates are higher than the banks and ensure a constant dividend flow.

Lesson Three – the most important aspect of investing is not to lose your money. If you start with companies that have paid dividends for 5 to 10 years, your total return will be in the positive. By narrowing down the field for the bulk of your investments, and then meeting the other criteria you have is the safest method not to lose money.

By using the three lessons for investing in stocks – pick solid companies earning a profit and paying dividends, use patience and because you picked good companies their value will tend not to go down. In the long run you will be better off.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

Carnival is the world’s largest operator of cruise ships and has been in in the news as another one of its ships had equipment difficulty and stopped working. The headline which the reader saw was a reminder of the song “Another One Bites the Dust” As the operator of more ships than anyone else, the odds are if there is a ship with equipment difficulty, the chances of the ship being a Carnival one is high. It just seems that after years of very few mechincal difficulties, there has been more this year. It may just be a bad stream of luck,  although it seems the company is doing the proper thing – the company announced a comprehensive review of all ships in the fleet as well as offering compensation to passengers.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all companies make mistakes or have things that go wrong. The issue is always  how does the company react? If the company seemingly does the right things from the public’s point of view, the public will continue to support the company. If the company tries to put its head in the sand or blame someone else, then a different reaction from the public and investors is expected. From the point of investments, when a company faces a number of mishaps, the shares will go down as Carnival’s correctly has. The next question is this a buying opportunity? holding opportunity? or waiting opportunity. As this is Carnival’s busiest season, perhaps it is a later opportunity.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

The writer was fortunate to spend time on a flight path from the south to the north of the migrating water fowl primarily ducks.  Many people follow the birds as they go south, however at this time of the year, they are going towards their nesting places further north. At the park where I visited some of the people had all the latest gear to see the birds up close; my interest was if the birds are coming, the warmer weather is coming to the area where I live. We all have all our signs of spring, perhaps the first day to sit on a patio is yours.

Linking to dividend producing stocks, all companies follow patterns and make more money in particular months. The classic example is the gas company, they sell more gas in the winter than in the summer as people try to keep warm. If they did it, then you know your dividend is secure. Whatever season or months are best for the companies you own shares in, spring is a great time to see how they did or what plans they have.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

All around the world, people drive Toyota cars, they have built up a reputation as good cars to own. The architect of the Toyota Production System was Taiicho Ohno and a new book was recently published Taiicho Ohno’s Workplace Management, Special 100th Birthday Edition by McGraw Hill, 2013. The book gives insights into how Mr. Ohno approached his job and has lessons for everyone, whether you work in manufacturing or not.

1. Management by walking around – “When you enter the factory you should walk in a way that takes you hours to go 100 meters. If it takes no time at all to walk 100 meters that means no is rely on you.” Walking around means interacting with people. Asking, offering advice, teaching, etc. by walking around without asking has limited value. It involves the boss respecting the workers and the workers respecting the boss.

2. Discipline goes between youth and elders, but those giving the scolding and correction must practice what they preach or they will lose credibility.

3. People have to learn how to use the equipment properly. If an inexperienced person borrows a pair of sheet metal shears, they cannot cut sheet metal with them. A person who is skilled at using metal shears can also cut thin paper with them. Value talent and experience or you are wasting the resources.

4. Standards have to be set, but when someone says there might be a better way, it is an opportunity to try. That way the decisions are not made by some higher group but by the workers themselves. The process allows for trying, failing and trying again and again as improvements are to expected on an ongoing basis.

5. If you going to set times, do not do the average time, set the shortest time frame. The next stage is the more important one – find out why people can not do the work in this time frame and teach them. If you set an average time, you will receive average work, raise the bar.

6. The Toyota Production System came about by asking the question why 5 times. The first couple of answers are easy, the next ones will make you think.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, continuous improvement only works when people have a vested interest. It is hard to do but is necesarry, when it happens things change for the better. Asking questions gets the process started and most of the time you will find people in the company with solutions, if they are allowed to try and try again.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

All around the world, people drive Toyota cars, they have built up a reputation as good cars to own. The architect of the Toyota Production System was Taiicho Ohno and a new book was recently published Taiicho Ohno’s Workplace Management, Special 100th Birthday Edition by McGraw Hill, 2013. The book gives insights into how Mr. Ohno approached his job and has lessons for everyone, whether you work in manufacturing or not.

1. The misconception that mass production is cheaper. Is it really or can many examples be found where it is not the case. The reality is many times  an increase in  production results in higher costs, rather than lower costs. When the volume is beyond the capacity of the machines, factory costs rise. If the volume is high a new machine is needed which adds to costs, but most important is matching sales to new volumes. If items are not sold, there is inventory storage costs.

2. Wasted motion is not work. The most important job of production control is to limit overproduction.When people do tasks that are not directly related to their jobs, is it work or can the work be improved. The example given was a cutter doing some work, then spending time to sharpen the tools. Is sharpen tools the work or is there a better way? different process? centralized processes? Usually the answer is yes, there can be a different and better way.

3. the Better Question to ask – an example is a motorized loom, when a thread broke, the machine would stop and a worker would have to reconnect the thread. This happened often and the thinking at the time was to connect the thread as soon as possible in order not to lose production. The better question is how do we produce a thread that would not break?

4. The simpler it is the harder it is to do. Rationalization means doing what is rational, so there should be nothing that makes you think “Wow!” we did  it.

5. Why Shutoff buttons – the reason for the many shutoff buttons on a production line or the ability to shut down the line is to minimize defects and to ensure workers focus on quality. The point is not for workers to abuse the shutoff buttons, but to ask the question why is the line being shut down?  Finding  solutions will keep the line running longer and costs are reduced when there are fewer defects.

6. One of the main fundamentals is to make ‘what you need, in the amount you need, by the time you need it’, with the next phrase not written down at the lower cost. For example if you can make 120 units but only need 100, then make 100 for it is the lower cost. What happens to the other 20 and the costs for running the machines an d plant are not incurred or saved.

Linking to dividend producing stocks, Mr. Ohno’s philosophy focuses on learning, improving and focus on reducing costs. In Japan at the time of Mr. Ohno’s writing there was a full employment policy, this meant reducing bodies was the last step. It seems in North America, it tends to be considered the first step, perhaps it should be the last step.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions