Brigitte

Abbott Labs recently hit its buy price. Abbott is one of the thirteen Dividend Compounding Machines we follow (stocks with the highest financial strength rating, the highest moat rating and the lowest business risk rating). We purchased shares at $50. Abbott first reached this price in 1998.

The stock pays a dividend of $1.44 per share, giving us an initial yield of 2.9%. Over the last ten years, dividends have risen from $.60 per share to $1.44 per share, an annual increase of 9.1% per year. Value Line is projecting dividends to increase at 10% per year over the next five years.

Abbott Labs is the kind of company we want to own. With a reasonable initial yield and good prospects for dividend growth over time, Abbott should provide a steady source of rising income to our portfolios.

We recently sold Apollo Group stock when it reached its upside price target of $79.39 per share. Apollo Group provides higher education programs to working adults, primarily through its largest subsidiary, The University of Phoenix.

Previously, the stock had reached a high of $98 per share in 2004. We began purchasing shares in March 2006, at prices ranging from $33.63 per share to $50.00 per share.

Apollo Group is a fine company that we would love to own again at the right price. Our current buy price is $36 per share.

This sale illustrates that even when the overall stock market is in a bear market some companies will still rise in price.

On December 8th, we sold SunTrust Banks. SunTrust is one of the largest bank holding companies in the Southeast. Early in 2007, SunTrust reached a high point of $94.20 per share. From late October of 2007 until early January of 2008 we bought this stock for prices Read the rest of this entry »

I am now back in the office full time… Well, it’s a modified full time schedule. My first week back, which was the week of November 3rd, I came down with a cold. It wasn’t anything major, but it slowed me down. Vincent, of course, contracted the virus, which made resting pretty much impossible. Now that we are both better, I am in the office by about 8:30 every day and here until almost 5.

It is amazing how fast time flies! Vincent will be three months old on Tuesday, November 25th. He is smiling, laughing, repeating sounds, and rolling himself over. We are both adjusting very well to his time spent at the caregiver’s home and making the most of our time together.

Click here or on Vincent’s picture below to see the most recent pictures of Vinnie in our photo gallery. Then you can click on any picture to see it full size. Enjoy!

Our little guy turned one month old this past Thursday. We saw a new pediatrician and I am happy to say that Vincent is doing very well. Over the course of his lifetime thus far, he has lost the belly button stump, held onto his hair, become more alert, bonded with Brewster, and grown like a little weed. He now weighs 8 pounds 10 ounces and is one inch taller than at birth.

I am enjoying my time at home and am trying to get into some sort of routine. We recently introduced formula to Vincent, which he gets once a day and seems to like. Once we get on a better sleep schedule at night, I will feel like I’ve got the hang of this parenting thing.

I do miss being at the office and I am looking forward to getting back to work very soon. Vincent and I have popped into the office a few times already and it’s worked out well. Next week, I plan on being at the office on a more regular basis. Fortunately, I can bring Vincent with me or take him to the sitter for a few hours. My plan is to start working 2-3 days a week for a few hours each day, gradually increasing the hours back to full time.

In the meantime, I intend to keep you up-to-date on the dynamic financial situation in this country. I am in the process of researching and writing blogs on the FDIC and the government’s bailout plan. Please check back on the blog and feel free to pass this it on to your friends and relatives.

For your enjoyment, I’ve included some recent pictures of Vincent. Click here to visit Vincent’s photo gallery.

Stocks on Sale Again

The Fall Clearance Sale is now going on in the stock market.  Each day, we monitor over 300 blue chip stocks.  On July 14th and 15th of this year, over 45% of these stocks were buys.  Back in 2007 at the top of the market, less than 8% of the stocks were buys.

Bargains Are Created by Bad News

Bargains in the stock market are created when investors become fearful.  That’s why Warren Buffett, the world’s most successful investor has said, Read the rest of this entry »

As of Sunday, the United States government has taken over Freddie Mac (FRE) and Fannie Mae (FNM), two companies that control more than half of the housing mortgages.  Both FRE and FNM purchase home loans from banks and repackage them as mortgage-backed securities that they either hold or sell to investors.  The Treasury has promised to invest up to $200 billion in the companies, if needed.  In exchange Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will be in the hands of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae own or guarantee $5.3 trillion (yes, trillion) in mortgages.

For more information on the government takeover, be sure to read Keith’s explanation in the September newsletter.

It is amazing how quickly the past week has gone by.   We brought Vincent home from the hospital last Wednesday afternoon, August 27th.  We’ve since changed what seems like a million diapers, experimented with a good portion of the items I’ve either purchased or received as gifts and introduced Vincent to Brewster, our dog.  Other than a little chaos and lack of sleep, things are actually going pretty well.  Read the rest of this entry »

Click here or on Vincent’s picture below to see a photo gallery of Vincent, Brigitte and Brian. Then you can click on any picture to see it full size. Enjoy!

Hello everyone. Thank you for your kind wishes and prayers over the past nine months. They paid off big time!  Vincent Edward Palumbo was born on Monday, August 25th at 6:15pm. He weighed 7 lbs, 4 oz and was 20 inches long. He has a lot of brown hair and his eyes are currently blue. I think his eyes are going to turn brown sometime in the next few months though. Of course, I think he is adorable, but you can judge for yourself. Tom is going to post some photos that I emailed him.  I will spend some time this weekend writing a blog that details my parental rookihood thus far. That should be entertaining.