Corona Fever Finally Hits the Market

*EXHALE*

Breathe, take it easy.  After months of predictable increased prices and dropping yields, the market finally went into correction this last week of February.  And in classic dividend investor style, I bought into the panic.  I still have a *little* cash left on hand for any more stomach twisting drops ahead, but I think the bears (and the algorithms) have had their way.  Looking forward to a good jobs report, and a bullish market for another 4 years...?

My annual income has increased dramatically (almost $500), now that we have had some yield increases, and I thawed a bit of my frozen assets to make it happen.  However, my net worth and my brokerage took a huge hit from the drops.  But that's how the market works, and it has historically recovered every time.  I feel fortunate I was able to have some cash on hand to take advantage of it.  While it felt like being a kid in a candy store picking up all the high yielders, there was the sobering reality of losing about half the profits I've gained over the years.



As of this writing, the virus has not really affected the USA too much, and China has been crippled by it.  It will be interesting to see if the panic in the market is at all justified.  Ok, now on to the data:

Dividend Increases & Special Payouts
Old Republic (NYSE:ORI) declares $0.21/share quarterly dividend, 5% increase from prior dividend of $0.20.
Home Depot (NYSE:HD) declares $1.50/share quarterly dividend, 10.3% increase from prior dividend of $1.36.
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) declares $0.43/share quarterly dividend, 6.2% increase from prior dividend of $0.405.

February Purchases:

GIS	13
T	8
MAIN	45
NNN	6
SO	6
ORI	14
ADM	4
CVX	14
O	7
ABBV	9
IP	13
HRL	26
OKE	1
WSO	5

Here's hoping March, coming in like a lion, will come out like a lamb...

December, January, and the Corona Virus

The volatility many of us have been waiting for might actually be here.  As far as the market goes, the Iran dustup was not very effective.  The Corona virus might be responsible for the next correction, and drive the market even lower.  In the meantime I have been shoring up my stocks to be more diverse, and did indeed increase the utilities I had planned to buy.  The only stock under 2.5% weight in my portfolio is Hormel, and I'm not sure how it will perform in this market.  As a recessionary stock, it should increase, and with SPAM impossible to contaminate, it should fare well, however for the "fresher" brands, it may not.  It is already too expensive with a low yield that I may continue to pass it over for now.

Going into Monday morning February, the things I will be watching for will be the retreat of Corona (unlikely).  Which means waiting for the correction to continue, or for Corona cases to stabilize.  In the meantime we have the jobs report on Friday, and if the past 3 years are any indication, it should be a good one.  Couple that with the unusually warm January weather in large metropolis areas, no reason not to go out and look for a job.  Or better yet, move to one (many openings in the Midwest).

December went well, and January for the most part, just at the end did things heat up.  The "impeachment" was another non-event for the market.  The Corona Virus steals the show as the true disruption in growth.  If China can't supply the global economy, the global economy will panic.  This is the best time to buy.  Be ready to catch that bottom when it happens!  Lots of increases these past 2 months, here they are (along with some commentary by me):

Dividend Increases & Special Payouts
Mastercard (NYSE:MA) declares $0.40/share quarterly dividend, 21.2% increase from prior dividend of $0.33.
WEC Energy (NYSE:WEC) declares $0.6325/share quarterly dividend, 7.2% increase from prior dividend of $0.59.
Realty Income (NYSE:O) declares $0.2275/share monthly dividend, 0.2% increase from prior dividend of $0.227. (monthly payer that increases small several times a year, with usually one large increase once a year.  This isn't it!)
AT&T (NYSE:T) declares $0.52/share quarterly dividend, 2% increase from prior dividend of $0.51. (ATT just increases a little in order to keep their aristocrat status - which is fine because of their great yield)
Realty Income (NYSE:O) declares $0.2325/share monthly dividend, 2.2% increase from prior dividend of $0.2275. (Here's the bigger raise)
ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) declares $0.935/share quarterly dividend, 2.2% increase from prior dividend of $0.915. (This is another one that likes to increase several times a year)
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) declares $0.25/share quarterly dividend, 13.6% increase from prior dividend of $0.22. (Nice!)
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) declares $1.07/share quarterly dividend, 3.9% increase from prior dividend of $1.03.
Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) declares $1.34/share quarterly dividend, 15.5% increase from prior dividend of $1.16. (Nicer!)
Chevron (NYSE:CVX) declares $1.29/share quarterly dividend, 8.4% increase from prior dividend of $1.19.
Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) declares $0.36/share quarterly dividend, 2.9% increase from prior dividend of $0.35.

December Purchases:
XEL         14
WEC 25
ORI          29
ADM        22
WTR 40
ABT            2

January Purchases:
ABT         14
ORI          14
APD         4
FAST 11 
CVX         6
HRL         13
ADM         9