Lead Article - The Search for Income
Record low interest rates have received a great deal of attention in recent weeks.  Short term rates are driven by the fed funds target rate, which has remained at or below 0.25 percent since December 2008.  On the long end of the yield curve, as August drew to a close the thirty year U.S. Treasury bond was providing a nomimal yeild of only 3.6 percent, less than half its daily average since early 1977.

Media attention has focused on the Fed, which has explicitly committed to an easy money policy amid a faltering recovery, and financial institutions, which have been reluctant to extend credit despite abundant liquidity.  The plight of businesses, faced with an increadingly tenuous economic recovery and an uncertain future regarding regulation and taxes, has also been well publicized.

The immediate implications of falling interest rates for consumers and investors, however, have received less attention.  Though the opportunity for homeowners to refinance their mortgages has been widely covered, the negative impact of low interest rates for individuals, particularly older investors who rely heavily on fixed income, has by comparison received little attention. . . .
 
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
The Siren's Call of Morningstar Ratings:  Avoiding Temptation
How to Start a High Yield Dow Portfolio
The High-Yield Dow Investment Strategy
World Market Capitalization Map
Recent Market Statistics
The Dow Jones Industrials Ranked by Yield
Recommended Investment Vehicles