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(snip)"In the current financial environment, it is becoming harder for savers to receive a decent return on their money. Due to the Federal Reserve’s zero interest rate policy, returns on money market accounts and CDs are a joke. Even more troublesome, the Fed has guaranteed record low interest rates till at least mid-2013. Last month, Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Fed, also said that rates could be held lower past the mid-2013 commitment.
With investors seeking yield, more emphasis has been placed on strong equities that pay a juicy dividend. Investment group, BESPOKE, has compiled a list of the top 39 companies in the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) that pay a dividend of at least 4%. Furthermore, to reduce the chance of an artificial high yield due to a steep price decline, BESPOKE limited the list to stocks that have fallen less than 10% year-to-date.
Here are the 39 stocks that made the cut, in order by the highest yield:
AT&T 5.95%
Altria Group 5.78%
Health Care REIT Inc. 5.76%
Cincinnati Financial 5.58%
Pepco Holdings Inc. 5.49%
Reynolds American 5.44%
Integrys Energy Group 5.33%
Verizon Communications 5.3%
Eli Lilly & Co. 5.24%
Lockheed Martin Corp 5.11%
HCP Inc. 5.04%
Leggett & Platt Inc. 4.97%
FirstEnergy Corp 4.95%
Ameren Corp 4.90%
Exelon Corp 4.85%
Duke Energy Corp 4.84%
American Electric Power 4.77%
Entergy Corp 4.75%
Merck & Co Inc 4.73%
PPL Corp 4.71%
Lorillard Inc. 4.69%
TECO Energy Inc. 4.65%
Progress Energy Inc. 4.62%
Plum Creek Timber Co Inc. 4.60%
DTE Energy Co. 4.52%
Pinnacle West Capital Corp 4.50%
SCANA Corp 4.49%
Paychex Inc. 4.40%
NYSE Euronext 4.33%
Southern Co 4.30%
Public Service Enterprise 4.23%
Consolidated Edison Inc. 4.08%
Philip Morris International 4.07%
NiSource Inc. 4.05%
H&R Block Inc. 4.04%
CMS Energy Corp 4.02%
Xcel Energy Inc. 4.01%
CenterPoint Energy Inc. 4.01%
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. 4.0%
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Just a reminder that, unlike a bank account or CD, there is no guarantee that your original investment at time of stock shares purchase will retain 100% of it's value in the future !!!



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