Markets Are Showing Optimism

Stocks reached highs in late December not seen in more than two years, and there's a prevailing trend of optimism heading into the new year. "This time around the stock market is telling us something important," said FGCU professor and longtime Wall Street executive David Jones. "It is signaling ... it was the first to signal ... that the economy will be improving in 2011."

High-quality stocks fared better than the average. Standard & Poor's Dividend Aristocrats, which have raised their dividends every year for 25 years or more, gained 104 percent the past decade. (Just reinvesting dividends in the S&P 500 would have increased your return to about 15 percent).

Source: News-Press.com

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