Back in 1970, Sam Walton needed capital to expand his small chain of 38 stores. He was willing to give up some ownership in the company to do so. So he hired investment banking firm Stephens of Little Rock to sell shares to the public. On October 1, 1970, Wal-Mart sold 300,000 shares of common stock to the public at a price of $16.50, raising total capital of $4.95 million. I doubt if $5 million would stock the electronics section of a Wal-Mart today. Continue Reading…
Archive for February, 2012
This Investing Strategy is For the Dogs
Low interest rates are a great deal if you are buying a house. But for folks living off the income of their investments, low interest rates can mean severe cuts in their cash flow. The national average for a one year CD is about six tenths of one percent. So a $100,000 CD is paying $600 per year. Just a few years back a retiree might have collected $4,000 or more on the same investment. Naturally, that leads many investors to search for a higher yield elsewhere. Surprisingly, one place that some are looking is the stock market. Specifically, investors may be looking at stocks that have a high dividend yield, or a high dividend relative to the price of the stock. Continue Reading…