The New York Times has an interactive graphic that visually conveys the impact the current market crisis has had on the financial sector. It has market cap scaled regions for two time periods, September 12, 2008 and October 9, 2007. It would be interesting to have a similar chart by a value metric, such as book value.

The typical dividend aristocrat is a mature company with wide moat that has weathered the storms of many boom and bust cycles while continuing to increase dividend payments to shareholders. These companies as well as the dividend champions are the cornerstone to my dividend strategy.

As the opening quote to this post highlights: expected value matters more than simple probability. The probability of something going wrong ....

In an utopian world, the perfect dividend stock would be one that is both high-yield and provide a high dividend growth rate. Its share price would appreciate ratable with its increasing dividend. All of this would be driven by increasing earnings and cash flow. Ok, so much for my fantasies, the perfect dividend stock just may be a balanced compromise. Consider the following:

Why Buffett likes Wells and US Bank so much, and why Wachovia is a trainwreck by comparison.

A roundup of last week's stock market related blog posts hosted at Fat Pitch Financials.

Not so fast

It is a dividend aristocrat as well as a major component of the S&P 500 index. It has been increasing its dividends for the past 36 consecutive years. One of USB’s stockholders is no other than the Oracle of Omaha, one of the best investors in the world. From 1998 up until 2007 this dividend growth stock has delivered an annual average total return of 4.60 % to its shareholders.

The Fat Pitch Financials Portfolio held steady in February. I added a position in Premier Exhibitions (PRXI) and watched several positive developments in other positions. The portfolio continues to beat out the S&P 500.

Bank of America and US Bancorp seem like relatively safe bets in a volatile sector. Extensive retail operations, high dividend yields, and relatively low subprime exposure should help these two banks weather the current storm.

It is easy to understand but few will follow through once crisis hits such as the current credit crunch. In his classic book Contrarian Investment Strategies: The Next Generation, David Dreman devotes a whole chapter on how to profit when blood hits the street.

A look back at the performance of the Fat Pitch Financials Portfolio. My 12.22% return was pretty respectable given that the S&P 500 delivered less than half that. This post recaps my trades and current holdings.

Here is the Barron's story that everyone is talking about today regarding Berkshire Hathaway's value. Access to this story should now be free.

Buffett buying more banks? One blogger thinks so.