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To: Berk who wrote (40717)	10/9/2008 1:06:55 PM
From: Gottfried	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95574

Dick, "S&P 500 yield In 1982 the dividend yield on the S&P 500 Index reached 6.7%. Over the following 16 years, the dividend yield declined to just a percentage value of 1.4% during 1998, because stock prices increased faster than dividend payments from earnings, and public company earnings increased slower than stock prices. During the 20th century, the highest growth rates for earnings and dividends over any 30-year period were 6.3% annually for dividends, and 7.8% for earnings[citation needed]. As of 2008, the average dividend yield is around 2%" en.wikipedia.org S&P link www2.standardandpoors.com

To: Berk who wrote (40717)	10/9/2008 6:23:03 PM
From: Jacob Snyder	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95574

That's what I like about this thread. When I post something questionable, someone will question it. Thanks. Here is the latest S&P earnings estimate for 2008, divided by today's close: 28.85/909.92 = 3.17%. Other calculations for the dividend yield, must be using other numbers. If anyone can find a more recent estimate, please post it (with a link). NEW YORK, July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's, the world's leading index provider, announced today that it is decreasing the expected 2008 dividend payment for the S&P 500 from $30.30 to $28.85. The lowered estimate still represents a 4.0% increase in S&P 500 dividend payments from the $27.73 registered in 2007, and translates into a $251.0 billion aggregate payment for the S&P 500 companies for 2008. 209.85.173.104 I had Bloomberg on in the background, I heard "3% div. yield", and posted it without checking elsewhere. From Gottfried's link: From December 1936 through March 31 2008 the average yield for the S&P 500 was 3.828% vs. 3.833% for December 2007. The current 12-month dividend yield is 2.14% vs. the 1.89% yield for December 2007. The yield is based on the cash dividends paid over the prior four quarters and the closing quarterly price. (my comment: When they say "current", I think they mean 3/31/08. The S&P500 was a lot higher on March 31, 2008, and there have been dividend cuts since then; I can't find anywhere on their site, with more recent calculations) The Wall Street Journal has charts showing Div. yield over time. They show a peak yield of 5.3% in 1974. WSJ says current S&P500 yield is 2.75%, year-ago 1.78%. Oddly, they also say the current PE of the S&P500 is 20.89, while their charts say it is 14. online.wsj.com SPY is a SPDR, a traded fund, while the S&P500 is the actual market. Do they calculate yield differently? October 3, 2008 - Standard & Poor’s, the world’s leading index provider, announced today that 138 of the approximately 7,000 publicly owned companies that report dividend information to Standard & Poor’s Dividend Record decreased their dividend during the third quarter of 2008, representing a 557% increase from the 21 issues that decreased their dividend during the third quarter of 2007. Reported dividend increases fell 21.2% to 346 from 439 reported in the third quarter of 2007. “It was the worst September for dividends since we started keeping dividend records in 1956,” says Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at Standard & Poor’s. “During the second quarter, companies were nervous and cautious. The third quarter, however, saw many companies deciding to take action, and that action took $22.5 billion out of the pockets of investors.” www2.standardandpoors.com (My comment: Maybe recent dividend cuts account for different calculations.) Housing: Yes, I meant early 2006 for peak housing prices. Thanks for catching that.