Feature Article

RWE AG (Germany: RWE, OTC: RWEOY) plans to cut its 2014 annual dividend (payable April 17) to one euro, from a previous rate of 2 euros. That’s the third dramatic cut in five years for the German power giant. And it may not be the last, given some uniquely challenging conditions.

Shrinking traditional business and hefty debt have made wireline phone companies a reliable income source for short sellers in recent years. The game, however, has moved on.

Distribution growth shapes returns for master limited partnerships (MLPs).

Thus far, my strategy has been to populate the three Conrad’s Utility Investor Portfolios as quickly as I can with high-quality fare, without paying too much.

Who says the bond market is washed out? Certainly not Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ).

The company’s record $49 billion bond sale has not only locked in financing for its $130 billion buyout of Vodafone Plc’s (London: VOD, NYSE: VOD) minority stake in Verizon Wireless. But it was actually doubled, eliminating the need to raise funds in Europe.

Big picture themes always grab investing headlines. Success, however, flows from knowing what’s up with individual companies.

Regulated water utilities, for example, are on their face the very simplest and uniform of businesses. Yet so far in 2013, returns from the 10 companies I track in the Utility Report Card have ranged from a 26 percent gain to barely breaking even.

Investors are dumping dividend-paying stocks of strong companies due to misplaced fears about interest rate sensitivity. That’s opening up new opportunities in our favorite stocks, but be patient with prices.

Stocks around the globe are running into trouble in this slowing economic environment, It's been especially tough on companies that rely on emerging markets for their growth.

It’s practically an article of faith among short sellers that betting against wireline phone companies is close to a sure thing.

That’s likely to prove disastrous, however, in the case of Consolidated Communications (NSDQ: CNSL), the only company in the sector not to cut its original dividend.

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) currently sits near a new 52-week low. The reason: A combination of investor worries about rising interest rates and concern about its substantial capital spending program.