Recent Buys and current news

July News is in so far. On 7/6/10 I purchased EOS, FSC and PFE $8.00 each company. On 7/13/10 I purchased ED, IBM, BPT at $8.00 each. My june statement has arrived. Equities and stock for June $351.11 value at may end was $261.44. Dividends for the month Jumped to $2.25 from .79 cents the period before.


    My top three holdings for June were GE 1.594 Shares $22.99, 2nd IGD 1.9271 shares $20.06, and #3 is AOD 3.7947 shares $18.78. Top 3 dividends in June were AOD .44 cents , FRO .25 cents, DO Special Dividend .13 cents Regular Dividend .01 cent. Total of 12 buys for June. Total 33 dividends collected in June.

Well thatis it for now cheers all.

Wowzers Were did da time go.............

     I stumbled across my password the other day finally can do some updated. The wife had a heart attack I had to sell all that had at folio investing and recover the family. I now have a roth ira through sharebuilder.com Get ya own Account here. I am still using the same investing style as before. I put in 50.00 every payday and invest $5.00 for each day that I work (Kinda like a reward for having to go to work and deal with all the drama everyday that goes with work). With that being said my first deposit was on 4-16-2010. My account today stands at $346.21. I am a subscriber to the plan so I pay a flat $12.00 per month for 12 trades per month. I am long 52 different holdings in what I think is a pretty diversified portfolio. My current Holdings ranked by the amount held in the account 1 being my biggest holding and 52 being my smallest.

    My current holdings include the following, AOD, IGD, MRK, WMT, TNH, FRO, DO, GE, XOM, INTC,  PHK, EOS, PTY, DPD, IID, PHT, GDX, NLY, BMY, CTL, VNQ, CFP, CAH, KMB, O, PEP, SYY, CAT, PG, TPZ, ESD, LQD, EOI, ABT, PGX, JNK, PFF, VWO, GGN, MMM, IGI, BDX, XLF,  BAX, FSC, SPY, PFE, ED, KMP, BPT, IBM, AND BP.Those are all my holdings that i plan to stick with for now and the ones I talk about on my blog. In my challenge to beat the company sponsored 401k.

         I try to invest with a huge focus on dividends and reinvesting of the dividends you can not beat having your money working for you. Most of the time if a holding cuts its dividend I will sell it the next chance I get (however different in the case of bp). As this stock i am not sure what to do with so I will just hold it for the time being.

       Dividends Paid this month include, INTC, PFE, WMT, DO on 6-1-2010, LQD, PFF on 6-7-2010, JNK on 6-9-2010, IBM on 6-9-2010, XOM, MMM on 6-14-2010, ED, IGD, IID, and O on 6-15-2010 and CTL on 6-21-2010. All dividends are automatically reinvested back into the same stock they come from.

       I purchased DO, IGI, FRO, GDX and PHT on the 6-01-2010 value $5.00 each. On 6-8-210 I purchased AOD 2.05 shares for $13.00 and 1.1321 shares of IGD for $12.00. On 6-15-210 I purchased 0.3422 shares of MRK for $12.00 and 0.2525 shares of WMT for $13.00. And next week I plan to purchase on Tuesday $12.00 worth of IBM and $13.00 worth of ED.

      It seems like it is taken for ever to get this going all over again, but I know Rome wasn't built in a day. So I be using this blog to share my thoughts and current investments. Feel free to follow along with me as I try to once again build a nest egg of money working for me.

DHT Maritime Inc. Not To Declare Dividend For Second Quarter Of 2009

DHT Maritime Inc. announced that the Board of Directors has decided not to declare any dividend for the second quarter of 2009.

Therefore DHT no longer meets my demand for payment from my holdings. I will be selling my holding on Monday. I will no longer speak of DHT unless a decent payout dividend record is reestablished.

Nordic American Tanker (NAT) Declares $0.50 A Share Dividend, Yielding 11.71%

The Company will pay a dividend of $0.50 per share on or about September 4, 2009, to shareholders of record as of August 21, 2009.

To receive this dividend, you must own your shares by August 19th.

Nordic American Tanker Shipping (NAT) said it swung to a second-quarter loss of $137,000, as net voyage revenue dropped to $29.7 million from $63.2 million. It earned $35.5 million in the year-earlier period. It said earnings per share from continuing operations were 9 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 5 cents a share. The company will pay a dividend of 50 cents per share on or about Sept. 4, 2009, to shareholders of record as of Aug. 21, 2009, down from 88 cents in the first quarter.

Disclosure I am long NAT shares.

Norfolk Southern (NSC) Declares Qtr. Dividend of $0.34

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC - Quote) today announced the regular quarterly dividend of 34 cents per share on its common stock, payable on Sept. 10, to stockholders of record on Aug. 7.

Since its inception in 1982, Norfolk Southern has paid dividends on its common stock for 108 consecutive quarters.

Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

Disclosure I am long NSC shares.

International Shipholding (ISH) Reports 38% Drop in Q2 Earnings; Declares $0.50 Qtr. Dividend

International Shipholding Corporation (ISH - Quote) reports Q2 EPS of $1.46, compared to $2.37 in the same quarter last year. Revenue for the quarter was $99.82 million, versus $61.15 million in Q208.

Declared a second quarter dividend of $0.50 per share payable on September 1, 2009 to shareholders of record as of August 17, 2009.

Disclosure I am long ISH shares.

Burlington Northern (BNI) Approves $0.40 Qtr. Dividend

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNI - Quote) today declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share on outstanding common stock. The dividend is payable on October 1, 2009, to shareholders of record September 10, 2009.

The ex-dividend date is September 8.

The dividend currently yields 2.03%.

Disclosure I am long BNI shares in my shipping Folio.

Time to COnsider SHipping ETF's, Sea is my choice

When countries around the globe start resuming business as usual, shipping will be a given necessity and exchange traded funds (ETFs) are one way to gain access to this sector and satiate your investment needs.

The Claymore/Delta Global Shipping (SEA) reflects the Delta Global Shipping Index, which measures the performance of maritime shipping industry firms in global developed markets, writes Don Dion for TheStreet. The ETF’s portfolio has dry bulk goods and the leasing and/or operating of tanker ships, container ships, specialty chemical ships and liquefied gas or dry bulk goods transport ships.

SEA has 30 holdings with an expense ratio of 0.65%. The fund has a 58.7% allocation in industrials and 41.3% allocation in energy. The components within the fund are based on market capitalization and liquidity.

Investors are coming back into shipping, realizing that countries such as China are demanding materials en masse. More recently, the shipping industry is being driven by steel demand and higher demand from China and emerging markets will likely raise rates on dry bulk shipping.

When talking about the shipping industry, the most important ratio is “bottoms,” or number of ships, to demand for transported goods. If there are more products than bottoms then the rates are high; if there are more bottoms than cargo, then rates are low.

* Claymore/Delta Global Shipping (SEA): up 17% year-to-date

Disclosure I am long SEA in my shipping folio.

Lets ride the rails With Norfolk Southern (NSC)

Sporting a current P/E of 9.01 and a decent 3.57% dividend. Payout ratio coming in at 29.39% meaning the dividend is pretty safe. My target is $48.57 currently trading at $38.34, making it a solid value play. I started buying/accumulating at $27.12 a share currently up 15% and will keep collecting shares, currently long, BNI, NSC, CSX, PRPX, and UNP in my railroad folio. Up 18.87% year to date in this folio.

Norfolk Southern Corp. is a Virginia based freight railroad company operating primarily in the eastern United States. NSC operates approximately 21,000 miles of railroad across 22 states comprising 2/3rds of the American population. NSC generated its 2008 operating revenues from the following traffic sources: Coal (28%), General Merchandise (52%), and Intermodal– (i.e. standardized containers that are handled and transferred between ships, trucks and rail) (19%).

NSC’s main competitor is CSX Corp but it also competes with other forms of freight shipping especially trucking.

Disclosure I am long all 5 Rail companies in my Railroad Folio.

Overseas Shipholding (OSG) Announces $.4375 Per Share Quarterly Dividend

Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE: OSG - News), a market leader in providing energy transportation services, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share on the common stock outstanding, payable on August 27, 2009 to stockholders of record on August 7, 2009.

Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE: OSG - News), a Dow Jones Transportation Index company, is one of the largest publicly traded tanker companies in the world. As a market leader in global energy transportation services for crude oil and petroleum products in the U.S. and International Flag markets, OSG is committed to setting high standards of excellence for its quality, safety and environmental programs. OSG is recognized as one of the world’s most customer-focused marine transportation companies and is headquartered in New York City, NY. More information is available at www.osg.com.

Disclosure I am long OSG shares.

Safe Bulkers, Inc. (SB) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.15 per Share

Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB - Quote), an international provider of marine drybulk transportation services, today declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share for the first quarter of 2009.

The Company today declared a cash dividend on its common stock of $0.15 per common share payable on or about May 29, 2009 to shareholders of record at the close of trading of the Company's common stock on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") on May 22, 2009. The Company has 54,508,907 shares of common stock outstanding as of today.

This is the fourth consecutive cash dividend the Company has declared since its initial public offering on May 28, 2008. The dividend for the first quarter of 2009 was maintained at the same level as that for the previous quarter.

The Board is continuing a policy to pay out a portion of the Company's free cash flow at a level it considers prudent in light of the current economic and financial environment. The declaration and payment of dividends, if any, will always be subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors of the Company, and will depend on, among other things, the Company's earnings, financial condition and cash requirements and availability, the Company's ability to obtain debt and equity financing on acceptable terms as contemplated by the Company's growth strategy, the restrictive covenants in the Company's existing and future debt instruments and global economic conditions.

Disclosure I am long SB shares in my shipping Folio

Union Pacific Corporation(UNP) Declares Quarterly Dividend of 27 Cents a Share

The Board of Directors of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP - Quote) has declared a quarterly dividend of 27 cents per share on its common stock, payable July 1, 2009 to stockholders of record May 29, 2009.

Union Pacific has paid dividends on its common stock for 110 consecutive years.

Union Pacific operates the largest railroad in North America, covering 23 states in the western 2/3rds of the country. The ex-dividend date is may 27th, you must on the stock one day prior to ex-dividend date to receive the dividend.

In other UNP news :

Union Pacific Railroad plans to spend $15 million on track improvements to its line from St. Louis to Poplar Bluff, Mo.

When the project is complete, crews will have removed and installed 90,000 ties, spread 28,000 tons of rock ballast to ensure a stable roadbed, renewed the road surfaces at 60 crossings and nearly three miles of rail in various curves, Union Pacific said Tuesday. Crews replaced the crossing surfaces January through April.

The tie replacement project began April 25 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of July.

Disclosure I am long UNP shares in my Railroad Folio.

Double Hull Tankers(DHT) misses by $0.03, reports revs in-line Declares .25 Cent Dividend

Double Hull Tankers (DHT-Quote) Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.26 per share, excluding non-cash expenses, $0.03 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.29; revenues rose 19.8% year/year to $29.8 mln vs the $29.6 mln consensus.

The Board of Directors of DHT has decided to pay a dividend of $0.25 per share for the first quarter 2009. The dividend will be paid on June 16, 2009 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 3, 2009.

About DHT

On 18 October 2005, DHT Maritime, Inc. (formerly Double Hull Tankers, Inc.) (NYSE: DHT) commenced operations as an independent tanker company. The Company acquired seven double hull crude oil tankers from Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG), a market leader in global energy transportation services with a fleet of more than 100 crude tankers and petroleum product carriers. In December 2007 and January 2008, DHT took delivery of two Suezmax tankers. DHT's modern fleet consists of three Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), two Suezmax tankers and four Aframax tankers.

The seven vessels acquired from OSG in 2005 were chartered to OSG on October 18 2005 for periods ranging from five to six and one-half years. OSG has options to extend the charters for an additional five to eight years depending on vessel. In return, DHT receives a base charter hire and expects, through a profit sharing agreement, to benefit from earnings over and above the base charter hire rates. The vessels are operated in the largest commercial tanker pools in their segments: Tankers International and Aframax International, respectively. The vessels are technically operated (crewing, maintenance, repairs, drydockings etc.) by a subsidiary of OSG at fixed cost to DHT. The two Suezmax tankers are on seven and ten year bareboat charters to OSG.

On Janaury 4, 2008, DHT announced a dividend policy of a fixed quarterly dividend of $0.25 per common share. DHT intends to pursue a strategy of providing shareholders with a stable and visible distribution and also position the Company to use its incremental cash flow to fund future growth opportunities.

Disclosure I am long DHT shares, in my shipping Folio.

UPS 1Q profit plunges more than 55 pct

United Parcel Service(UPS) reported on Thursday a quarterly profit that missed analysts’ estimates and forecast no quick turnaround as the global economic downturn continued to take its toll on the world’s largest package-delivery company.

UPS’s quarterly operating profit fell by more than half over the year, dropping to $718m in the first quarter of 2009 from $1.49bn a year earlier.

UPS earnings fell more than 55 percent to $401 million as revenue dropped more than 13 percent, compared to profit of $906 million a year ago.

The results missed Wall Street expectations, and UPS provided an outlook for second-quarter earnings that was below analysts expectations.

The January-March profit was 40 cents a share, compared to year-ago earnings of 87 cents a share.

Revenue in the quarter was $10.94 billion, versus $12.68 billion a year ago.

Adjusted earnings were 52 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected UPS to earn 56 cents per share on revenue of $11.4 billion for the first quarter. Analysts generally exclude one-time items from their estimates.

For the three months ended March 31, consolidated average daily volume totaled 14.5 million packages, a 3.9 percent decline compared to a year ago. Average revenue per piece decreased 6.9 percent, reflecting changes in product mix, declining fuel surcharges and weight per package and the negative impact of currency.

The company's international segment was affected in the quarter as well, posting a 1 percent volume decline with some benefit from the timing of Easter. The 15.3 percent decline in revenue per piece reflected similar negative trends as in the U.S. small package operation as well as the negative impact of currency, UPS said.

UPS said that the second quarter will be difficult. The company expects earnings per share in a range of 45 cents to 55 cents. Analysts were expecting second-quarter earnings of 65 cents.

"Economic indicators tell us recovery in the U.S. might begin late this year, but more likely not until 2010," Chief Financial Office Kurt Kuehn said in a statement.

In premarket trading UPS shares fell 92 cents to $53.83.

Disclosure I am long UPS shares.

Norfolk Southern (NSC) Announces $0.34 Quarterly Dividend, Yielding 3.81%

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC - News) today announced the regular quarterly dividend of 34 cents per share on its common stock, payable on June 10, to stockholders of record on May 1.

Since its inception in 1982, Norfolk Southern has paid dividends on its common stock for 107 consecutive quarters.

Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serving every major container port in the eastern United States and providing superior connections to western rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive network in the East and is North America's largest rail carrier of metals and automotive products.

Disclosure I am long NSC.