With the Greek elections now in the books, forming a coalition government and working out a detailed pro-bailout strategy is now the top priority for Greece's new conservative party leader, Antonis Samaras. Despite the conservative New Democracy's narrow victory yesterday, the eurozone is still in as precarious shape as ever. Greece can now take another small step in order to heal its debt wounds, as Spain's issues are worsening by the day, with yields on its 10-year notes reaching over 7%.
After opening in the red, the broad markets have been edging higher, with the Dow Jones Industrials
Energy slowdown
The worst-performing stocks today are those closely levered with international growth. Similar to the broad markets, July crude futures plummeted early on but have been steadily gaining today. Chevron is down 50 basis points as it was one of a few dozen energy companies to have its credit rating reduced by Raymond James, which has taken a negative outlook on future oil prices.
It appears investors in offshore drilling also have a negative outlook on oil prices as Hercules Offshore
Going the distance
The eurozone debt issues are going to get worse before they get better, meaning volatility will be in excess going forward. A long-term approach is the smart way to invest, and this method is exceedingly important in volatile times. Market uncertainty invites investors to move their money into low-risk and low-yield securities. However, with U.S. 10-year Treasuries yielding a dismal 1.59%, smart, long-term investors should purchase outstanding companies with dividends that trump current Treasury yields. With this mind-set, you can receive superior yields via dividends, while still owning great companies with balance sheets that can guide them through difficult stretches. For those of you looking for some of these great companies, check out this free report: "The 3 Dow Stocks Dividend Investors Need." This report is absolutely free, so click here to get your copy today.