Finding Dividend ETFs Beyond Canadian Borders

Three Global High Dividend ETFs

First Published Date: February 2, 2014 ADawnJournal.com

As the pages fall from the calendar and time spins inexorably on, dividend investors step up their quest for dividend ETFs further beyond Canadian borders. Today, I will talk about three dividend ETFs that are trading outside Canada and holding high yield stocks around the globe.

SDIV – Global X SuperDividend ETF MER 0.58% – SDIV tracks 100 diversified high dividend paying companies across the globe, including the US, but with a lesser concentration on the emerging markets. If a company cuts its dividend, SDIV gets rid of that company at the next quarterly review. As of this writing, 12-month dividend yield is 7.22%.

DWX – SPDR S&P International Dividend ETF MER 0.45% – DWX tracks 100 high dividend mid-cap companies across the globe, excluding the US, but with a higher concentration on the Australian market. Yield is 6.61%.

DOO – WisdomTree International Dividend ex-Financials ETF MER 0.58% – DOO tracks 92 large and mid-cap companies across the globe, excluding the financial sector, with a higher concentration on the UK market and lesser concentration on the US market. Yield is 2.73%.

There are many other high-dividend global ETFs trading on the US exchanges. High yield comes with high risks. Do your homework before making any investment decisions.

Disclosure – This article is for information purposes only and No information is intended as investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, or as an offer to sell or buy or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security, ETF, or fund. The author assumes no liability for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon. You bear responsibility for your own investment research and decisions, and should seek the advice of a qualified financial professional before making any investment decision. As of this writing, I do not own any of the ETFs mentioned here.

Blair Warns Obama That Climate Change Needs Attention

Global Environment, Environmental Crisis, And Global Economic Crisis

First Published Date : March 9, 2009 ADawnJournal.com

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned new US president Barack Obama that the current global economic crisis must not distract people from looking to take steps in avoiding climate change. The warning comes as Obama meets Blair’s successor Gordon Brown to discuss solutions to the economic situation, and brings into sharp focus the potential dangers of taking one’s eye of the ball when it comes to environmental matters – a potential and natural reaction to the high priority that is being placed on the financial crisis. The message from Tony Blair is that, economic crisis or no economic crisis, there  are still issues that need to be addressed with real urgency where environmental concerns are at issue.

In Blair’s view, some people are of the opinion that due to the economic turmoil, the environmental crisis that we could be facing needs to take a back seat, but in his words “either the climate is changing or it is not”. And, with the scientific consensus on the matter saying that it is incontrovertibly the case that climate change is a reality, we cannot simply turn our backs on environmental issues. If we are to do that, not only will the environmental crisis multiply, but it will have very real knock-on effects on the economic situation too. As a consequence, it is important that we concentrate equally on facing down the two major crises of our time – the global environment and the global economy.

Mr Blair has welcomed the fact that in Mr. Obama’s recently-passed economic stimulus plan are contained incentives to use cleaner, renewable sources of energy. This is a sound effort to ensure that, rather than take one crisis as a priority and ignore the other, both problems can be tackled as a joint effort. With the expense that is involved in relying on fossil fuels – a situation that makes the global oil market an ever thornier problem – to concentrate on looking at alternative energy and greater energy efficiency makes more sense than ever. This is something that seems to set Obama apart from his predecessor George W Bush, who was viewed by many as a climate change sceptic, and viewed the scientific consensus as being misleading.

With the economic crisis still possessing a very firm grip on many of the world’s leading economies, there will continue to be stimulus and bailout plans to try and bring it into line. Mr. Blair’s words to Mr. Obama seem to be a warning to avoid economic expediency taking hold at the expense of environmentally sound plans. With Mr. Obama having taken great care in selecting his cabinet and his advisers, it does seem that this warning is not one that will fall on deaf ears. A continuing focus on matters environmental is both essential and likely, but it is not a battle that will be won any time soon, and one which will depend on continued monitoring. This is an issue that we will continue to read about for a long time to come.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Thegreenlivingblog.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Mar 9, 2009.

The World's Best Countries for Business

Canada Is The Second Best Country for Business in the World in 2014

First Published Date : February 12, 2014 ADawnJournal.com

Bloomberg recently published its annual ranking of the world’s best countries for business and Canada became the second best country on earth for best, only behind Hong Kong.

The top ten countries for business in 2014 are:

1. Hong Kong
2. Canada
3. United States
4. Singapore
5. Australia (tied)
5. Germany (tied)
7. United Kingdom
8. Netherlands
9. Spain
10. Sweden

Bloomberg compiles its list not only based on economy, but on several other factors such as the cost of starting a business, the cost of labour, transportation, and even other factors such as inflation, corruption, and so on.

Canada’s gradual rising in the ranking was a result of various factors such as a lower corporate tax rate, a falling Canadian dollar, and the receptivity of its consumers.

Countries like Ireland (20th from 22nd) and Portugal (17th from 30th) have done well in the ranking, while countries like Brazil (38th from 61th), Russia (44th from 56th), and India (48th from 54th) have done moderately well. China did poorly, falling to the 28th position from the 19th.

Visit Bloomberg Best Countries for Business 2014 to view the full report.

The Great Pyramids of Giza | Egypt Travel Blog: Day 2 (Part 15) 01D19

Giza Pyramids & Sphinx, Sakkara Tombs, TiTi Pyramids, Steps Pyramids

Egypt Travel Blog: 10 DAYS Egypt Explorer - Felucca Cruise & Red Sea

Giza Pyramid Complex

Today’s itinerary is full of activities and sightseeing and at night we will be leaving for Aswan. Let’s start with the Pyramids of Giza.

These are the 3 most famous nearly 4000 year-old pyramids that are the last remaining of the ancient Seven Wonders of the world. The Giza pyramid complex holds the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, the Pyramid of Menkaure, and the Great Sphinx of Giza.

The desert plateau is surrounded by other small complexes from unfinished or broken tombs, ruins from the temples, and smaller satellite pyramids.

The Great Pyramid was the tallest structure made by humans until the Eiffel Tower was completed in Paris, France in 1889.

Giza Pyramid complex is located in Giza, a bustling suburb of Egypt. This is 13 kilometers from downtown Cairo and 8 kilometers from the Nile. Because my hotel was in Giza, it was not far from my hotel.

I thought the Giza Pyramid complex was located in the middle of the desert, but its location has Giza city on one side and the desert on the other side. The view of Giza city in the background from the pyramids looked very beautiful. It has that ancient feeling.

To enter the Great Pyramid, you need to climb up quiet a few steep stone steps to the middle where the entrance passage is located on pyramids and there was always a line of people waiting to get in. 

Entering was not included with my tour. I didn’t purchase the additional ticket required to get inside. Instead, I took my time to walking around the pyramids with my 2 other female tour mates from Canada and Hungary.

I will talk about the surroundings of the Giza Pyramid Complex in the next post.

UK Government Set To Pay Motorists To Go Green

Electric Cars, Hybrid Cars, And Green Cars

First Published Date : April 11, 2009

Although the United Kingdom has often been pointed out by environmentalists as a country that “could do better” in terms of green initiatives, it does have a not insignificant Green movement, including a party which has tended to poll in fourth place in recent elections behind Britain’s “Big Three” parties. It may be in recognition of the green movement’s efforts that the governing Labour party has hit on its latest initiative – a plan to subsidize motorists who buy electric cars.

Although there have been similar initiatives elsewhere in the world, this is the most eye-catching effort yet by a United Kingdom government to put green issues at the heart of the agenda. Aware that there will always be some sections of society who will continue to ask “Why should I?” even after being shown several reasons why something will help the world, the people behind the latest plan are accepting that sometimes, people need personal incentives to do something good. In addition to this, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has earmarked the initiative as something that may help economic recovery.

With much of the world still struggling to unpick the economic mess in which the credit crunch has left us, there had been some fear that in a rush for expediency the major world governments would forget their green principles and prioritize economic recovery by any means necessary. According to Mr Brown, the situation is not an either/or matter. Economic recovery and environmental protection can go hand in hand, if addressed in the right way. In Mr Brown’s own words, the idea is that this plan can be a “job creator, a quality of life improver and an environment enhancing measure.”

The finer details of the plan are still being worked out and at this stage it remains uncertain how the plan would be put in to practice – whether by offering to pay some of the price of the car at the point of sale, or by offering buyers the chance to apply to the Government for a cash back payment after the car has been bought. The Government’s contribution per motorist would, it seems, be capped at £2,000 (Ca$3,600), which amounts to a quarter of the cost of one of the cheaper electric cars available in the UK at the moment.

As things stand, even with an ambitious and hard-working green movement, the uptake of electric cars in the UK has so far been slow. Along with a general lack of environmental awareness, reasons for this are believed to be an absence of recharge points where the cars can be powered up, and comparatively higher prices when compared to conventionally fuelled vehicles. With the latter hopefully being counteracted somewhat by the government, it remains a question of keeping electric vehicles in the public mindset and making it easier to recharge them – the latter being a point under consideration from London’s Mayor Boris Johnson. The Mayor has this week pledged to deliver 25,000 charging spaces in the nation’s capital in order to get more of the vehicles on the roads.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Thegreenlivingblog.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Apr 11, 2009.