Money Smart  Common sense investing with Richard Leader  A
Yield-Starved World   For the past fifty years, the 10-year
Treasury bond has paid 3.5% more than the yield of the S&P 500. 
Not anymore.  The average yield of S&P 500 companies that pay a
dividend is 2.77%, well above the 10-year Treasury yield of
1.8%.  The dividend yield on London’s FTSE 100 is 3.7% and
German stocks pay an average of 3.4%.  Dividends look mighty
tempting in a yield-starved world.  Aside from the cash income,
dividend paying stocks are also usually less volatile than the
market overall.  When stocks fell in the past three summers, for
example, dividend payers were fairly stable.  There is less risk
to dividend payers because most are in economically defensive
groups like healthcare, consumer products and utilities.  These
sectors are least affected by an economic slowdown or global
crisis.  There are times when dividend stocks will seem like
slowpokes and fall behind in a rising market.  This occurred
earlier this year and may be h