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You know that buying a stock makes you part owner of a company, theoretically with millions of other people. But, while ownership has its privileges (at minimum you get a neat stock certificate and an invitation to the annual meeting), being an owner doesn't necessarily pay. Sure, you make money if the stock goes up, but only if you sell, and you can, in theory, lose all the value of your investment if the stock tanks.
Enter the dividend. Here, you get money simply from holding the stock. Companies pay a yield, which is expressed in a percentage based on the stock's price. For example, if a stock trades at $10, and pays a 10% annual yield, your dividend payment would be a $1. (Usually, companies break out the payments quarterly, so, using our example, you¿d get, well, a quarter each quarter.)
Companies that pay dividends fall into a few categories. First, you've got your big, stable companies that generate enough cash that it makes sense to throw some back to shareholders. Next, there are businesses, like real estate investment trusts, that are in the business of sitting back and receiving cash, then distributing it to holders. And, then there are companies that need to dangle a high dividend yield like a carrot to ease investor fears. Cigarette-maker Altria has been doing this for years.
Simply because a company pays a dividend doesn't make it a good investment. After all, you may want to take a chance on a growth stock that can move higher in price than dividend payers are known to do. But, you can¿t beat the safety of knowing that, even if a stock doesn't move in a year, you¿re at least making something off your investment.
Home / Personal Finance / On Topic / Gadgets
Friday, July 18, 2008
Want a Robot? You Might Need a Raise, First
Lauren Covello
FOXBusiness
Sometimes hiring a personal assistant is just not enough.
Tech lovers with deep pockets can rely instead on a range of robots to carry out their everyday tasks – from trimming the lawn to lifting heavy loads to entertaining company. Here’s a look at just a few of the robots money can buy – if you’ve got enough of it to burn.
Heavy-Duty Spending
Money
can buy a lot, but it can’t buy superhuman strength. Or can it? Berkeley Bionics has developed a series of lightweight exoskeletons
able to enhance the strength and mobility of its wearers by allowing them to carry heavy loads without feeling the weight.
Daniel H. Wilson, contributing editor at Popular Mechanics and host of “The Works” on the History Channel, has actually worn one of the exoskeletons on his legs. According to Wilson, the product not only adapts to its wearer’s gait but learns its wearer’s motions such that it can move the person without them even willing it.
“You could potentially walk to work in your sleep,” Wilson said.
The creators of this robotic technology hope to eventually market their products to help with rehabilitation and elderly care, as well as for use by the military. The exoskeletons are not yet available to the general public, which is just as well probably since a prototype costs between $100,000 and $300,000.
But these prices are expected to drop. One of the reasons robots have huge price tags is because the robots can't yet be mass produced, said Dr. Hamayoon Kazerooni, founder of Berkeley Bionics and director of the robotics laboratory at the University of California Berkeley.
“We eventually intend for [these exoskeletons] to be the price of a motorcycle,” Kazerooni said.
Another product currently available for the serious spender is iRobot’s PackBot – a robot used primarily by the military to carry out a range of dangerous tasks, including locating and disarming explosive devices. Over 1,700 PackBots have been sold to the nation’s armed forces as part of multi-million dollar contract deals with iRobot (IRBT) – but the price for just one unit? Somewhere between $60,000 and $130,000, depending on the configuration.
Obviously, the usefulness of this type of device in a home setting is open to question.
“You could buy an iRobot Packbot… but these are remotely controlled and not autonomous and therefore [questionable as to the value they have] in your home,” said Tandy Trower, general manager of the Microsoft Robotics Group.
“The tracks might affect your wood floors, too,” Trower joked, highlighting more practical buys like iRobot’s vacuum cleaner Roomba ($249.99 for the basic model) and gutter cleaner Looj ($99-$169).
The Lighter
Side
Friendly Robotics has a line of robots that aims to help homeowners with the oft-dreaded task of mowing their
lawns. The RoboMow is an automatic lawnmower that, like iRobot’s Roomba, can be scheduled to deploy from its charger as often
as needed to do its job. The robot requires its owner to set up wire pegs to signal the perimeter of the property, and then
uses an internal compass to navigate its way across the lawn. It costs between $1,200 and $2,000, depending on the model.
For less-outdoorsy types, PLEN may be the most logical companion. Its Japanese creators call PLEN the world’s first “desktop hobby robot” – and for good reason: users can control the tiny battery-powered robot by using the Bluetooth capabilities present in their cell phones or computers.
The robot, which is about the size of a typical action figure, is designed to entertain users by walking, rollerskating and skateboarding. And, while PLEN can’t lift heavy objects, it certainly seems to lift spirits – online videos and blogs about the robot have attracted swarms of adoring fans. PLEN retails for about $2,000-$2,500.
Microsoft’s Trower recommends those with cash to burn buy some “fun robot toys” like Disney Pixar’s remote-control Wall-E ($249.99) or the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT kit ($249.99).
For those hoping to cash in on the robotics trend, another option may be to invest in robotics companies – though Trower advises caution there.
“Consider how many early PC companies survived after the intro of the IBM PC,” said Trower. “I think it was just Apple Computer.”
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