Stock investors hate uncertainty, but nowadays that's what they've got. Whipsaws such as Friday's 300-point plunge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/zigman/627449/delayed DJIA -2.69% have been familiar fixtures on Wall Street for the better part of the past month. No wonder demand for predictable income and cold, hard assets is off the charts.
But other than bonds and gold, what other hot toddies ward off the chill? A tall mug of stock dividends can help.
The case for dividends is strong. What do investors want most but can't get easily? Yield and income. So dividend-paying stocks deserve a prominent place in your portfolio, especially shares of companies that are flush with cash, do business around the world, and can weather a stretch of low inflation or even deflation.
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