You have seen longer-term rates rise in recent days and we have seen that Goldman Sachs is now calling for higher rates on the longer end of the Treasury yield curve by this year’s end. The thought of a negative interest rate today for the chance that your interest payments will ratchet up in the future is a hard sell for many investors. For those who just need capital preservation and protection against inflation this is a totally different story.

Today’s Treasury auction was technically a 9-year and 8-month maturity which will come due on January 15, 2023. The 0.125% coupon went off at an adjusted price of $104.272695 for a negative current yield to maturity of -0.225%. Demand was still strong as the bid to cover ratio was 2.52 as over $32.7 billion was tendered and $13 billion was accepted. Again, if short-term rates rise then this coupon will adjust higher.

Goldman Sachs also projecting that the inflation-adjusting Treasury TIPS market will go into positive yield territory by the end of this year, but that was certainly far from the case today.

There is even an ETF strategy for this as well with two ETFs covering the TIPS markets. The iShares Barclays TIPS Bond (NYSE: TIP) is much more actively traded and then there is also the SPDR Barclays TIPS (NYSE: IPE). Both are trading down marginally on the day.

A new Gallup poll on retirement shows that:

Three-quarters of U.S. adult workers believe they will continue working past retirement age, with 40% saying they will do so because they want to, and 35% because they will have to.

Whether this work is a way to remain active or a way to supplement income from battered retirement accounts and Social Security does not matter much. The ripple effect in either case is the same.

Most economists believe that as the jobless rates hovers at 7.5% workers are at several disadvantages. The first is that there are still not enough jobs to go around. Ben Bernanke commented on this recently as he said the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program would not be altered until the country moved closer to “full employment.” His statement was framed in such a way as to show he thinks the improvement is far off.

The second effect of the desire or need for elderly Americans to work past retirement age is that it robs the young, primarily those under 25, of their own chances to find jobs. Jobless figures show these Americans are already at a disadvantage, particularly those without college degrees. Why should employers higher them when many older people have superior education and, in many cases, skills.

Employers generally have more leverage than workers do. They can afford to pick and choose. Many can hire people part time and give them no benefits. A large number of these businesses learned from the recession that they can wring more productively out of the workers they already have. And if an older person can find a job, he may be able to rely on Medicare. Younger workers have no such safety net.

Gallup’s researchers believe they have found a pattern in the trend of older workers working beyond the traditional retirement age:

It [the trend for older people to keep working] would clearly help them financially, particularly if the alternative is dependency on inadequate retirement savings and an uncertain Social Security system. This, in turn, could benefit the economy, with seniors contributing experienced labor as well as earning income that fuels consumer spending and, therefore, the economy as a whole.

That conclusion leaves out that the younger part of the workforce will have its prospects badly damaged, which will hurt the economy in a decade or so when these people have little purchasing power or savings because they have been unable to find jobs for so long.

We compared the top domestic dividend ETFs against the one “stock buyback ETF” and the numbers were clearly in favor of the buyback ETF. We also chose to go back further, comparing our favorite ETF of each category (buybacks versus dividends) to see which is doing better through time against the other. All performance measures were made first from the last trading day of 2012 through the close on Tuesday, May 21, 2013. Other comparisons were made from year-end to year-end, based on the dividend-adjusted closing prices of each on the last trading day of each year.

The PowerShares Buyback Achievers (NYSEMKT: PKW) is the one “stock buyback ETF” that investors can easily purchase. The other mimic ETFs are thin in volume. The PKW has about $535 million in assets now, and its net expense ratio is 0.71%. This ETF of course has many dividend payers in the fund, but the focus on share buybacks lends credibility that it buys stocks that are buying back close to 5% of their float each year. The buyback ETF is actually up 22.8% so far in 2013.

SPDR S&P Dividend (NYSEMKT: SDY) ETF is our favorite ETF that focuses solely on dividends because it tracks the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index, as it is composed of companies that keep raising their dividends through good times and bad. The SPDR version of the dividend ETFs has more than $12 billion in assets and a gross expense ratio of 0.35%. This ETF was up 21.4%, after adjusting for dividend payments year-to-date in 2013.

Just to keep things honest, we also went back to the other key domestic dividend ETFs and the PowerShares Buyback Achievers (NYSEMKT: PKW) gain of 22.8% so far in 2013 trumps all of these others:

• iShares has two key ETFs here for dividends: iShares High Dividend Equity (NYSEMKT: HDV) was up 19.0% so far in 2013, while the iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (NYSEMKT: DVY) was up 18.1% so far in 2013.
• Vanguard also has two of these in dividends: the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEMKT: VIG) was up 17.1% so far in 2013, while the Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index ETF (NYSEMKT: VYM) was up 19.1% so far in 2013.

If you want to know about the dividend yields alone, here are the current dividend yields represented by each fund family: PowerShares Buyback ETF 12-month yield is 0.95% and the SPDR Dividend ETF is 2.66%. Now, what about the share performance through time since the end of the recession, comparing PowerShares Buyback Achievers (NYSEMKT: PKW) against the SPDR S&P Dividend (NYSEMKT: SDY) ETF?

• 2012: PKW 13.7% and SDY 11.6%
• 2011: PKW 6.7% and SDY 7.2%
• 2010: PKW 17.8% and SDY 15.5%
• 2009: PKW 31.2% and SDY 19.2%

One common investing theory is that investors should prefer dividends over stock buybacks and share repurchases. After all, buyback plans may be based on short-term share price decisions. Continually higher dividends are intended to signal that a company believes that it will have stable and/or growing earnings through time, regardless of the conditions of today. We have evaluated these before, but it is amazing that the math keeps holding in the bull market in favor of buybacks over dividends in all but one of the post-recession years.

Here we have the holdings of each ETF, to give a representation for the differences between dividend companies and those that also have both dividends and buybacks.

The organization reported:

Today’s national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.65. This price is seven cents more expensive than one week ago and 14 cents more than one month ago. The seven-cent weekly increase is the largest such spike since February and today’s national average price at the pump is the highest since March.

Much of the increase is due to oil prices, AAA management says. Since oil has continued to tick up toward $100 a barrel, there may not be relief through the balance of the summer.

AAA and other organizations put out estimates of how many people will travel on summer holidays, primarily on Memorial Day, the Independence Day and Labor Day. So far, there have been no dire predictions of sharp drops. If other consumer behavior is any measure, there will not be much change. So far, higher tax rates and persistent unemployment have not overwhelmed consumer spending. Road trips are relatively cheap, particularly in world in which purchases of expensive new cars and new or old homes have picked up. A surge in consumer spending has relegated gasoline prices to a back burner. That was not the case a few years ago, especially in 2008, when the recession was vicious and gas prices moved toward $4.

If Memorial Day is a reasonable litmus test, so far the consumer economy continues to hold its own, and may even have gained speed. A few cents a gallon more does not matter.

The balance of the top ten on the list has the usual suspects, at least among America’s super rich. At $59.2 billion, Warren Buffett sits in third place. Filthy rich conservative brothers Charles and David Koch have $55.2 billion. Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) founder and America Cup patron Larry Ellison has a $41.6 billion net worth. And Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) founder Sam Walton’s children Christy and Jim have $36.1 billion.

When the Forbes list comes out, the Bloomberg one will be forgotten — at least for a day.

According to a new Gallup poll on the financial needs of the American family:

The federal poverty threshold for a family of four is just under $24,000; however, Americans believe such a family unit living in their community needs more than double that — $58,000 — just to “get by.”

And $58,000 is the mean; the average, according to Gallup, is $50,000. So “getting by” has become nearly impossible for a huge number of Americans.

Getting by will become harder in the years ahead. Unemployment at current levels often allows companies to pick skilled workers without paying them for their skills as often as in 2006 and earlier. Employers also can leverage their advantage to force more people to labor without benefits or savings plans. Many corporations have learned since the the recession that they can operate lean indefinitely. Due to these factors, full-time, full-benefit jobs should be harder to come by as part of the recovery of the national economy, at least for the next several years.

The American family does have one slight advantage. Inflation is remarkable low and the cost of one critical product — gasoline — has fallen recently. However, gas prices remain historically high, relatively, at more than $3.50 per gallon of regular nationwide. And a lack of inflation only means that if real household income holds steady, these people can barely hold their own. Should real wages continue to drop, the problem that began during the recession will continue.

Finally, for many Americans, one of the biggest effects of the housing crisis has not gone away. Housing prices may have recovered very modestly, but in most areas are still well below their 2006 peaks. The equity Americans hoped to take out of their homes has evaporated. And there are still 14 million underwater mortgages in the United States. So, the struggle to make ends meet for homeowners is hardly over.

While $60,000 seems like a lot of money, and by most measures it is, that is not enough for many American families to live on. And many American families have annual incomes that are nowhere near it.

According to new information from Gallup about the retirement age in the U.S.:

The average age at which current U.S. retirees say they actually retired is now 61, up from 59 a decade ago and 57 in the early 1990s. Conversely, 37% of nonretirees expect to retire after age 65, up from 14% in 1995.

The data may not appear to break any ground, but the long-term consequences will. People are retiring closer to the date at which they can get Social Security, which means their incomes and savings to bridge the few years from their early 60s to their mid-60s when federal government aid kicks in has nearly disappeared.

A great deal of research shows that many older Americans do not believe they have anywhere near the savings required to maintain their lifestyles as they leave the workforce. These people are forced to work or they will fall to annual income levels well below those that they have had for much of their adult lives. The entire problem could be exacerbated if the federal government decides to raise the age at which Social Security is available, or to simply cut these payments in an attempt to erase the federal deficit and slow the rate at which overall U.S. debt almost certainly will grow. Congressional Budget Office data shows an expectation that deficits will widen toward the second half of this decade as the pool of older Americans rises.

An unintended consequence of low savings among older Americans leading to a rising retirement age is the extent to which it robs people under 24 of job opportunities. In many parts of the country, the unemployment rate among the young is twice that of the overall population. The percentage gets even worse for those without college educations. Lack of training and experience among these younger Americans often makes the alternatives of hiring well-educated people in their 60s or 70s more attractive to many employers.

The destruction of wealth among older people in the United States likely will trickle down to life-long wealth creation opportunities for the young as their search for work is extended by months, or perhaps years.

Methodology: Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted April 4 to 14, 2013, with a random sample of 2,017 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

To keep things even for U.S. investors, we screened out the ADRs held by Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) even though one is mentioned at the end of the screen to keep them on the list. Of the dozens of stocks held by the conglomerate, these are the eight highest dividends in the Buffett portfolio. We have put the stocks in order of the highest yields first and added in color on each if applicable. As you will see, most of the Buffett top dividend yields still offer upside to their consensus price targets for value investors looking for growth.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) leads the list with a common stock dividend yield of 4.2%. The company has pledged to keep its dividend strong, and this puts it higher than other oil giants. This stock is now within about 1% of new 52-week highs and the $62.42 share price compares to an analyst consensus price target of about $63.98.

Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) has a surprising yield of 3.6% for its common stock holders. This remains a small holding of Warren Buffett but investors might be surprised that the newspaper and media stock has risen to the point that it is up almost 100% from its 52-week low. At $21.62 as of now, the stock trades right at the $21.61 consensus analyst price target, and the 52-week trading range is $12.17 to $22.21.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) offers a 3.3% yield, partly because shares have pulled back since earnings. The earnings report was not stellar by any means, but we think GE shares were sold off too hard after earnings when you consider the state of the bull market. Shares are at $23.24, and GE’s 52-week high is $23.90. Analysts have a consensus target price of $25.33. GE is likely to have a dividend hike yet again later this year.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is a top bank and Buffett keeps buying more and more of this stock each and every quarter. The 3.2% common stock yield is rather impressive, and this remains at the top of the seven safest banks in America. This bank is challenging the highs from before the recession again, if you back out the dividend payments. At $39.30, its stock hit that multiyear high on May 15, and analysts have a consensus price target of $40.76.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) has lifted its dividend and is yielding 3.1% after a dividend hike in April. Buffett has trimmed the stake here over time, but activist investors have been on management’s back and pressing it to run the company better. If P&G keeps up its efforts, it could be worth even more. The market cap of $221 billion already makes it one of the largest public companies out there. With shares at $80.68, the consensus analyst target price is $82.78.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a personal holding of Warren Buffett rather than Berkshire Hathaway. The bank pays a 3.1% dividend, despite not getting to be as aggressive on its capital plans. Jamie Dimon has been under fire here to split the CEO and chairman roles, but Buffett recently has praised Dimon as a great CEO who also deserves his chairman role. We would caution that one analyst showed that some $20 billion (10% of the share price) could come out of the stock if Dimon leaves the bank because there is a management replacement vacuum right now with no heir apparent. With shares at $51.09, the consensus analyst target is $56.21.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) recently raised its dividend. The drug and consumer products giant has been a habitual dividend-raising machine, and its product quality controls appear to be over. The 3.1% payout is impressive when you consider that this stock just hit an all-time high on May 15. Note that the consensus analyst price target of $86.50 is actually less than the current price of $87.64.

United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) ranked as number eight with a dividend yield of 2.8%. This comes as the stock is challenging all-time highs, and the shipping giant has raised its dividend payment consistently. With shares at $88.60, analysts have a consensus price target of $93.09 on the stock.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (NYSE: GSK) is the ADR of the group, and it was only included because it screens out as having such a high yield at 4.3%. That would have put it at the top of the list. As this is an ADR and subject to currency changes altering the payouts each time in dollars for ADR holders, we are only representing the Yahoo! screen for the nominal payout rather than adding color here.

Jon C. Ogg

*The full Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway portfolio can be seen here.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has a detailed report on the high yield dividend mortgage REIT sector. Some REITs are viewed favorably and others are viewed with caution. The report covers the following: American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNC); Annaly Capital Corp. (NYSE: NLY); ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE: ARR); CYS Investments, Inc. (NYSE: CYS); Dynex Capital, Inc. (NYSE: DX); and Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO).

What is so interesting about today’s report is that this shows that the tapering off of quantitative easing by the Fed is posing a risk as well as just the effects of quantitative easing. The prepayment risk likely remains in place and a Fed exit to QE3 may steepen the curve on the sector.

We have outlined the notes and ratings with a target price on each below. Also included were the consensus target and the price today. These have been posted in notation format to shorten the report. Be advised that the current share price is as of mid-Monday and reflects ongoing weakness as most mortgage REIT stocks were down 1% to 3% at the time.

American Capital Agency: Adjusted EPS was $1.09, which was modestly better than the adjusted EPS of $1.07 in Q4. This suggests the run-rate earnings from the portfolio improved in Q1, but it was also shown that book value fell by 8.6%. BofA showed that some of this weakness has likely reversed in Q2 as rates have fallen and economic optimism has waned, but it warned that shares are likely to react negatively to the results as investors will focus on lower book value despite the essentially steady interest income. Rating: maintained Buy with $33.50 target; consensus target is $32.91 and share price is $29 today.

Annaly Capital: BofA put core EPS at $0.28 versus a $0.35 forecast, reversing realized and unrealized gains and losses. Asset sales contributed to higher than expected margin compression and book value fell by 4.2% to $15.19 from $15.85 per share. Rating: Maintained Neutral with $14.75 price target; consensus price target is $15.29 and shares are at $14.60 today.

ARMOUR Residential REIT: taxable EPS of $0.25 was better than BofA’s $0.24 estimate due to a $0.05/share gain but book value fell 8% to $6.69 from $7.29 per share after agency RMBS prices declined during the quarter. The stock is now valued at a 13.0% yield, suggesting investors will continue to recognize healthy current income, though the high BV volatility implies valuation will remain at a discount to peers, in our view. Rating: Maintain Neutral with $6.50 target; consensus is $6.97 and the REIT trades at $6.10 today.

CYS: Gains continue to offset spread compression with $0.32 per share earnings. BofA maintained a Buy rating here as book value was down by 3% to $12.87 from $13.31 per share. BofA thinks that CYS will react favorably to the reported results. Rating: Maintained Buy with $13.50 target; consensus is at $13.23 and this is $11.75 today.

Dynex Capital: investors will apply a modest discount on Dynex versus peers because its 11% dividend yield is at the low-end for hybrid mortgage REITs. BofA does expect that book value will expand as it retains earnings and monetizes its net operating loss. Rating: $10 price target; consensus price target is $10.88 and shares are $10.70 today.

Two Harbors Investment: reported Q1 core EPS of $0.29 versus the $0.32 consensus, but book value fell by only $0.35 during the quarter to $11.19 from $11.54 per share despite distributing $1.33 of dividends. Book value would have been up 8.5% without the dividend and investors should react favorably to the results. Rating: Reiterate Buy with $13 target versus $11.95 today.

By now you can tell that not all mortgage REITs are created equal and they do not necessarily get viewed in tandem nor in a vacuum. For those investors who choose to avoid the risks of the individual mortgage REITs, there is the Market Vectors Mortgage REIT ETF (NYSE: MORT) with a yield of about 10.3% as of its latest quarterly dividend payment.

Real estate site Trulia.com provided data to 24/7 Wall St. on the popularity of different home types around the country. The most commonly listed properties are ranch-style homes, followed by colonials. Based on that report, we reviewed the most popular home styles in the country.

Click here to see the seven home styles

The types of home styles that are available depend entirely on the part of the country in which you live. According to Trulia, most homes for sale that were built before the 1900s, like colonials and federal revivals, are found more in the Northeast. This is not always the case, however. Victorian era homes, built primarily in the U.S. during the second half of the 1800s, are also popular on the West Coast, particularly San Francisco.

Much of the housing that currently stands in the United States was built during the post-war boom, between the 1940s and 1970s. Ranch-style homes, which represent the largest share of homes built in the country, were common at that time and can be found all over the U.S. In Detroit, according to Trulia, nearly 20% of all homes for sale were built in the 1940s.

The styles of U.S. homes have different origins. Tudor-style homes can be traced to 16th century Britain during the Tudor Dynasty. The modern version of a Tudor home became popular in the U.S. during the 1930s. Meanwhile, bungalow-style homes originated in India during the 19th century, when British colonists made these homes their residences.

While home styles tend to be more prevalent in some regions of the country and less in others, housing architecture appears to have spread around the country with ease. For example, according to Realtor Magazine, two of the most popular locations for Spanish revival homes are Los Angeles and Wilmette, Illinois.

Based on data provided by Trulia, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the most popular reported home styles in the country. For the purposes of our article, we excluded home types that do not refer to a particular architectural style. Descriptions of home style characteristics and history came from groups like Realtor Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens and other sources.