Dividend investors might thus want to sell shares of some high-yielding companies that aren't boosting their payments and add some with moderate yields and steady payment growth.

WSJ: Upside: Preparing for a Dividend-Tax Hike

The promise of a massive support program for Spanish and Italian debt markets started boosting continental bourses in late July as government bond yields backed down from scary mid-summer peaks.

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Low interest rates and puny yields in the money markets mean that pension funds are receiving lower yields on their collateral pool reinvestments and hedge funds are, as a result, receiving diminishes rebates, boosting shorting costs.

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