Dividend.com: Discover May Pay You Back

Nomura Holdings Shows Interest in Lehman

Reuters is reporting that Japan's Nomura Holdings is the latest potential suitor considering acquiring a stake in Lehman Brothers(LEH Quote).

Nomura Chief Executive Kenichi Watanabe said Lehman was one of several candidates, and that Nomura would decide whether to make an investment offer after confirming Lehman's business results.

There have been many rumblings about Lehman finding a partner, and we do think the possibility is high that this happens. The question is price, and we are not sure an attractive premium is in the cards. We would still avoid the shares at this point.

Discover Financial Services Tries to Buck the Trend

Discover Financial Services(DFS Quote) may be an interesting stock to watch over the near term.

Discover is saying its consumer spending index hit its highest level so far this year. This may be an indication that the consumer may be starting to come back. The survey is composed of 15,000 adults with their spending habits as the focus. This is the second consecutive month the outlook brightened.

This news will hopefully start to carry over to the company's results as consumer spending can help the company sustain its recent price momentum. The stock is up 25% in the last seven weeks, even as the overall market has moved sideways. We are liking the move and have put the stock on our upgrade watch list. The company has a 1.46% dividend yield, based on Friday's closing stock price of $16.42.

Discover Financial Services is not a recommended dividend stock at this time, holding a Dividend.com rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars.