ARE YOU getting fewer dividend increases than last year? "Higher payouts to stockholders showed a year-to-year decline in October, the fourth consecutive drop," says S&P; Outlook. "Dividend policies are stingier because heated competition squeezes profit margins. Increases are the fewest since 1995."

Here's advice from the 1999 Stock Trader's Almanac, just

received: "In this game, the market has to keep pitching but you don't have to swing. Keep the bat on your shoulder until you get a fat pitch." (Warren Buffett.)

"News on stocks is not important. How investors react to news is important." (Michael Burke, Chartcraft.)

"Better to sell 'too late' than 'too soon' in a momentum driven market as stocks often go much, much higher." (Jordan Kimmel, money manager.)

"Only buy stocks when they decline 10 percent from level of a year ago. This happens only once or twice a decade." (Eugene Brody.)

"Most folks can't stick to a focused strategy, whether theirs, mine, their friend's or something they read in the newspaper." (Kenneth Fisher.)

"Japanese stocks are about where U.S. stocks were in 1982, just ahead of this country's greatest bull market." (Marc Faber.)

Pub Date: 11/20/98