A new randomized control trial published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice investigates whether elements of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can be combined effectively into an integrative treatment for anxiety. The researchers found that while CBT was effective in lowering anxiety symptoms, an integrative approach, featuring psychodynamic principles, was more effective than CBT alone.

CBT is often considered the gold standard in psychotherapy due to the proliferation of studies on its effectiveness. This status has been contested as there is limited evidence that CBT is more effective when compared to other approaches. Also, meta-analytic research has found that psychodynamic therapy is as effective as CBT. These two approaches to psychotherapy are often seen as working toward different purposes, as CBT focuses on skill-building and behavioral changes, and psychodynamic therapy prioritizes gaining insight.

CBT is one of the shortest forms of psychotherapy with a planned duration of 10 to 20 sessions, depending on diagnosis, symptoms, severity, treatment goals, and conditions of the health care system. Practitioners of CBT often develop individualized and time-limited therapy goals that attend to the reduction of symptoms, reduce distress, and attempt to change the thinking and behavioral styles of their patients.

On the other hand, psychodynamic therapy includes long-term and short-term forms of treatment (7-40 sessions) and places a focus on self-discovery. Psychodynamic approaches improve mental health but attempt to create other positive changes that go beyond symptom-reduction, such as improved self-awareness and more authentic relationships.

Research in counseling psychology has investigated the similarities and basic principles across different theories of psychotherapy. There are a variety of common factors between therapies that include (but are not limited to): the therapeutic alliance, expectations of positive change, therapists qualities, logical understanding of clients problems, and systematic therapeutic practices. Differences between therapeutic approaches usually include formulation, focus on past-vs.-present, among others.

For this reason, the study authors developed an integrative model of psychotherapy, where the clients past experiences can be explored to gain insight into their present experiences, thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. The therapy also focused on developing skills for changing behaviors once they were better understood.

Although there is strong evidence suggesting that both CBT and psychodynamic therapy work, there is scarce research about the efficacy of such an integrative approach. The authors of this study were interested in the combination of psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapies in hopes of merging the formers stability (patients are less likely to relapse) and the latters effectiveness (remission occurs with fewer sessions).

The researchers developed a therapy manual that lasted 15-sessions and an experiment to evaluate the efficacy of the manual. The effectiveness of the manual was to be compared with traditional CBT. They identified 36 participants who had been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, using a psychiatrists diagnosis, DSM-V clinical diagnostic interviews, and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HRSA).

Because generalized anxiety is often found to be comorbid with depression, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to assess for a possible depression diagnosis. Those whose depression was their main concern were ruled out of the study.

Out of the 36 participants, the researchers randomly assigned twelve to each of the experimental groups (1 for integrative therapy and 1 for CBT) and the other twelve to a control group. The efficacy of each treatment was evaluated by assessing each participants symptoms and severity using the HRSA and BDI self-report surveys before and after they were exposed to psychotherapy.

The results suggested that CBT without the integration of psychodynamic therapy is effective in reducing generalized anxiety when compared to the control group. Similarly, integrative psychotherapy (psychodynamic therapy and CBT) was also effective. However, the integrative treatment was found to be more effective than CBT alone.

These results are novel, as no other study assessing the effects of the combined therapeutic approaches was identified. In a culture of psychotherapy where frameworks are often pitted against one another, this article illustrates the similarities and complementariness of different methods. Moreover, it highlights the strengths of both therapies and how they can be combined to alleviate client suffering efficiently and for a more extended amount of time.

The study suggests that an integrative form of therapy may be useful for anxiety. Although psychodynamic treatment is often ignored as a legitimate and evidence-based therapy, it is not only effective as a stand-alone approach (as evidenced by past studies) but can improve the effectiveness of other forms of therapy.

****

Orvati Aziz, M., Abolghasem Mehrinejad, S., Hashemian, K. & Paivastegar, M. (2020). Integrative Therapy (Short-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy & Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in the Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 39, 101122 (Link)

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Integrating Psychodynamic Approaches with CBT Improves Therapy - James Moore

4chan has taken it upon themselves to judge the good from the bad in our society. Sadly, the shopping trolley theory is entirely reasonable.

How can we test whether someone is a good person or not? A theory of sorts is doing the rounds on Twitter currently, and it likely does the job better than any psychology test.

The theory originated from an unlikely source for a morality test (alas, 4chan) but has gained real traction since being shared on Twitter by Jared from Atlanta. It did not take long for the tweet to reach over a half a million likes and spark a decent discourse on the matter.

The theory proposes is premised upon the fact that returning your shopping cart to a bay is an easy task but is also the appropriate thing to do. It follows that ones moral character can be determined by the simple act of deciding, or not, to return their shopping cart to a bay. The statement is simple, but the rationale travels deep.

Most people participating in the comment threads agree that returning the shopping cart is the correct thing to do and that refusing to do so pretty much renders you as a bad person.

One such expert, psychotherapist and counsellor Tati Silva, has validated the theory and makes some valid points. It goes back to character and personality, both used to describe someones behaviour, Silva toldBored Panda. As for ones character like honesty, virtue, and kindliness, they are revealed over time, through various situations.

Character is heavily influenced by the different situations we engage in. Therefore, if you choose not to take the shopping cart back it will expose your character, Silva explained. Since there is no law that prohibits the action or says that it is wrong, the behaviour will continue. The individual needs to determine what is right or wrong, good or bad because again there arent any social norms or rules that specify this behaviour might be considered inappropriate.

Silva believes that the underlying reasoning behind the shopping cart theory can be expanded to other behaviours too, such as not laughing when someone falls, or not holding the door for others. One might do it without being aware of it because it is engraved in their habit. However, that can be changed by expanding self-awareness. It is likely the first step in gaining control over any behaviour you wish to change.

This theory is not too dissimilar from the actual moral dilemmas used by researchers to identify psychopathic traits as they can offer deep insights into someones judgement.

One scenario, developed by philosopher Philippa Foot, has been used for such a task for decades. The Trolley Dilemma can be summarised as follows: A runaway trolley is about to run over and kill five people and you are standing on a footbridge next to a large stranger; your body is too light to stop the train, but if you push the stranger onto the tracks, killing him, you will save the five people. Would you push the man?

A 2011 study published in the journalCognition found that people who answered Yes to the above situation scored higher on measures of psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and life meaninglessness compared to those who chose not to push the innocent man.

It is not much of a stretch to think this famous dilemma inspired the shopping cart theory.

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Are you a good or bad person? Apply the shopping trolley theory and find out! - The Big Smoke Australia

You couldnt call this SLR column pure satire because it mixes parody with unexaggerated facts that would be funny, were they not so tragic. The predictably inflexible subject of his ire is non-other than our Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, whom he labels sclerotic, a carefully-chosen medical term that accurately describes her rigidity and many of her perplexingly stubborn responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. He reminds us of her Zuptoid links and woeful performance as African Union Commissioner to answer those who may still be puzzled by her utterances and decrees. In Simons opinion, shes the poster girl for non-accountability, having been the proxy for her dethroned husband in the narrowly contested ANC presidential leadership race. Perhaps he sums it up most kindly when he says that, shes not an appalling person. Just cursed with an agonising lack of self-awareness. Which begs the question of whether its that, or the ANCs record of not holding its senior ministers and members to public account (they hold them strictly to party account), as in this recent assistant editors quote; they dont trade on skills or governance, efficiency or endeavour, but on politics and patronage. It may well be both. Chris Bateman

By Simon Lincoln Reader*

When it was announced that Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (NDZ) would play a central role in the countrys response to the pandemic, strange noises could be heard in support. YAAASSSS; my KWEEN NDZ and; unlike America and DRUMPF, we R LED were some of the comments.

To her credit, Dr. NDZ wouldnt be enthused by this kind of millennial speak. She belongs to an older order of political incompetence, where politicians are just useless as opposed to being useless AND campaigning for gender-neutral flavoured bathrooms in Palestine, like Kamala Harris in the US, or Dawn Butler in the UK. Here at least we owe her: a Dr. NDZ that featured the more revolting expressions of social justice would be unbearable.

People were frightened, so the adoration could be afforded the benefit of doubt. But other than that theres no excuse for believing that her participation would relieve the country of its anxieties.

**

The researcher Gareth van Onselen once described Sarafina 2, the controversial sequel to the Broadway musical, as the original Nkandla. It was this and more, occasioned within a department where Dr. NDZ sat at the top. Whereas the arms deal was layered in complexity and funded by sophisticated European institutions, the original Nkandla provided the designs for smaller scale looting, the kind that would be seized upon by municipalities and smaller branches of government in the future. The original Nkandla also mapped the route to no consequences; more sensible countries would have immediately terminated the command authority of ministers involved in such a disaster. But the original Nkandla demonstrated, perhaps for the first time, the ANCs unwillingness to investigate let alone prosecute its own, encouraging sympathy where there should have been scrutiny.

**

There was no sympathy from the former chair of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission when Dr. NDZs term as African Union (AU) Commissioner ended in 2016. Writing for The Times that year, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu remarked: During her tenure, Africa confronted multiple social challenges: Ebola in West Africa; Yellow Fever in parts of Southern Africa; climate change and food security around the Sahel and Horn of Africa, as well as an international migration crisis. On each and all of these challenges, Dr Dlamini-Zuma was out to lunch or blissfully missing in action.

But no embarrassing attacks from a respected activist could deter the role already decided for her as proxy for the notorious schemes and ways of her ex-husband. It was a vindictive, desperate move by Jacob Zumas supporters and equally, an illustration of just how stubborn Dr. NDZ had learned to be.

**

By that time the damage had already been done in ways we seldom examine. In one of the only credible observations to have emerged from Beijing24 in recent years, deputy editor Pieter du Toit noted the behaviour of Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams and the rare surfacing of consequences within the ANC. Ndabeni-Abrahams, and many ministers in her league, such as Fikile Mbalula and Lindiwe Zulu, du Toit said, dont trade on skills or governance, efficiency or endeavour, but on politics and patronage.

But du Toit didnt go far enough. Indeed, successive generations of choice grade thinkers have crowded cabinet and the parliament, but they had to learn from somewhere. In the legacy of the original Nkandla these people found their high priestess and the convenient style of pedestrian, sclerotic and paranoid politics.

**

Which explains why the response to the pandemic has mutated into infantile, self-destructive fiddling with the levers of power temptations too attractive to resist in the circumstances. Long before Covid-19, the American social theorist described so much of the world at present: It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.

There is no real evidence to suggest Dr. NDZ is a criminal. The photograph of her with an alleged tobacco smuggler does not spell allegiance to state capture as much as it betrays the kind of absentmindedness the UK Labour Partys former leader Jeremy Corbyn was frequently guilty of. She is not an appalling person. Just cursed with an agonising lack of self-awareness.

As she continues to defend some of the now near indefensible parameters of lockdown, its worth revisiting 2015. One of the reactions that forced her ex-husband into a humiliating reverse, having just sacked his Minister of Finance, came from an unlikely source. The Chinese. Sensing their interests were now under threat, they called Pretoria to read a few lines from the riot act (though they were never credited and Jacob Zuma was to later accuse the leaders of banks of bullying him).

Theoretically, if things got so bad and China was to repeat the intervention, the spectacle of a country partially responsible for the mess seen assisting in cleaning up another countrys response to it would be the most fitting summary of Dr. NDZs political career to date.

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SLR: NDZ and the perils of choice grade thinking - BizNews

Luke Kirby, who continues his role as the taboo-flaunting comic Lenny Bruce on Season 3 of Amazons The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, won an Emmy as Best Comedy Guest Actor last year. He managed to beat out such A-level talents as Matt Damon and Robert De Niro, who were both up for their appearances on Saturday Night Live.

Kirby, who is sporting a rather impressive quarantine mustache these days, was rather calm as he gave his acceptance speech onstage and offered thanks to all the right people as he read his speech off a card. Was that just an act?

In our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video above), he reveals, I think it was likely an act. My adrenal glands have a tendency to lean towards a more laconic, lethargic tone. I think sitting there for the two hours that it took to get to that category. All the blood had been drawn from my body. I was slamming my hands down on my thighs just trying to get a pulse. Thats probably all it was. Restarting my heart beat.

His portrayal of the controversial stand-up on the first season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was a little rougher around the edges, considering that Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) had to bail him out of jail, but his take on the legendary comic has greatly evolved since then.

He says, I wasnt sure at the beginning what it was going to be. How much of Lenny Bruce was going to be involved in the storyline. And I sort of felt like because we were taking liberties with history because of her story that really he wanted to exist more in the realm of fable. Ive said before its like a fairy godmother. Its sort of his role. This person who appears at moments in Midges life that are remarkable and I kind of went with that and it in some ways opened up a lot of possibilities because I didnt feel the pressure of having to play a strictly historic Lenny Bruce or adhere to the sort of timeline of his life.

His interpretation is also quite different than Dustin Hoffmans approach in the 1974 biopic movie Lenny, which was directed by Bob Fosse and earned six Oscar nominations. Kirby says he saw it as a teenager: I kind of had a little dalliance with Lenny Bruce in high school and Lenny the movie was one of (my) first ins to him. And I just adored it. I just sopped it up. I was just so compelled by Dustin Hoffmans performance and Valerie Perrine and the movie itself is very beautifully composed.

On the third season, Lenny shows up in two episodes. The character gets to meet Midges dad, Abe (Tony Shaloub), after she tells her father about his act and that he tackles issues of freedom of speech. Abe ends up at The Gaslight club to see him perform and stands up for his rights to pull out a Playboy centerfold. That is when the vice cops move in and both men spend the night in jail. Midges mom Rose (Marin Hinkle) ends up bailing them out.

Lennys second appearance on the most recent season is when he catches Midges act at the famed Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. He stops by to check out her act, of which he heartily approves, and she joins him on a TV show called Miami After Dark, a take-off of the type of hip late-night show that Playboys Hugh Hefner hosted and one that Bruce visited.

Kirby adds, That was super fun. I also familiarized myself with Playboy After Dark. Its so peculiar. The most striking thing about that clip now, when you watch it, yes, theyre all sort of dressed up and they look great. But the newness of television, the medium of it, is so new and theyre so clearly trying to riff in a way that in some ways I dont know that the medium allows and theres a sort of self-awareness to them thats a little discomforting and sort of endearing as well at the same time.

SEEAmy Sherman-Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) says of stand-up comic, Midge: Shes a streaming gal [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW]

After their TV appearance together, the evening continues as Lenny and Midge share a lovely dinner and dance to Till There Was You from the musical The Music Man. The pair take a romantic walk along the water and end up at Lennys rather chintzy motel room as he invites her in but she turns him down. Was she right to not go there? Kirby says, I think I have to plead the fifth on the right or wrong of that. In situations like that, the odds are always 50/50. You have to honor her choice, certainly.

Kirby also talks about the time when the comics daughter Kitty Bruce visited the set on the second season, his rendition of Bruces song All Alone that the comic sang on The Steve Allen Show, where he keeps his Emmy trophy and whether his character will continue his journey on Season 4.

PREDICTthe 2020 Emmy nominees now; change through July 28

Be sure to make your Emmy nominations predictions today so that Hollywood insiders can see how their shows and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions as often as you like until just before the nominees are announced on July 28. And join in the thrilling debate over the 2020 Emmy Awards taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our TV forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.

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Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel): Was Midge wrong to walk away from Lenny Bruces motel room? I have to plead the fifth [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO...

Newswise When people are highly confident in a decision, they take in information that confirms their decision, but fail to process information which contradicts it, finds a UCL brain imaging study.

The study, published inNature Communications, helps to explain the neural processes that contribute to the confirmation bias entrenched in most people's thought processes.

Lead author, PhD candidate Max Rollwage (Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging at UCL and Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry & Ageing Research) said: "We were interested in the cognitive and neural mechanisms causing people to ignore information that contradicts their beliefs, a phenomenon known as confirmation bias. For example, climate change sceptics might ignore scientific evidence that indicates the existence of global warming.

"While psychologists have long known about this bias, the underlying mechanisms were not yet understood.

"Our study found that our brains become blind to contrary evidence when we are highly confident, which might explain why we don't change our minds in light of new information."

For the study, 75 participants conducted a simple task: they had to judge whether a cloud of dots was moving to the left or right side of a computer screen. They then had to give a confidence rating (how certain they were in their response), on a sliding scale from 50% sure to 100% certain.

After this initial decision, they were shown the moving dots again and asked to make a final decision. The information was made even clearer the second time and could help participants to change their mind if they had initially made a mistake. However, when people were confident in their initial decision, they rarely used this new information to correct their errors.

25 of the participants were also asked to complete the experiment in a magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain scanner. The researchers monitored their brain activity as they processed the motion of the dots.

Based on this brain activity, the researchers evaluated the degree to which participants processed the newly presented information. When people were not very confident in their initial choice, they integrated the new evidence accurately. However, when participants were highly confident in their initial choice, their brains were practically blind to information that contradicted their decision but remained sensitive to information that confirmed their choice.

The researchers say that in real-world scenarios where people are more motivated to stand by their beliefs, the effect may be even stronger.

Senior author Dr Steve Fleming (Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging at UCL, Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry & Ageing Research and UCL Experimental Psychology) said: "Confirmation bias is often investigated in scenarios that involve complex decisions about issues such as politics. However, the complexity of such opinions makes it difficult to disentangle the various contributing factors to the bias, such as wanting to maintain self-consistency with our friends or social group.

"By using simple perceptual tasks, we were able to minimise such motivational or social influences and pin down drivers of altered evidence processing that contribute to confirmation bias."

In a previous, related study, the research team had found that people who hold radical political views - at either end of the political spectrum - aren't as good as moderates at knowing when they're wrong, even about something unrelated to politics.

Because the neural pathways involved in making a perceptual decision are well understood in such simple tasks, this makes it possible for researchers to monitor the relevant brain processes involved. The researchers highlight that an understanding of the mechanism that causes confirmation bias may help in developing interventions that could reduce people's blindness to contradictory information.

Max Rollwage added: "These results are especially exciting to me, as a detailed understanding of the neural mechanisms behind confirmation bias opens up opportunities for developing evidence-based interventions. For instance, the role of inaccurate confidence in promoting confirmation bias indicates that training people to boost their self-awareness may help them to make better decisions."

###

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Strong convictions can blind us to information that challenges them - Newswise

We made it through another winter, yet, with this pandemic, all of us are wondering what is next. As the leader of an organization representing a building trade, I saw the answer right in my own backyard when I notice all the birds zipping around carrying material to build nests. Its construction season. We need to build things too.

When the legislative session was shortened because of COVID our leaders did not have an opportunity to consider and fund many projects on which we were all relying for employment this summer, fall and next winter. The good news is its not too late. Legislators can still go back to Juneau and do what needs to be done to get this economy moving by approving a jobs package that includes projects all over Alaska.

With the legislators reconvening this week in Juneau, we call on Governor Dunleavy to help move job creating infrastructure projects forward as soon as possible.

Our elected officials know what needs to be done in their districts and can probably list items of shovel- ready projects that are planned but not yet paid for. There is a growing list of backlogged maintenance and retrofit projects not to mention items that have grown in importance over the course of the pandemic such as the Port of Alaska and improved broadband access for education and medical reasons.

As oil prices falter on a world scale and producers are forced to slow down exploration and production, Alaska must demonstrate the self-sufficiency that got us all this far.

We see the high value of immediate capital investment and the long-term positive impact that can have. Some projects should include: ports in Anchorage and Nome, the Ketchikan Shipyard, transmission line upgrade and expansion projects along the Railbelt and the Southeast Intertie project, a much needed new Anchorage Health Department, communication fiber upgrade projects statewide for telemedicine, hospital upgrades for more adaptable ICU units, ferries, marine terminals, deferred maintenance at university campuses like UAF, plus roads, bridges, airports and more.

There are also hundreds of projects from this years capital budget that were left behind many from the Governors budget too. We challenge Governor Dunleavy and legislators to take a good look at that list and fund them. These are well vetted, much needed projects that need to get done. A capital budget that puts even a small dent in that $1.8 billion maintenance backlog could put hundreds of Alaskans to work and save the state many billions of dollars more in replacement costs. General obligation bonds will also put people to work, encourage companies to invest in Alaska and shore up facilities like our ports and harbors we cannot allow to fail completely.

These projects will provide significant short-term economic stimulus across the state, as well

as long-term benefits. The short-term economic impact will result from jobs in construction and construction support and all the work it takes to get them to that stage including permitting, engineering, procurement and related work.

Yes. We know there are federal dollars coming to Alaska through the CARES act appropriations, but we are talking about something different, bigger and long term. We need to put people to work and we need to do it now. In addition, these projects will help keep Alaskas highly trained workforce in-state and ready as our economy improves.

With legislators going back to work next week, there is still time to approve a jobs bill funded by a General Obligation Bond (G.O.) package and Alaskans can vote on it if that is what it takes. We need to invest in Alaska and we need to do it as quickly as possible using whatever methods necessary.

The promise of a G.O. bond vote plus a modest yet focused capital budget will demonstrate to investors, residents and our kids we are serious about digging Alaska out of the fiscal hole and building meaningful projects to support our future here instead.

As the birds and all other migrating animals in Alaska know, there is no time to waste. Lets get to work!

Dave Reaves is the Business Manager for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547, which represents more than 4,000 electrical, communications, construction, government and health care workers across the state of Alaska.

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The time to Invest in Alaska is now - Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

Dont miss these top money and investing features:

These money and investing stories, popular with MarketWatch readers this past week, offer ideas about how to manage your financial portfolio and invest strategically as pandemic restrictions ease and markets adjust to the reopening of the U.S. and global economies.

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Among big asset managers, Vanguard came in fourth in April in terms of net new fund flows, but is still on top over the past 12 months and in a class by itself in terms of AUM. Vanguard is still on top of fund flows, even after a not-so-hot April

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These money and investing tips can help you navigate financial markets as economies reopen - MarketWatch

Regardless of the dynamics in the electricity market, it is a sure bet in Australia to rapidly expand solar and wind power, new transmission lines and energy storage. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian

The Covid-19 recession will bring fiscal stimulus on a massive scale. There are high hopes that the recovery will be green but it could be an uphill struggle. A big opportunity for Australias governments is to keep the renewable energy revolution going.

There will be pressure to invest in anything that quickly brings back jobs and prosperity, never mind long term, social or environmental goals. A return to the world as it was in 2019 will seem a marvellous goal for the many people whose jobs have gone or whose businesses have faltered. In order to improve the economy relative to pre-Covid, to build back better, will need governments to lead.

The forces pushing the other way are strong. Fossil fuel interests see Covid as a chance to push their barrel, all too evident in the push under way in Australia to increase gas production, regardless of the fact that it would raise greenhouse gas emissions for a long time to come. In the United States, longstanding environmental protection rules have been suspended under the cover of Covid, and Brazils government plans to change the rules on the Amazon while attention is on the pandemic. In China, the buzzword is new infrastructure but early indications are that new government spending on projects such as rail and telecoms is still overshadowed by building of coal power plants.

Policy documents released last week suggest that Australias meagre patchwork of emissions measures is now to be amended a little, but carbon pricing remains unmentionable.

Thankfully renewable energy is now by far the cheapest way to produce electricity from any newly built plants. Weve seen a huge boom in solar and wind and power. Even the governments new discussion paper towards its technology roadmap acknowledges that the future is renewables rather than coal, though it also gives a nod to gas.

But the recession could thwart investor appetite in new electricity generation plants. In the east coast electricity market, average wholesale prices are now less than half of what they were a year ago as a result of lower gas prices, more renewables on the grid, and lower electricity demand. While that is great news for consumers including energy-intensive industry, it dampens the case for new renewables investment. It also puts extra pressure on old coal-fired power plants.

Regardless of the dynamics in the electricity market, it is a sure bet in Australia to rapidly expand solar and wind power, new transmission lines and energy storage. It is what will replace the coal power fleet, power electric cars, and provide the foundation for the energy-intensive export industries of the future.

Governments should now step up and accelerate renewables investment. Large renewable energy zones have been mapped out, and New South Wales already has a plan to deliver three of them. The coming recession is the best possible reason to step up the pace.

Renewable energy projects can be built quickly and they can be scaled up over time. Governments can fund and own renewables generators, or provide long-term fixed-price contracts to companies that build and operate them.

And we urgently need new power lines. The usual way would be a lengthy process to plan, contract and build transmission lines and for private companies to build wind and solar projects. With the recovery stimulus imperative, governments can and should make it happen more quickly.

In parallel, governments need to be ready to support the regions where coal-fired plants will inevitably close down. It will not do to wait until the next power plants in the Hunter and Latrobe valley announce closures on commercial grounds. Building alternative infrastructure and supporting new areas of business should start right now.

The fundamental criteria for economic stimulus that stands the test of time are simple: projects need to be able to start soon, use a lot of local inputs, result in something useful for the long run, and be compatible with a net-zero emissions trajectory.

Expanding renewable energy and the power grid scores high on those criteria. Many other infrastructure projects are attractive, including public transport, retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency, and land restoration.

And we have the chance to lay the foundation for clean export industries of the future, such as renewables-based hydrogen and steel. The obvious way to get started on these is a large public investment program in R&D and pilot plants. The governments technology roadmap can identify priority investments. This should then quickly be followed by cash.

Governments will take out big loans to get the economy out of the Covid recession. We must be sure to spend it in a way that benefits our society in the future. That means creating better social fabric, more education and infrastructure. And it means helping build up industries that have a strong prospect in a world economy that acts on climate change.

Todays younger people will be paying the debt back through higher taxes. They should be able to look back at Covid-19 as a time when useful public investments were made that helped protect their future.

Frank Jotzo is the director of the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy at the Australian National University

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The coming recession is the best reason to step up the pace of renewables investment - The Guardian

The markets have been rallying since March's crash, but that doesn't mean they're stable just yet. With a lot of uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, stability comes at a premium these days. And one way you can add some of it to your life is by investing in dividend stocks.

While most dividend stocks pay on a quarterly basis, that doesn't mean you have to wait three months for a payment. The three stocks listed below all pay dividends in different periods, and collectively, they can generate recurring monthly income for you.

Merck (NYSE:MRK) is a stable dividend stock that you can buy and hold for years. The drug manufacturer has posted a profit in each of the past 10 years, and the majority of those times, its profit margin was in the double-digits.

That's a trend Merck continued in the first quarter of 2020. It released its latest results on April 28, where it generated $3.2 billion in profit on sales of $12.1 billion -- good for a profit margin of 27%. Sales were up 11% year over year, with the company's cancer-fighting drug Keytruda leading the way with revenue growth of 45% from the prior-year period.

Image source: Getty Images.

Although the company lowered its guidance for 2020 as a result of COVID-19, there's little doubt that Merck can bounce back from the adversity given the essential drugs it provides to patients.

Currently, Merck pays investors a dividend of $0.61 every quarter, which today yields around 3.1% -- well above the S&P 500 average of 2%. Merck also increased its payouts last year by 10.9%. The company typically makes payments to shareholders in January, April, July, and October.

Costco (NASDAQ:COST) is one retail stock that's been doing well during the pandemic. it's been a popular destination for consumers loading up on toilet paper and other day-to-day essentials. But irrespective of short-term fluctuations due to the coronavirus, the company's been a consistent profit and growth machine over the years. While its profit margin is typically not more than just a couple of percentage points, Costco has consistently recorded a profit in each of the past 10 years. And its sales have been soaring, too. From $77.9 billion in fiscal 2010, the company's top line nearly doubled to $152.7 billion in fiscal 2019.

There's a lot to like about Costco stock. Not only is it consistent and growing, but it also pays a modest dividend. The Washington-based company pays out $0.70 every quarter, which, at a share price of around $300, yields a modest 0.9%. Costco normally pays its dividends every February, May, September, and November, although occasionally there are some fluctuations. Earlier this year, Costco hiked its payouts by 7.7%.

Of the three stocks listed here,Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) has been hit the hardest as a result of COVID-19. With a possible recession around the corner, the bank is facing challenges -- and their impacts on its financials.

In its first-quarter results, which the North Carolina-based bank released on April 15, it increased its provision for credit losses by nearly $4 billion. That resulted in the bank's profits falling by 45% from the prior-year period, but it was still able to post a $4 billion profit.

It's a bit of a risk investing in financial stocks given that we don't know how long the pandemic will weigh down the economy or how much of an impact it will have on the big banks. But with Bank of America at a depressed share price, now could also be a great time to buy the stock as it's down more than 25% this year. Trading at just 10 times earnings, Bank of America's a cheap buy, and when combined with its dividend, it could make for a solid addition to your portfolio. States are already opening back up, and that's good news for the economy and financial stocks like Bank of America.

Currently, the stock pays a quarterly dividend of $0.18, which yields 2.9% annually. It's an above-average payout that the bank distributes in March, June, September, and December. Last July, Bank of America raised its payouts by 20%.

Here's a quick look at how the stocks have done year to date:

MRK data by YCharts.

Only Costco has outperformed the S&P 500 in 2020, but both Merck and Bank of America will likely recover as the economy gets back to normal.

Either way, all three stocks can be solid long-term investments if you can hang on to them in your portfolio for many years. And since all three have different payment schedules, you could possibly earn dividend payments in every month of the year. Costco and Bank of America overlap with their September payments, but Costco's third payment of the year has fallen in August and even July in recent years.

It's never a guarantee when a company may pay a dividend, so there's the potential for some fluctuations here and there. But for the most part, investing in these three stocks should generate recurring income that will generally come every month -- or at least pretty close to that.

With a good mix of value, growth, and dividends, these are all solid investments you can safely hold on to for the long term.

Excerpt from:
Earn Monthly Dividend Income By Investing in These 3 Stocks - Motley Fool

Investors who have bought and held U.S. stocks over the very long term have historically done very well. In fact, the S&P 500 is up 1,510% over the past 35 years.

While that return is certainly impressive,Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) investors have done even better.

Membership-only warehouse giant Costco was founded in 1983 and made the move to go public just two years later. It priced its IPO at $10 per share on Dec. 1, 1985. At the time of its IPO, the company was valued at $1.27 billion.

The original Costco location was opened in Seattle Washington in September of 1983. By the end of 1984, Costco had nine locations in five different states.

In 1993, Costco rejected a buyout offer by Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT) to merge Costco with Sams Club. Later that same year, Costco merged with Price Club, and the combined company had 206 locations generating $16 billion in annual sales. Today, Costco has grown to 785 locations, including 239 international warehouses.

Costco has issued three stock splits in 1991, 1992 and 2000 at a combined ratio of six-to-one. That means Costcos adjusted IPO price based on todays structure was only about $1.67. All the stock prices mentioned below are on this split-adjusted basis.

By the end of the 20th century, Costco shares had traded as high as $98.75 as the dot-com bubble drove the entire market higher. When thebubble burst, Costco shares dropped back down to as low as $25.94 in mid-2000, their lowest point of the 21st century.

Costco finally made new all-time highs in 2012, and has continued its bullish momentum even though much of the retail sector has struggled in the e-commerce era.

In fact, Costco hit its all-time high of $325.26 earlier this year prior to the COVID-19 market crash.

Costco shares have since pulled back to around $305, but the stock has still been a home run for IPO investors.

In fact, $1,000 worth of Costco IPO stock in 1985 would be worth about $182,413 today. In addition, these Costco IPO investors would have earned $15,018 in dividends over the past 35 years and could have gotten an even higher total return had they reinvested their dividends along the way.

Looking ahead, analysts expect Costco to grind even higher in 2020. The average price target among the 26 analysts covering the stock is $329 suggesting 8.2% upside from current levels.

Photo credit: Tony Webster, via Wikimedia Commons

2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Here's How Much Investing $1000 In Costco's IPO Would Be Worth Today - Benzinga