U.S. stock futures are lower this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 39 points to 12,155, while those for the S&P 500 index declined 6.1 points to 1,313. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index lost 7.75 points to 2,354.

Shares of Nokia (NOK) dropped in pre-market trading as the company unveiled partnership with Microsoft (MSFT).

Negative sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has dropped 0.42%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.27%.

Although short-term news may seem bright for Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY), the broader picture for the company looks flat. Having dropped from an average share price in the $53 range over two years ago, to a current average share value hovering near $35, investors are signaling that the long range forecast for Lilly is unexciting at best.

It appears that Lilly shall be buoyed in the near term by the recent FDA approval of testosterone replacement therapy Axiron for sale in the U.S. Lilly purchased rights to Axiron from Australian firm, Acrux for an initial payment of $50 million plus $3 million based on the transfer of manufacturing assets.

Is it time to dump dividend stocks before the Bush tax cuts expire? In 2001 and 2003 Bush, passed several tax relief bills that will automatically expire at the end of 2010. Obama campaigned against the tax relief packages and many Americans may be facing a huge tax increase as the package expires.

Dividend taxation is of particular concern to investors. Under the relief packages, dividends taxes were cut to 15%, but if the package expires, dividends may be taxed as ordinary income at levels up to 39.6%.

Great dividend picks are easier to find than you think. Retirees looking for safe places to stash their cash are already familiar with many blue chips that have hefty yields. It's just that when investors stop at the grocery store or pay their phone bill, they aren't thinking about how the big brands they're doing business with are actually good dividend payers.

Here are three of America's best know public corporations with yields that are about twice what 10-year Treasuries pay. These low-risk blue chips are some of the most famous high-yield dividend stocks out there.

This is the third screening to find value among Fortune's 25 corporate world leaders that have demonstrated an ability to regenerate themselves from within. The list has been cut to 18 and will be cut further here.

The methodology of using basic stock data points to identify potential value investments only sets the stage for success -- it assures nothing. While it is true that paying less is better than paying more and getting a higher yield is better than less, this gives you a scant picture of what is in people's hearts and minds, and that is harder to judge. Like the weather, no matter the predictions, you may not find out it is raining until you are standing in it. Regardless, it should be advantageous to start with good stock (pun intended) before you take to whittlin', and that we have.

Yesterday I started a review of 25 companies that Fortune deemed most successful according to their peers in developing quality leadership. Today I review the remaining 20, searching to find the ones that might be worth investing in.

Price-to-book (from 11/27/09) was used as the first value screen. The theory being from a value investor's perspective that buying for a price at or near the break-up value of the company provides downside protection. Of course that is easier said than done.

The recent issue of Fortune magazine discusses how the best of the best train, guide and nurture top managers to become the leaders that will propel their corporations successfully forward. They list the top 25 companies, which I have used as the basis of a new review to see how they would fair against common metric screens.

In the past few months, many articles have posited that large-cap stocks should excel in the coming year based on their lagging the market behind smaller, more volatile stocks flying out of the March lows. I do not believe this is universally true. Plenty of large-cap stocks did well, such as Anadarko Petroleum (APC), Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG), while many small caps went nowhere. Even among the large caps included in Fortune's "Leadership 25," some have doubled.

"While companies have been cutting dividends at an historic pace over the last 24 months, the fact is that there are still quality companies with long histories of paying dividends that represent good long-term investments," says Chuck Carlson, a specialist in companies offering dividend reinvestment plans.

In his top-notch The DRIP Investor he says, "The seven stocks featured here have each been paying a dividend for over 100 years, have raised their dividend annually for at least the last quarter century and offer direct-purchase plans.

DuPont (NYSE: DD) closed at $32.57. August 11 DD options were active on volume of 349,770 contracts into today's ex-dividend. DD August option implied volatility of 33; September is at 35; below its 26-week average 43 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) closed at $33.18. LLY goes ex dividend today with a 49 cents dividend. On August 11 LLY options were active on volume of 28,953 contracts. LLY August option implied volatility is at 28, September is at 27; below its 26-week average of 31, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Options Update: Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com