Yield not

A year or so ago, brokers were promoting Aussie bank stocks for their dividend yield. Rather than put your money in the bank, you'd be better off to buy it, so the story went. Back then the bank stock yield was over 5% for most of the big 4 banks.

Now, thanks to the cheapass yen carry trade, the prices of stocks have gone up so high that the banks are, in some cases, showing a yield under 4%.

You'd think, from an Australian stock investor viewpoint, it would be better to sell the bank and take the lower-taxed capital gain rather than clip the dividend coupon and pay ordinary income rates on the income.