The bull case for TSP

* anavalluc introduced us to this company a little over two years ago as: "the sao Paulo telphone company. Great defensive business. Huge cash flow , great dividend and in the richest party of Brazil."
* Earlier this year, ResearchLover added a bit of detail on this "richest party": "Brazil and Sao Paulo are a growth market for basic telecom. Not going to change with a US slowdown."
* And in July, ChrstphrRCA gave us the real kicker: "Thanks to the price depression, this is a high, high yield telecom."

Twice high, huh? Sounds good, good, but just how high is "high, high?"

Pretty darn high, as it turns out. TSP offers a robust 11.6% yield, which as telecom dividends go, compares awfully favorably to U.S. offerings. Sure, you can get 11.9% out of Qwest (NYSE: Q) -- but only if you can stomach a debt-to-equity ratio 100 times as large as TSP's.

Meanwhile, Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Sprint (NYSE: S), and AT&T (NYSE: T) all sport lower debt loads -- but they've got correspondingly lower dividends as well. Of this less-leveraged bunch, Verizon pays out 6.7%, AT&T 6.3%, and Sprint a miserly 3%.

Foolish takeaway
If dividend yield is your thing, I have to say that TSP looks like a mighty fine way to nab it. And if the current credit crunch has you worried, then TSP's faraway location, and far-below-peer debt, should let you cash those dividend checks in peace and enjoy a restful night's sleep thereafter.