As the stock market and interest rates seemingly on a never-ending basis, savvy but wary investors are on an endless quest for relatively “safe” investments in such a dangerous time.

Barron’s recently explained that high-yielding stocks can be an attractive option for investors — if they have strong balance sheets.

Cornerstone Macro strategist Michael Kantrowitz wrote recently that high-dividend stocks haven’t derived much benefit from declining interest rates over the past 15 years and have seen their weighting in the S&P 500 steadily decline. “Stocks with high dividends sometimes have far worse fundamentals than peers,” he wrote.

“Yes, investors need to be careful, but the dividends on these dozen companies look secure based on payout ratios using projected 2020 earnings, the strength of their balance sheets, and the durability of the businesses,” Barron’s explained.

Barron’s picked 12 such investment candidates:

1. Altria Group (MO)
2. Dow (DOW)
3. Exxon Mobil (XOM)
4. Valero Energy (VLO)
5. Prudential Financial (PRU)
6. Comerica (CMA)
7. AT&T (T)
8. Chevron (CVX)
9. Wells Fargo (WFC)
10. AbbVie (ABBV)
11. Seagate Tech (STX)
12. Kinder Morgan (KMI)

However, global stocks plunged on Monday and prices for crude oil tumbled as much as 33% after Saudi Arabia launched a price war with Russia, sending investors already worried by the coronavirus fleeing for the safety of bonds and the yen.

Saudi Arabia had stunned markets with plans to raise its production significantly after the collapse of OPEC's supply cut agreement with Russia - a grab for market share reminiscent of a drive in 2014 that sent prices down by about two-thirds.

"We are seeing this week, finally, a full-scale liquidation and signs of capitulation, full-scale panic - we see this in every asset," Paul O'Connor, head of multi-asset at Janus Henderson, told Reuters.

"The oil price plunge adds a huge disruptive dynamic to markets that are already very fragile - investors are looking for losers in this move."

Economist Stephen Moore predicts, the coronavirus has caused a "short-term pause" in President Donald Trump's economic growth, but once the crisis subsides, the economy will "roar back to life."

"I just see this as a real short-term pause in the growth that Trump has created," Moore told "The Cats Roundtable" on 970 AM-N.Y., per The Hill. "Once we get this thing contained the economy will roar back to life."

While spreading, the COVID-19 risk in the United States remains low, Moore reminded, saying the "confidence and the health of the American people" must be restored before growth can get going again.

"The market and the real economy will burst back to life," Moore vowed to host John Catsimatidis, per The Hill.

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