Dividend Increasers for February

The stock market continues to move up, partially due to the fact that more companies are increasing their dividends. A rise in dividends generally means that the company is doing well. Here are some that have raised their dividends recently.

UPS (UPS) declared a quarterly dividend increase of 8.8%.

Phillips 66 (PSX) announced an increase in their dividend of 25%

Albemarle (ALB) boosted its quarterly dividend 20%

Comcast (CMSCA) also raised its quarterly dividend 20%

Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) raised its quarterly dividend by 12%

KKR (KKR) raised its quarterly dividend by an incredible 191.67%

Occidental Petroleum (OXY) increased its quarterly dividend 18.5%

Waste Management (WM) bumped up its quarterly dividend 2.8%

If you like stock lists like this, such as a list of stocks going ex-dividend, beer stocks, candy stocks, or coffee stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Book Review: The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything

The book, The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything by Jason Kelly has everything you ever wanted to know and even what you didn't even know you wanted to know, about the private equity business.

What is so interesting is how many business are currently owned by private equity funds: Dunkin' Donuts, J. Crew, Toys "R" Us, Burger King, Hilton, Legoland, Hertz, The Weather Channel, Madam Tussaud's, Outback Steakhouse, Gymboree, Guitar Center, Miramax, Sea World, and Petco. Huge amounts of money have been made in the private equity world. And fortunately for smaller investors, there is a way for them to get in on the action, since a few of the private equity funds are publicly traded, companies such as Blackstone Group (BX), Carlyle Group (CG), and KKR (KKR).

Kelly provides extensive coverage of how private equity firms operate, from raising money, purchasing the company, improving operations, and finally selling. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the interviews with the top players. If you want to know all about private equity, read The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything.