What Companies are Raising Their Dividends?

There are a lot of dividend raisers to start out the new year. Here are some that recently boosted their payouts.

Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL) had an increase to its 47th consecutive annual dividend

Becton Dickinson (BDX) had a 10% increase in dividend payout, and has raised its dividend for 42 years in a row

Dominion Resources Inc. (D) increased its quarterly dividend 6.6%

The Boeing Company (BA) increased its quarterly dividend 10%

Edison International (EIX) increased its quarterly dividend 3.8%

Tyco (TYC) Plans 7% Dividend Increase

KBR (KBR) raised its dividend by an incredible 60%

Realty Income (O) raised its monthly dividend by 2%

Rent-a-Center (RCII) raised its quarterly dividend by 31%

General Electric Company (GE) increased its quarterly dividend by 12%

Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. (NUS) increased its quarterly dividend 50%

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (AXS) increased its quarterly dividend 4%

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.

A good end to the first week of trading in 2013 for the bulls as the Dow gained 43 points on light volume.  The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive.  The summation index is heading higher.  The employment report came in as expected and it really wasn't much of a market mover.  The stock indices are short term overbought but they could stay that way.  I think any declines will be bought here.  You cannot argue with price and the market is moving higher.  I still think that we will see more gains heading into the option expiration in 2 weeks.  GE was up a bit and the volume was light.  I would like to see more participation here from GE but it isn't happening yet.  If we can break through the declining tops line at around $21.50, we should see GE move up.  I am still considering the January calls here.  Gold had a roller coaster type of session.  The futures closed down $25 and they were lower than that during the morning.  But gold made a comeback in the after hours trading.  I'm not sure what to make of todays action.  The US dollar opened higher but closed well off of the highs for the day.  The XAU was actually up 1/3 as the gold shares performed pretty good considering the drop in gold.  This is a positive for the gold shares.  ABX, GG and NEM all had slight fractional gains on average volume.  I'm not exactly sure what to do with the gold shares here.  The are still medium term oversold and due for some type of rally.  The daily technicals are more overbought than oversold though.  I'll probably be looking elsewhere for the next trade.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  The stock indexes are overbought.  I'll will look to get some calls next week perhaps if there is a pullback.  The Dow transports have broken out and it is up to the industrials to follow.  I may get some GE January calls next week.  The only caveat is that the earnings are due on expiration Friday.  We'll see.  Gold is acting volatile to start the year.  I would still like to get long there at some point.  Perhaps I'll move out to the February option cycle there.  Plenty to consider over the weekend.  For now it's the first Friday of the new year and time for a break.

Starbucks Opening in Vietnam: Is this the Next Big Asian Growth Country?

Starbucks (SBUX) has been expanding all over the world and will now open its first coffee shop in Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam has a fast growing economy. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the country spent almost $4.5 billion on Apple (AAPL) iPhones and other cells phone imports last year.

Vietnam is drawing the eyes of other companies. As an example, Siam Cement Group, based in Thailand, paid $240 million to purchase an 85% interest in Prime Group, one of the largest tile and brick manufacturers in Vietnam.

So if an American investor wants to participate in Vietnam's growth, there are some options available. According to the list of Vietnam stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are over a dozen companies that are either based in Vietnam or have large operations in Vietnam. Unfortunately, most of these companies are either very illiquid, have low market caps, or don't trade in the United States.

The best way to take advantage of the Vietnamese business expansion is through the Market Vectors Vietnam Exchange Traded Fund (VNM). The fund owns several Vietnam companies that would not be available to US investors, such as Vincom Joint Stock Company, Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank For Industry And Trade, Bao Viet Holdings, and the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, all of which make up about 30% of the portfolio.

The average price to earnings ratio is 10.6 and the average price to book value is 1.19. The fund pays a yield of 1.0%. Although the fund had a volatile year in 2012, it was actually up 22%. It started off the year well, spiking 4.7% on January 2.

For a free list of Vietnam stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author owns AAPL.

By STockerblog.com

Digesting the recent gains today as the Dow fell 21 points on average volume.  The advance/declines were positive.  After moving straight up around 500 points, some consolidation is to be expected.  A larger pull back isn't expected for now.  But that doesn't mean it won't happen.  The Fed minutes released today implies the soft money policy might end sooner rather than later.  That would be a negative going forward.  However we are in a very positive time frame calendar wise.  My feeling is that we will stay with a positive bias into the January option expiration.  We'll see what happens with the employment report tomorrow.  GE was off 1/4 on good volume.  GE is not acting well here and has been stopped at its declining tops line that began in October.  I am considering the January GE calls here though.  I could be wrong.  Gold had a tough day as the futures fell $14 and another $10 in the aftermarket.  The US dollar rallied.  The news of the Fed minutes pushed gold down and the dollar up.  The gold/dollar inverse relationship is back in place.  The XAU fell 6 1/3.  ABX down a buck, GG lost almost 2 and NEM slipped 1 1/4.  Volume was average.  My idea for the January ABX calls was wrong.  Of course things could turn around tomorrow with a weak employment report but I'm inclined to look elsewhere for the next trade.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  We got the huge rally after the tax deal.  Now it will be important to see what happens from here.  The technicals imply higher prices after a breather.  I might wait things out for a few days and then try the OEX calls for January.  Or not.  We'll see what the employment report brings.  Gold was weak today and I expected more money to flow into there due to the beginning of the new year.  I'm laying off any trades there for now.  We'll look for the foreign market reaction to the Fed minutes if there is one and move on to Fridays employment report. 

The Monthly Dividend Stocks: A Great Source of Regular Income

Have you been to your bank lately? You are lucky if you can get half a percent on a savings account. If you want to get more than 1%, you may need to tie your money up for ten years. The alternatives include monthly income stocks. Though these investments are often referred to as stocks, they are technically closed end bond funds, real estate investment trusts, oil income trusts, and closed end income stock funds that pay dividends monthly.

The advantage of monthly dividend investments include the return of your capital faster, which can generate faster compounding. In addition, the monthly payments can help reduce volatility. These monthly dividend investments can be found at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, which has a recently updated list of about 200 different companies that pay dividends monthly, many of which have high yields in excess of 7%.

One example is Gas Natural Inc. (EGAS), previously called Energy, Inc., It is a distributor of natural gas in Montana, Wyoming, North Carolina, and Maine. It was founded in 1909. The stock pays a yield of 5.8% and sports a forward price to earnings ratio of 13.9.

The Advent Claymore Convertible Securities & Income Fund (AVK) sports a yield of 6.9%, sells at about a 8.2% discount to net asset value. This closed end fund, founded in 2003, invests approximately 60% of its portfolio in convertible securities and 40% in lower-grade non-convertible income securities. The company recently announced it will pay a supplemental dividend of 51.371 cents a share.

The MFS Multimarket Income Trust (MMT) pays a yield of 6.5%. It invests in fixed income investments throughout the world. The stock trades at a 5.2% discount to net asset value. The trust was founded in 1987, and has a management fee of 0.82%.

LMP Real Estate Income Fund Inc. (RIT) is a vehicle that allows the investor to participate in the real estate recovery and receive monthly income. It is an exchange traded fund that invests in real estate related companies including real estate investment trusts. It carries a yield of 6.5%, and has paid dividends since 2002. It is trading at a 8.6% discount to net asset value.

Pengrowth Energy Trust (PGH) is a Canadian oil royalty income trust that yields 9.8%. The company, which was founded in 1988, explores, develops, and produces oil and natural gas reserves in western Canada.

When choosing monthly dividend investments investors should avoid investments with high management fees, limited liquidity, ones that trade at a large premium to net asset value, and the ones using excessive leverage. The municipal bond closed end funds may trigger the Alternative Minimum Tax; check with your accountant before investing.

A list of over a couple hundred monthly dividend stocks, including many that have yields of 6% or more, is available at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. Keep in mind that very high yields may not be sustainable.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

We had a huge rally to begin 2013 as the Dow gained 308 points on good volume.  The advance/declines were almost 10 to 1 positive.  The tax deal is done and it is off to the races.  The small stocks are leading the way higher here, so it appears that this move higher could have legs.  It is too late for any stock index calls right now in my opinion.  The buy signal was a couple of days ago but the market opened up strong on Monday which rose the value of the calls.  Perhaps the next trade will be getting short when we get short term overbought.  The employment report is due on Friday.  Some stock indices are breaking out into new highs and we had some huge upside gaps today.  Expect higher prices going forward.  GE was up 1/3 on good volume.  Too late for the calls here as well in my opinion.  Gold moved higher today as well, gaining $13 on the futures.  The US dollar bounced around but ended the day little changed.  The XAU rose 2 7/8.  ABX, GG and NEM all had fractional gains on average volume.  The gold shares are getting short term overbought.  I still might try the January calls though.  Money is flowing into all assets at the moment.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  We have seen the expected rally following the resolution of the tax stand off in Washington.  Were we go from here is what matters next.  It looks like we are going to go higher regardless of the economic numbers.  We'll see how the rest of the week plays out.  Gold has found some buyers this week as well.  I'm not sure how long that will last but I might be willing to try a short term trade there.  The January ABX calls are still on my radar.  We should see the rally continue overseas tonight and tomorrow here as well. 

Here is Where You Can Read the Fiscal Cliff Bill

Would you like some bedtime reading? How about reading over 150 pages of the Fiscal Cliff Bill, also known as the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, also known as H.R.8. The entire bill, in a pdf format, can be found at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com which you can get to by clicking here. It originally came directly from the Library of Congress. Now you can print it out and read it at your leisure.