China has just come out with its 2010 economic growth predictions and. as expected, they are once again world-beating.

But are they correct?

When Verizon (NYSE: VZ) boosted its dividend in early September, we speculated that rival AT&T (NYSE: T) would probably follow suit at some point this year. After all, the Dow components have illustrious dividend histories and are about as far from growth stocks as one can get, so dividends are a big part of the allure of owning these names. It took three months, but AT&T did announce on Friday that it is increasing its quarterly dividend by a penny share to 42 cents.

We often say that the most boring sectors are the most exciting when it comes to finding juicy dividends and if you're in the mood for boring, look no further than the trash-hauling business. No body likes to take the trash out and we rarely think about the profit potential for the companies that come to pick our trash up, but there is a pretty compelling investment thesis behind companies like Waste Management (NYSE:WMI).

In a market environment that is all but begging for investors to play a little defense with quality, high-yiedling names, Waste Management, the largest U.S. trash hauler, is worth a look. Oh yeah, the company just announced it boosted its quarterly dividend 8.6% to 31.5 cents a share from 29 cents. Based on Thursday's closing price, Waste Management currently yields 3.5%, pretty good, but that yield is going to get a bump with the new dividend. The new dividend will be declared in February and paid in March.

In the world of dividend stocks, some companies just don't get it. They punish shareholders by reducing or eliminating their payout to make amends for the company's misdeeds and mismanagement. On the other hand, there are those companies that have mastered the art of rewarding shareholders and one of those companies is food giant General Mills (GIS). Yeah, the food sector has been nothing short of stellar in recent months when it comes to dividend hikes, but General Mills may wear the crown.

The maker of Cheerios, Pillsbury, Green Giant and Betty Crocker, among dozens of other brands that probably reside in your pantry, has raised its dividend twice in 2009. That's right, two dividend hikes from a single company in the same year. General Mills is one of the largest food companies in the world and its newest dividend increase is for two cents, taking the quarterly payout to 49 cents a share from 47 cents. Before the increase, the shares were yielding 2.8%. For 2009, General Mills pay dividends of $1.72 a share. In 2010, that total will rise more than 12%.

We recently discussed a report from Bloomberg News that noted one in six members of the S&P 500 may raise their next dividend while only two percent of the companies in the index appear poised to reduce their next payout. The report said 79 members of the S&P 500 could raise their next scheduled dividend payment. To add to that good news, Standard & Poor's is estimating dividend payouts in the S&P 500 will rise 6% in 2010 to $23.67 a share in 2010.

That's certainly welcome news for wary income investors that have seen many of Wall Street's most reliable payouts either suspended or eliminated over the past two years. The reality is 2010 probably couldn't be any worse on the dividend front than 2008 and 2009 have been. Seventy-eight S&P 500 members have cut their dividends this year, depriving investors of $48 billion in payouts. Those reductions tempered the 147 dividend increases that added $9.5 billion to shareholders' wallets. The S&P 500 dividend payout for 2009 should be $22.31 a share.

The energy sector is one we're constantly looking at in an effort to find solid dividends and we're usually rewarded for our efforts. Given the wide swath of companies that can be considered “energy plays,” it's not hard to find robust payouts and yields in the energy arena and that explains why we remain big fans of the energy patch for dividend seekers. That said, things aren't always rosy in the energy sector when it comes to dividends and that's why you regularly monitor the sector for possible changes among its dividends.

For example, a recent analyst report from Johnson Rice & Co. highlighted some of the problems currently facing companies in the oil services sector. The performance of these stocks is intimately correlated to the price of crude oil and with crude prices currently languishing below $70 a barrel, Johnson Rice cut its ratings on several oil services stocks, including Diamond Offshore (DO). To be sure, Diamond Offshore is no dividend diva. The company pays a dividend of just 50 cents a year, good for a current yield of just 0.5%. Diamond Offshore has paid several special dividends over the years and recently declared a $1.875 special dividend.

The rebounding American financial sector is not the place to look for performance. High tech industries are still not making major gains in the U.S. There’s one place that America’s multi-nationals say they are turning to for profits, the only place in the world with a truly robust economy: China.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (which calls itself AmCham) says multi-nationals no longer feel they have an option. Investment in China has become an absolute “must.”

Pfizer (PFE), the world's largest drugmaker, may raise its quarterly dividend by as much as 20% later this month, according to a Credit Suisse analyst. Obviously, this is good news for wary Pfizer shareholders that endured a 50% dividend reduction earlier this year as the company attempted to conserve cash for its $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth.

For years, the primary reason to own Pfizer's shares was the dividend and with a current payout of just 16 cents a share per quarter, it's tough to endorse Pfizer as a great dividend stock. Analyst Catherine Arnold believes the quarterly dividend could rise to 18.5 cents to 19.25 cents a share. That's a start and with expectations low for Pfizer's drug pipeline, any positive surprises on that front combined with a dividend hike could give a near-term jolt to the shares.

Canadian banks are an interesting lot.

Far more conservative than their U.S. counterparts, Canadian banks held up relatively well during the financial crisis of 2008 due to the fact they didn't engage in risky trading and mortgage lending practices, nor did Canadian banks take the ax to their dividends the way American banks did. In dollar terms, the dividends offered by Canada's five largest banks are all solid and the lowest yield in the group is a decent 5%. In addition, Canada's government intensely protects its banks from international competition, making it next to impossible for a foreign competitor to enter the market.

The food sector continues to provide income investors with plenty of reasons to cheer as the dividend hikes from this group just keep on coming. Spice-maker McCormick (NYSE: MKC) is the latest food-related issue to join the party, announcing an 8.3% increase to its quarterly payout. The company will now pay 26 cents a share, up from 24 cents a share. This is the 24th consecutive year McCormick has boosted its payout and the company has been paying a dividend since 1925. The new dividend is payable on January 15 to shareholders on record on December 31.

Hospitality Properties Trust (HPT) is a real estate investment trust (REIT). REITs were once a solid spot for dividend investors to park some cash and collect steady payouts. REITs normally offer solid yields and some good tax benefits to shareholders, but the financial crisis of 2008 changed the REIT landscape and those changes may have a lasting impact. Yields on REIT stocks doubled throughout 2008 as the stocks came tumbling down due to high leverage and poor loan quality at so many REITs. This transformed the sector from a dividend paradise to a dividend wasteland.

Dozens of REITs cut or eliminated their dividends to conserve cash. Others started paying their dividends in stock. That was little compensation as those stock dividends “rewarded” investors with shares in a company that the market had significantly beaten down.

Another Dividend Increase From The Food Sector

Boring as it may be, the food sector can be quite exciting for income investors. Good yields, strong payouts and lengthy dividend histories make the food sector a must-watch for dividend hunters.

The World Invests New Capital in China

A great measure of world confidence in any economic system is foreign direct investment (FDI). Foreign direct investment is registered when a company decides to put its money on the construction of new stores, factories or other assets outside of home base. Now that’s happening again in China.

Amerisource Bergen (NYSE: ABC), the provider of distribution services for pharmaceutical companies, said it is hiking its quarterly dividend by 33% to 8 cents a share. The new dividend is payable on December 7 to shareholders of record on November 23. The five-year dividend growth rate is over 61%, according to TheStreet.com.

In addition to the dividend increase, AmerisourceBergen is taking care of shareholders in another way. The company also announced a $500 million share repurchase program. AmerisourceBergen has just over $68 million remaining on a share buyback program that started last year and the company said it plans to spend $350 million on buybacks in 2010.

The bad news regarding dividends just keeps coming out of the oil and gas refining sector. Last month, we told you about Sunoco (SUN) slashing its dividend by 50%. Unfortunately, that reduction appears to have been just the tip of the iceberg as Sunoco rival Tesoro (TSO) followed suit yesterday.

Despite the fact that Tesoro reported third-quarter results that beat Street estimates, the results were still 87% below the year-earlier period and that led a dividend cut of 50% by Tesoro. Tesoro will now pay a quarterly of 5 cents a share.

Nelnet (NNI), the student loan provider, said it will reinstate its 7-cent quarterly dividend in the current quarter after suspending the payout in the second quarter of 2008. The news comes after Nebraska-based Nelnet said its third-quarter beat analysts' estimates. The new dividend will be payable to shareholders of record on December 15.

For-profit education provider DeVry (DV) joined the education dividend party by announcing it would raise its annual dividend by 25% to 20 cents a share from 16 cents. DeVry also said it will repurchase $50 million of its shares.

Werner Enterprises (WERN), the Nebraska-based trucking firm, announced it will pay a special dividend of $1.25 a share in addition to its regular quarterly dividend of 5 cents a share. The $90 million special payout will be made on December 8 to shareholders of record on November 23. Werner paid a special dividend of $2.10 a share in December 2008. Shares of Werner Enterprises are up 5% in the past three months.

Insurance stocks have been fertile ground for dividend hunters recently as a spate of companies have announced increased payouts. Bermuda-based Maiden Holdings (MHLD) continued the trend on Tuesday by announcing it will boost its quarterly distribution by 8% to 6.5 cents a share. The new dividend will be paid on January 15, 2010 to shareholders of record on January 4.

Maiden Holdings provides reinsurance services to property and casualty insurers in the U.S. The increase is Maiden Holdings' second since it began paying a dividend in the second quarter of 2008. The original payout was 5 cents a share per quarter.

If you been following the blog recently, you've probably noticed more than a few posts about dividend increases in the insurance sector. Dow component Travelers (TRV) got the ball rolling a couple of weeks ago in terms of the big insurers, but the dividend hikes have been coming from insurance firms of all sizes. The latest contributor to this trend is Prudential Financial (PRU), the second-largest U.S. life insurance firm.

Prudential recently reported its third consecutive quarterly profit and the company boosted its annual dividend by 21% to 70 cents a share from 58 cents. This is good news for current Prudential shareholders and potential buyers of the stock as well because Prudential slashed its payout by 50% in 2008 amid the credit crisis.

Automatic Data Processing (ADP), the payroll processing and human resources services company, boosted its quarterly dividend by a penny to 34 cents a share. A dividend increase is usually a good sign, but consider ADP's line of business and the dour employment picture and this increase is somewhat surprising.

Then again, maybe it's not all that surprising. After all, this increase marks the 35th consecutive year ADP has boosted its payout and that's why we always it pays to study a company's dividend history. The new dividend is payable January 1 to shareholders of record on December 11.