The market continued going higher, despite all concerns about valuations, unemployment and the recession. Most analysts are divided on whether the 6 month advance is over or not. Dividend investors on the other hand are not so concerned about the overall state of the market, as long as dividends are being paid. The main problem with a rising market however is that it leaves fewer attractively valued stocks to enter or reinvest dividends. If you find the right dividend growth stocks however, which tend to raise distributions every year or so, one does not need to rely on dividend reinvestment for growth in their passive income.

Several such prominent dividend players announced that their boards of directors have approved distribution raises for stockholders.

It is good once again to see companies raising their dividends after last week's pause and Kraft’s (KFT) announcement it was freezing its dividend at $0.29/share for the 5th straight quarter. Dividend increases are the fuel that keeps our dividend income machines running. Without dividend increases, many dividend stocks would not fare well when compared to other income-based investments.

Guess Mack-Cali (CLI) figures better late than never, especially when you have the REIT dilution powerhouse behind you. CLI yesterday announced it will issue a total of 7,475,000 shares with Merrill (BAC) as lead underwriter. Use of proceeds: "To repay borrowings under its unsecured revolving credit facility" which has as syndication agent...pause... Bank Of America.

Unfortunately the $180 million of max proceeds will not really help BofA with their total bank exposure... Curiously CLI is not even covered by the dynamic ML REIT duo of SS (Schmidt-Sakwa). Which does not mean the two have not been busy - here are their latest actions over just the past 3 days - finding the mildly optimistic report is harder than Where's Waldo:

Q1 2009 Earnings Call

April 29, 2009 11:00 am ET

We are on a unstoppable trajectory toward higher foreclosures and exploding delinquency levels that haven't been seen in decades. The change over the last few months has been startling. The east coast states hold many of the top positions with Rhode Island leading the list during the past few months.

We have seen the 90 day+ delinquency rate for properties go from a weighted average of 0.09% in May of 2007 and then to 0.25% in May 2008. Now we are seeing it approaching 1%. But the problem is really with the worst areas such as we see below.

Q4 2008 Earnings Call

February 12, 2009 11:00; am ET

In the end, not only will we taxpayers be footing the bill for all of this, but we'll also be paying the salaries of everyone hired to implement these programs. How we do this is up to Congress but I'd be willing to bet that some fairly hefty tax hikes will be involved, even for middle-income folks. (Here in California, Gov. Schwartzenegger is proposing a sales tax increase that in Los Angeles County could come to 10.25%!)

Q3 2008 Earnings Call

October 30, 2008 11:00 am ET

Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript

July 30, 2008 11:00 am ET

Q1 2008 Earnings Call

May 7, 2008 11:00 am ET

Many income investors have looked to REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) as a source of dividends. REITs are pass-through entities and to qualify for this status, they must pay dividends equal to 90% or more of their taxable income. Because many REITs are now trading far below their 2007 highs, their yields appear very attractive. For example, National Retail Properties (NNN) currently pays a 6.6% dividend, while Realty Income Corporation (O) is paying 6.1% (the author is long O).

Since many of these companies were started after The Tax Reform Act of 1986, you won’t find them on S&P’s list of Dividend Aristocrats, which requires 25 consecutive years of increasing dividends. But there are some great dividend-paying REITs out there. Before you dive in, though, you might want to check whether or not the company has a policy of growing its dividend. If your dividends don’t grow at or above the rate of inflation, and you plan to hold the shares indefinitely (as an income investor) you may be losing ground financially.

Excerpt from Raymond James strategist Jeffrey Saut's latest essay:

Our recent “warming” to pharma shares is driven by the fact that they are cheap relative to the equity markets, cheap relative unto themselves, and cheap on their respective dividend yields. Moreover, even though we continue to think the U.S. economy will avoid a recession, it is worth considering that in the past four recessions consumer staples, healthcare, and materials have shown the best returns six months prior to the start of the recession, while financials, IT, and telecom have fared the worst.

Q4 2007 Earnings Call

February 14, 2008 11:00 an ET

Quote of the Day- "From the House's Mouth"