* 15 Hot Dividend Increases

Dividends from a quality, well-diversified portfolio are much more predictable than capital gains and best of all, they are passive. You don't have to do anything, they just show up in your brokerage account each quarter. Inflation? Not to worry, the good companies routinely raise their dividends well in excess of the inflation rate.

* 8 Dividend Stocks With The Right Stuff

What makes a good dividend stock? Every dividend growth investor is looking for a stock that will increase its dividend each and every year at a rate that makes the stock a better investment than fixed income alternatives. I have found that stocks that are able to do this share some common characteristics.

* International Diversification Begins At Home

With the recent decline in the U.S. dollar, investors are thinking more about international diversification. This can be accomplished by many different means such as buying a foreign stock, buying an ADR of a foreign company or investing in an international fund. However, one method that is often overlooked is buying a large U.S. multi-national company.

* Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) Dividend Stock Analysis

This article originally appeared on The DIV-Net October 12, 2009.

Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

Company Description: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the largest retailer in North America. The company operates retail stores in various formats worldwide. It operates through three segments: Wal-Mart Stores, Sam's Club, and International.

* Weekly Links: October 18, 2009

Each Sunday I highlight the Carnivals I participated in over the past week, along with any notable articles that I came across. For those readers not familiar with carnivals, it's where personal finance bloggers submit their best articles of the week with one blog serving as the host. The entries are separated into various categories such as Investing, Credit, Debt, Budgeting, Frugality, Wealth Building, Money Management, Financial Planning, Insurance, Taxes, The Economy, Real Estate, et. al.

* Pocket Change Portfolio - September 2009

Each month I update the Pocket Change Portfolio (PCP). The table below reconciles the PCP from beginning of period to end of period for September 2009, Year-To-Date (2009) and Life-To-Date. The Portfolio Returns line provides the calculated return for the three displayed periods.