Weekly Links: October 7, 2012

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. Below are the carnivals that I participated in this week, along with a link to my article:

Dividend Income Progress Update - September 2012

Once again it is time for a goals/progress update. I am pleased to report that annualized dividend income increased in August, extending the streak to 27 consecutive months of increases after June 2010's decline. Since I began publicly tracking annualized dividend income in November 2007, it has increased in 56 of the last 58 months.

My goals were defined in this December 1, 2007 Investing Goals post and last updated in my 2012 Investing Goals post. Below is an updated version of the table found in the original post.

8.8 Billion Reasons Why Dividend Increases Are Dynamite

Earlier this week, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced today that dividend net increases (increases less decreases) were $8.8 billion in the third quarter of 2012. This is believed to be a new record for quarterly dividend payouts in aggregate dollars. It was also reported that 439 stocks increased dividends during the third quarter of 2012, a 25.4% gain over 2011. Only 53 companies out of approximately 10,000 decreased their dividend in the third quarter of 2012. Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices said:

Harris Corporation (HRS) Dividend Stock Analysis

Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Harris Corporation (HRS). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

Company Description: Harris Corporation focuses on communications equipment for voice, data and video applications for commercial and governmental customers.

10 Dividend Stocks That Gave Me A 20%+ Annualized Return

Andy Warhol in 1968 said that "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." In our society, many things follow the 15 minutes of fame paradigm, though duration of time is sometimes more or less. For example, at a fireworks display each rocket that is shot is viewed by the audience, albeit just for a few seconds. Olympic athletes will train in obscurity for years for a chance to have a gold medal hung around their neck as the worl watches. When it comes to selecting dividend growth stocks, the ones you want are those that will perform well over the long haul.

Waste Management, Inc. (WM) Dividend Stock Analysis

Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Waste Management, Inc. (WM). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

Company Description: Waste Management Inc. is a Houston-based company that is the largest U.S. trash hauling/disposal concern.