Union Pacific (UNP) Raises Qtr. Dividend by 15% to 38c/Share, Yielding 1.66%

Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) raises its quarterly dividend by 15% from 33c to 38c/share, payable on Jan. 3 to shareholders of record on Nov. 30. The ex-dividend date is Nov. 26.

The dividend yield moves from 1.44% to 1.66%.



Disclosure I am long UNP shares, up 15.25% on this holding.

New Weeks Hot action DCA on yet another week

Well hello I spend the better part of the week hunting looking and examining my current holdings to determine what is to be done this week for my sharebuilder tuesday investing day. I am still using the $12.00 per month 12 trade plan so my trading fees run approx. $144.00 a year, which includes 144 buy chances at $1.00 per trade try to beat that with a stick.

So first I am taking a initial plunge into TPZ Tortoise Power n Energy Infrastructure. Currently has approx 7 million shares outstanding. Was created on 07/29/2009, with average daily volume of 1.25 million a day. Inception price was $20.00 per share with a NAV of $19.50 per share, today the price is $23.62 witha  nav of $24.97. The thing the really knocked my socks off not the monthly dividend of 6.35% or 12.5 cents per month per share of stock owned, no not any of that it was the amazing fee of a mere .60 basis points oh my that is sweet. Go try and get a MLP (master limited partnership) for anywhere near that cost.

Top 10 Holdings (as of 10/31/10)
Percentage of
Holding(1) Investment Securities(2)
Kinder Morgan Management, LLC (equity) 8.6%
Enbridge Energy Management, L.L.C. (equity) 8.4%
Inergy, L.P. (equity) 3.8%
Midcontinent Express Pipeline LLC (fixed income) 3.3%
NRG Energy, Inc. (fixed income) 3.2%
PPL Capital Funding, Inc. (fixed income) 2.9%
TransCanada Pipelines Limited (fixed income) 2.9%
Source Gas LLC (fixed income) 2.8%
Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (equity) 2.7%
Dominion Resources Inc (equity) 2.7%

So I will buy a single share to get warmed up in this name and will buy more along da way as I seem fit. I truly enjoy recieving many dividends each month sure makes compounding real easy to see working.

Buy #2  CTL CenturyLink, Inc. adding $15 to my Current Holding. Up 24.12% on this holding.

CenturyLink, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated communications company. The company provides a range of communications services, including local and long distance voice, wholesale network access, high-speed Internet access, other data services, and video services in the continental United States. Its services include local exchange and long distance voice telephone services, as well as enhanced voice services, such as call forwarding, conference calling, caller identification, selective call ringing, and call waiting; network access services; data services, including high-speed Internet access services, and data transmission services over special circuits and private lines; and fiber transport, competitive local exchange carrier, security monitoring services, other communications, and professional and business information services.

The company also offers other related services, such as leasing, selling, installing, and maintaining customer premise telecommunications equipment and wiring; provides billing and collection services to third parties; participates in the publication of local telephone directories; and provides printing, database management, direct mail services, and cable television services. In addition, the company provides network database services, as well as switched digital video services and wireless broadband Internet services. As of December 31, 2009, it operated approximately 7.0 million telephone access lines. The company was formerly known as CenturyTel, Inc. and changed its name to CenturyLink, Inc. in May 2010. CenturyLink, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is based in Monroe, Louisiana.

Buy #3 IID Ing Intl High Div Equity Inc. adding $15 to my Current Holding. Up 10.46% on this holding.

The Fund seeks current income with long term capital appreciation by investment in dividend producing securities or derivatives and through utilizing an options strategy.

ing international High Dividend Equity Income Fund (the Fund) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund's primary investment objective is to seek current income and current gains, with a secondary objective of long-term capital appreciation. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing at least 80% of its managed assets in dividend-producing equity securities of foreign companies and/or derivatives linked to such securities or indices that include such securities, and by selling call options on selected international, regional or country equity indices or futures, and/or on foreign securities.

Securities of foreign companies includes securities issued by companies that are organized under the laws of, or with principal offices in, a country other than the United States, or whose principal securities trading markets are outside the United States. The Fund's investment advisor is ING Investments, LLC.

4th and final purchase for the 16th is the etf PFF, also adding $15.00 to this one too. Currently up 2.49% to date,  iShares S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index.

The investment seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P U.S. Preferred Stock index. The fund invest at least 90% of assets in securities that comprise the index. The index measures the performance of a select group of preferred stocks listed on the NYSE, AMEX, or NASDAQ. It includes companies with a market capitalization over $100 million. The fund is nondiversified. Expense ratio is a mere .48 basis points.

FORD CAP TRST II	3.58%
BARCLAYS BANK PLC	3.36%
BANK OF AMERICA CORP	2.38%
WELLS FARGO & CO	2.35%
MERRILL LYNCH & CO INC	2.22%
METLIFE INC	1.93%
WELLS FARGO CAP	1.92%
JPMORGAN CHASE CAPITAL XXVI	1.84%
BARCLAYS BANK PLC	1.79%
HSBC HOLDINGS PLC	1.75%
Total	23.11%

Big dividend this week was KMP other dividends this week were JNK,ABT,IGD,IID,PG and the O. Finished out da week up 0.92% not including dividends. Also purchased one cd for $15.76 a 6 month 1.00% cd. That is it for da week.

Junk Bunks The Yield is Dynamite is it time to Dip ya toes??

Junk bond exchange traded funds (ETFs) have been on a tear this year. If you’ve been thinking about getting some exposure to high-yield debt, read on.

We’re in the midst of a full-blown junk bond bull market. From the market’s low on March 9, 2009 until Oct. 8, 2010, junk bonds have returned a cumulative average of 68%, reports Jeffry Kosnett for Kiplinger. That beats all other fixed-income categories.

High-yield returns have also beaten out investment-grade bond returns in the last three months. The last time that happened was during a five-month winning streak ending in July 2009, says Sapna Maheshwari for Bloomberg.

Junk bond ETFs have served to be an appealing way to get exposure to this market. They give investors a safe place to put their capital while providing yields that are tough to come by these days.

That’s why I own SPDR Barclays Capital High-Yield Bond (NYSEArca: JNK) for my accounts.

While junk bonds are riskier than other bond types, a strategy such as trend following can help you manage the risk by providing you with a sell point. If you think the junk bond rally is overheated, think again: you can’t fight the trend and right now, it’s up.

* iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond (NYSEArca: HYG): yields 7.97%
* SPDR Barclays Capital High-Yield Bond (NYSEArca: JNK): yields 8.44%
* PowerShares Fundamental High Yield Corporate Bond (NYSEArca: PHB): yields 6.77%

 Disclosure I am Long HYG,JNK shares.

Intel Announces 15 Percent Increase to Quarterly Cash Dividend

Intel Corporation today announced that its board of directors has approved a 15 percent increase in the quarterly cash dividend to 18 cents per share (72 cents per share on an annual basis), beginning with the dividend that will be declared in the first quarter of 2011.

"Intel remains on track to have our best year ever and we continue to generate strong cash flows," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "Our ongoing operational performance and confidence in our business going forward provide the ability to return more cash to shareholders."

Intel began paying a cash dividend in 1992 and has paid out approximately $20 billion to its shareholders in dividends. Intel cash dividends for the first through third quarters of 2010 total approximately $2.6 billion.

Intel  (INTC 21.53) , the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.

Disclosure I am Long INTC shares.

5 Commodity ETFs That Are Beating Gold

We have all heard about how gold is hitting record highs, but other commodities, along with their exchange traded funds (ETFs), are posting higher gains so far this year.

Year-to-date, gold is up 21.91% while coffee is up 48.29%, silver is up 42.14% and corn is up 28.93%, according to Bespoke Invest. Oil slightly increased 4.08%, but natural gas plummeted 39.75%. Most commodities are trading at their upper ranges, with precious metals, coffee and copper nearing overbought territory, says Bespoke Invest.

* SPDR Gold Shares Fund (NYSEArca: GLD)
* iPath Dow Jones AIG Coffee TR Sub-Index ETN (NYSEArca: JO)
* iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca: SLV)
* Teucrium Corn (NYSEArca: CORN)
* United States Oil Fund (NYSEArca: USO)

Corn and soybean harvest yields are even lower than most projections, according to PorkMag. The stock-to-use ratio for corn is at 6.7%, the lowest since 1995. Darrell Mark, University of Nebraska Extension livestock economist, says the market is very sensitive to “scares,” and corn prices can top up to $8 if enough pessimistic news comes in.

“In the October WASDE report, USDA actually increased feed demand, maintained ethanol demand, and slightly lowered export demand compared to last month,” Mark notes. However, the higher price for corn has reduced corn demand for livestock feed.

* PowerShares DB Agriculture (DBA)

The rally in coffee prices has kept the commodity at a 13-year high, writes Larry Baer for Benzinga. Brazil, the largest producer of coffee, and Costa Rica both reported that output may be lower-than-expected. Additionally, Vietnam’s crop may be smaller and harvested late. If the dollar continues to drop, it may add a bullish pump to coffee, that sends shivers down my spine. Gotta Have That Coffee!!

Disclosure I am long GLD and SLV shares.

The Benefits of Owning Commodity ETFs

At one time, long before exchange traded funds (ETFs) came into the picture, commodities were for institutions and others with the time and monetary resources to play the futures markets. Today, you (yes, you) can have commodities in your portfolio, too.

These days, commodities have a home in any well-diversified portfolio, Mitch Tuchman for U.S. News & World Report says. They offer several benefits:

* Commodities can be an important hedge against inflation. Because commodities prices usually rise when inflation is accelerating, they offer protection from the effects. Few assets benefit from rising inflation – particularly unexpected inflation.

* Commodities have offered superior returns in the past, but they carry a higher risk than most other equity investments. However, by adding commodities to a portfolio of assets that are less volatile, you can actually decrease the overall portfolio risk, because commodities have a low correlation to other asset classes.

* Commodities that are permanently limited in supply can reduce volatility in aggressive portfolios. Gold and energy are two examples.

* The long-term outlook for commodities is generally viewed as strong. The world’s population is growing and emerging markets are seeing the rise of their middle classes, who want more food, consume more energy and nicer clothes. The combination of finite supply and rising demand has the potential to keep commodities on a growth path for some time.

If you want to play commodities with ETFs, there are two primary ways:

* Buy an ETF that holds the stock of producers and tracks an index. Examples of these types of ETFs could be Market Vectors Global Agribusiness (NYSEArca: MOO) or SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services (NYSEArca: XES). The benefit of these funds is that you get exposure to the producers of commodities without the day-to-day price swings that might affect other funds. However, they don’t track the spot price, which can be a drawback if that’s something you’re seeking.

* You can look at funds that give closer exposure to the commodity itself, either physically or via futures. Physically-backed funds for now are restricted to precious metals, such as ETFS Physical Platinum (NYSEArca: PPLT) or iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca: SLV). Futures-based ETFs include things like PowerShares DB Gold (NYSEArca: DGL) and United States Oil (NYSEArca: USO).

And, of course, there is always leverage, in the form of ETFs like ProShares UltraShort Gold (NYSEArca: GLL) and Direxion Daily Energy Bull 3x Shares (NYSEArca: ERX).

If you feel like you’ve missed the commodities run-up, it’s not too late. Most commodity ETFs are well above their long-term trend lines, and you can’t fight the trend. If you do decide to add commodities to your portfolio, just don’t get caught without an exit strategy.

Disclosure I am long SLV shares.

Knight Transportation Announces Quarterly and Special Cash Dividends

Knight Transportation, Inc.(KNX Quote) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared the company's quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share of common stock. This quarterly dividend is pursuant to a cash dividend policy approved by the Board of Directors. The actual declaration of future cash dividends, and the establishment of record and payment dates, is subject to final determination by the Board of Directors each quarter after its review of the company's financial performance.

The company's dividend is payable to shareholders of record on December 3, 2010 and is expected to be paid on December 23, 2010.

Knight also announced that its Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend of $0.75 per share of common stock. The company's special dividend is also payable to shareholders of record on December 3, 2010 and is expected to be paid on December 23, 2010.

The combination of the quarterly and special dividends will pay approximately $68.9 million on Knight's 85.0 million outstanding shares, including restricted stock units. After these dividends, Knight will have returned approximately $170.4 million to its stockholders through a combination of dividends and stock repurchases since January 2008.

Disclosure None

Siemens narrows loss and boosts dividends

The German industrial giant announced its net loss for final quarter of 2010, which was 65 per cent lower than the same period last year. As an industrial giant established since 1847, its performance is considered as economic barometer. 

The net loss of the fourth quarter is 396 million euros, 65 per cent lower than the 1.06 billion euros net loss last year. The basic loss per share is down from 1.31 euros to 0.54euro this year.
This year is also the first rise in dividends of the company since 2007, which will increase from 1.60 euros to 2.7 euros per share.

For the full year, net income of the company has climbed 63 per cent to 4 billion euros.
Energy sector was the sector with the fastest growth in new orders, which produces products and carries out research and development for power generators.

The company are generating more and more income from the emerging market, there is revenue growth from China and India, 25 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. 

”Siemens is no longer a restructuring story,”

”We are a normal company and a growth company. You should expect continuity from us.” Siemens AG Chief Executive Officer Peter Loescher said. The sales of fourth quarter increased 7.7 per cent to 21.23 billion euros. The high-speed trains, power turbines and factory automation equipment maker predicted a moderate revenue growth for the coming year.” 

The payout is a strong signal that Siemens will outgrow rivals and build up its presence in emerging markets, which generate a third of its business,” Loescher told Bloomberg.

Disclosure None

Sysco Corp. (SYY) Increases Quarterly Dividend 4% to $0.26

Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) declares a quarterly cash dividend to $0.26 per share, $1.04 annualized. The dividend is a 4% increase from the current rate of $0.25.

The new dividend is payable on January 28, 2011, to common shareholders of record at the close of business on January 7, 2011. The ex-dividend date is January 5, 2011.

Yield on the dividend is 3.6%.

Disclosure I am long SYY shares.

Baxter Int'l (BAX) Increases Quarterly Dividend 7% to $0.31; Yields 2.4%

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) today declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per Baxter common share, $1.24 annnualized. The dividend is a 7% increase over the current rate of $0.29.

The dividend is payable on January 5, 2011, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 10, 2010. The ex-dividend date is December 8, 2010.

Yield on the dividend is 2.4%.

Disclosure I am long BAX shares

3M (MMM) Declares $0.525 Quarterly Dividend; 2.5% Yield

3M (NYSE: MMM) today declared a dividend on the company's common stock of $0.525 per share, $2.10 annualized.

The dividend is payable December 12, 2010, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 19, 2010. The ex-dividend date is November 17, 2010.

Yield on the dividend is 2.5%.

Disclosure I am long MMM shares

BlackRock (BLK) Declares $1.00 Quarterly Dividend; 2.3% Yield

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.00 per share of common stock, $4.00 annualized.

The dividend is payable December 23, 2010 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 3, 2010. The ex-dividend date is December 1, 2010.

Yield on the dividend is 2.3%.

Disclosure None