Not all companies are conserving cash in this difficulat credit environment; there were several dividend increases which reiterate my opinion that the dividend cuts might not spread to the non-financial sector.

Dividend investing in the classic implementation focuses on identifying solid companies with a record of growing their dividends each year; and an expectation that it will continue into the future. The focus is not solely on yield but a combination of yield and dividend growth. Often it is the lower yield, higher growth, security that will provide the best return over time.

Ever since the broad market indexes entered into bear market territory, I have been checking the dividend champions list for bargains. I came up with a list, using the follwoing screen criteria: