Altria Group, Inc. (MO) announced recently that they are increasing their quarterly dividend by 8.6% from $.35 a share to $.38 a share or from $1.40 annually to $1.52 annually. Altria continues its practice of increasing their dividend payout every single year as it has done since 1970.
As the economic data deteriorates and more people buy in to the idea that we are actually in an economic depression versus a typical business cycle recession, I believe that the focus will increasingly turn towards dividends, income, and capital preservation versus …

If you follow Philip Morris Int’l (PM) like I do, you’ll notice that the stock is now back about $50 per share after being in the low $40′s fairly recently.  The stock has dipped down into the mid $40 range several times and has frequently bounced back up to $50 (and higher).  So is this just normal market activity or is something serving as the catalyst for these movements?
The catalyst is of course the Euro.  As the Euro has been in the news much this year with the European sovereign …

How absurd in today’s high-octane stock market where stocks like Apple (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN) and Research In Motion (RIMM) are all the rage.  Great article today about a top adviser with an excellent track record over the last 30 years.  Charles Allmon has had a model portfolio with about 80% parked in cash for the last 20 years.  During the 90′s dot-com boom, his strategy was considered insane, but the last decade has proven different.
What I find very interestingly from his strategy is that his 20% position in stocks is …

I received such a great response regarding my previous post on analyzing my Apple (AAPL) trades, that I decided to write a similar post. This post, however, is on a much differently behaving stock(s) when compared to Apple. Apple is a very volatile stock compared to the relatively calm stock movements of Altria (MO) and Philip Morris (PM).
If you aren’t sure why I’m referring to two stocks, Altria recently spun off Philip Morris International. Therefore, most of my trades were for Altria (MO). Owners of Altria …

Philip Morris International (PM) is finally free from its parent, Altria (MO). The spin-off is complete and the new PM is off and running. This is one of my three favorite stocks (if you can guess my other two based on previous posts, you win a prize). Let’s take a further look at the company and the stock.

While this website has been online for only a short period of time, it is time to make a couple statements regarding the purpose of 20s Money. We are not a website dedicated to just opinions on stocks (there are plenty of those out there, and most can do it better than us) and neither are we experts on remortgages. We are a website dedicated to helping people in their 20s become the investor they need to be to achieve their financial goals.
With that said, it is time …

While the government’s decision to hand out money to over 130 million American families this week can be debated from numerous angles, it doesn’t change the fact that most of you have money headed your way. The government is hoping that you will spend this money to “stimulate” the economy. As a 20s Money reader, you know that this is an opportunity to continue to position yourself for a better financial future.

When looking at specific companies to invest in, there are many factors to consider and research. These factors can be internal characteristics of the company such as management, product line, and growth strategy. There are also external or macroeconomic factors that can impact a stock performance.
While it is important to understand the macroeconomic picture related to the company you are invested in, it is important to note that well run companies can outperform even in an environment that seems to work against the company. Conversely, some companies …