#inc. c

[funman50]

Wall Street was higher in late morning trading on Thursday, boosted largely by gains in financial and materials stocks. A 3.9 percent rise in shares of American Express kept the Dow Jones Industrial Average on track to break a two-day losing streak, although losses in Travelers and Verizon limited the gains.

[geldhoch2]

Chad Morganlander of Stifel’s Washington Crossing Advisors advocates buying companies where dividends are increasing. “When the global economy—and particularly [that of the] United States—is growing slowly, people are looking for consistency and quality in individual companies,” said Morganlander, who manages a rising dividend-based portfolio. Companies with growing dividends generally have solid fundamentals, he claims.