he's robert stovall, managing director and strategist at wood asset management. bob, always nice to see you. welcome back. >> thanks,, tom. sthanks for king me. >> tom: nice increases in s&p 500 dividends so far this year. the job growth we've seen does, does that change your affinity for dividends? >> no, the job growth is good, so far as it goes, but it's far from being great, and i think the share prices will rise as the economy heats up. but the economy is still on the chili side. the improvement in jobs is good but as i said before not great. >> tom: your strategy is to look for companies poised to increase dividends. what do you look for that ahead of the news? >> there are three or four things to look for. management has to believe in paying dividends to the shareholders, sharing some of the benefits of an improving company earnings stream with the shareholders. not all senior managements or major shareholders believe that. warren buffett doesn't believe in sharing much with anybody. so you look for a positive management attitude towards dividends. you loo

and robert stovall is our "market monitor. he's looking for companies pumping up pay-outs to shareholders, where he's finding the potential of higher dividends. robert is managing director and strategist at wood asset management. >> susie: the list corporate america waits for all year long is out-- the fortune 500-- and walmart is number one. it's the second year running that the world's largest retailer held the top spot, when judged by revenue. it's followed by three huge oil companies: exxon mobil, chevron, and conoco phillips, another example of how high energy prices are affecting things. and fannie mae leaps from 81st last year to number five this year, because of new accounting rules and a bailout from uncle sam. >> tom: federal prosecutors have trimmed down their case against financier allen stanford. eight charges have been dropped; 14 remain, including wire and mail fraud. the feds say stanford ran a ponzi scheme, funding a lavish style of yachts and private jets. stanford's lawyers say their client is innocent. he's