The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

3M raises dividend for the 53rd (!) consecutive year:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/3M-Increases-Dividend-for-the-bw-882501262.html?x=0&.v=1

At the current share price, the new dividend yields 2.7%.

For good measure, 3M also authorized a $7B buyback program, but this strikes me as more of a psychological boost than a real one insofar as there is no target date for actually buying the shares.