Unilever(UL) aims to double its revenue within a decade, and Colgate-Palmolive(CL) might help it get there. Under current CEO, Paul Polman, the consumer giant has been on an acquisition spree with the recent acquisitions of Sara Lee's European shower gel and detergents business and of Alberto Culver, which added premium hair care brands TRESemme and Nexxus to its portfolio of leading hair care brands Dove and Sunsilk. Unilever is the second largest consumer goods company in the world after Procter & Gamble(PG) and sells everything from soap and deodorant to salad dressing and ice cream, pitting it against other consumer companies like Kimberly Clark(KMB) and Colgate-Palmolive.

The shares of Colgate-Palmolive (CL) first discussed here on April 13, 2009 at a price of $58.49, appear to have put in a bottom at/near $73, as outlined in November.

Even so, investors should keep in mind that the journey to $90 and beyond probably will not be completed in 2011, so discretion should be the watchword with CL this year.

Consumer products giant Colgate-Palmolive will likely post a 5-7% revenue increase in 2011, followed by a 4-6% increase in 2012, with all segments reporting higher revenue. Lean, experienced Colgate weathered the recession in good shape. Colgate, an assertive-defensive, stayed one step ahead of the downturn -- closing about one-third of its factories, trimming excess marketing spending, and focusing on products in stronger-growth markets.

If in July, you took some profits off the table at $86 with Colgate-Palmolive (CL) first discussed here on April 13, 2009 at a price of $58.49, that proved to be prudent CL retreated about 15% since hitting $86.

That said, Colgate now appears to have put in a bottom at/near $73 -- at decent time to scoop-up some shares if you missed the aforementioned entry price.

Consumer products giant Colgate-Palmolive will likely post a 6-9% revenue increase in 2010, followed by a 5-7% increase in 2011, with all segments reporting higher revenue. Lean, experienced Colgate weathered the recession in good shape. Colgate, an assertive-defensive, stayed one step ahead of the downturn -- closing about one-third of its factories, trimming excess marketing spending, and focusing on products in stronger-growth markets.

I'm going defensive this year. The stock market had a great run in 2009 with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index up more than 60%. It's hard to believe stocks can run too much higher. They can, of course, if earnings explode. But that seems like a drug-induced dream at this point, considering over 10% unemployment.

I also think interest rates will be higher next year, that the economy will improve somewhat, and that unemployment will go down but not by much. So I'm focusing on stock with these attributes:

The rest of the world is going to help U.S. consumer product manufacturers next year. Look for international growth to push the likes of Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Avon (AVP) and Clorox (CLX) higher in 2010, according to Fitch Ratings. In an interview with Reuters, a director gave the Fitch's outlook for consumer goods.

The household and personal care segments increased revenue every year from 2003 to 2008. So, 2009 was but a bump in the road. Even in a recession, you need toilet paper and shampoo, so expect the spending to come back.

"One way to build an inflation hedge into your investment cash flows is to focus on stocks that are likely to boost their dividends on a regular basis," explains dividend specialist Chuck Carlson.

In his The DRIP Investor, which focuses on blue chip companies offering dividend reinvestment programs, he notes, "Since dividends are paid with cold cash, they can't be faked. Either you pay the dividend or you don't. They can't be some figment of accounting magic." Here, he looks at three favorite blue chips with strong dividend records.

Over this past weekend, Colgate Palmolive (NYSE: CL) announced that its once-bustling Indiana toothpaste, shaving cream and cleansers factory would be closing its doors for good a few days before Christmas.

While the factory's closing is not news to the remaining 115-200 employees still working there, according to Juanita Sneed, president of Local 15C of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, many of the remaining employees are still "struggling with the finality" of the eventual closing. It will hit home particularly hard since the closing will fall so close to Christmas.

The company first announced plans of the closing back in October 2005 and now says that the final closing will take place in two to three weeks. The factory, at its peak in the 1960s, employed as many as 1,500 workers. Its recent hourly wage was around $22.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) and Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) all reported strong results today because the weak dollar has made their products attractive to consumers overseas.

Net income at Procter & Gamble rose 14% to $3.08 billion, or 92 cents a share, compared with $2.7 million, or 79 cents, a year earlier. Revenue surged 7.5% to $20.5 billion. Excluding a tax-benefit, profit was 90 cents. Analysts had expected profit of 89 cents on revenue of $20.23 billion. P&G expects profit for the current quarter of between 95 to 97 cents; Wall Street expectations are for 97 cents. The company raised its full year outlook by 2 cents to $3.46 to $3.49 to reflect a one-time tax benefit.

"The fiscal year is off to a good start," said A.G. Lafley, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, in the earnings release. "P&G continues to deliver broad-based top and bottom-line growth across its portfolio of businesses and geographies. This momentum, along with a robust initiative pipeline for the year, gives us confidence that P&G will deliver another strong year of growth."

Shares of P&G, which are up about 12% this year, fell in pre-market action.

In yet another case of product contamination, Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) has discovered counterfeit packages of its Colgate-brand toothpaste on the shelves of discount stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.

A statement noted that, "There are indications that this product does not contain fluoride and may contain [poisonous chemical] diethylene glycol." So . . . it won't clean your teeth, but it might make you sick or worse. Lose-lose.

Diethylene Glycol, used as a solvent and in antifreeze, has been "improperly used as a low-cost substitute for glycerin and propylene glycol in pharmaceutical preparations," according to a June 8 statement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Certain toothpastes imported from China in recent weeks have been found to contain the potentially deadly substitute ingredient; the FDA is advising consumers to discard any toothpaste labeled as made in China.

Fortunately, there is clue for any concerned residents of the targeted states. The impostor Colgate tubes are labeled "Manufactured in South Africa" -- but CL does not import toothpaste into the U.S. Proving that criminals aren't always masterminds, the fake tubes have also been found to contain misspellings, such as the "South African Dental Assoxiation" or "SOUTH AFRLCA."

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.