The following list of solid dividend payers are not likely to get anyone excited about future growth prospects like some small cap tech company with a hot IPO, but in these uncertain times being able to diversify into a reliable dividend paying stock might work while you ride out the economic storm.

Bank money market accounts, CD's and treasuries are not all that compelling right now. While it is wise to keep some cash handy in these places, you need not put all your resources there.

Earlier today my colleague Steven Halpern posted a story on the safest dividend payer in the DJIA and
Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) paying 6.1% was his conclusion. I recently posted about this stock pointing out the benefits of the communications companies, see: Chasing Value: AT&T and VZ, high yield plus safety

It is to be expected that a utility would show up on the list, given the strong recurring revenue and cash-flow and
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) paying 6.39% is that company. I have written many positive posts about Duke and my view has not changed.

Tobacco titan Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) is snapping up the South African operations of Swedish Match for a cool 1.75 billion rand, or roughly $224.7 million. The acquisition is part of PM's broader strategy to gain a foothold in the smokeless tobacco arena. Currently, Swedish Match South Africa is the market leader in the South African pipe tobacco and snuff categories.

"This financially attractive acquisition represents an excellent strategic fit for our business in South Africa," said Jean-Claude Kunz, PM's president of Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa. "We firmly believe that merging the two businesses will provide us with the talent, infrastructure, and expertise to further build and grow our portfolio of strong brands in this important market."

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer identifies the eight Dow components that will become too cheap not to buy.

When I arrived at my worst-case view that the Dow could reach 5320, my first reaction wasn't, "Look out below." It was more like, "Wait a second, how much I would like to buy these stocks at those levels?" Then I started thinking, "What do I do if it gets there and I am not in? Will it stay down there? Is it right to avoid a market that's cut by almost two-thirds in such a short period of time when some companies with really good earnings power might be selling at prices that we might never see again?"

But which ones?

Altria (NYSE: MO - option chain) stock is falling today after a Florida jury found that the death of a smoker was caused by his addiction to cigarettes. MO's subsidiary Philip Morris now is involved in the second phase of the trial , which is to decide who is at fault for his addiction. This is the first case in which an individual smoker's family sued a tobacco company for death by cigarette addiction. This is a tough precedent for MO and the cigarette industry, as it opens the industry up to potentially limitless civil suits from individual smokers.

While I believe that cigarette stocks are well-suited to our current environment, Phillip Morris International (NYSE: PM), a former subsidiary of MO, looks much more attractive to me, due in part to its lower exposure to the American legal system. PM is off by only 0.6% today compared to MO' s 3.5%. If you think Altria stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on MO.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Q4 profit rose on higher prices, and its forecast matched expectations.
• Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Q4 earnings grew on cost cutting but revenue remained flat.
• Black & Decker Corp. (NYSE: BDK) shares tanked after the dismal Q4 report, and it announced job cuts.
• Carpenter Technology Corp. (NYSE: CRS) Q2 numbers resulted in a downgrade from one analyst.
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) reported a Q4 loss due to writedowns from recent acquisitions.
• DuPont (NYSE: DD) swung to a bigger-than-expected Q4 loss and its revenue fell as well.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) swung to a Q4 loss on acquisition costs but reaffirmed its guidance.

If you thought that four days of rallying was too much, it looks like the traders did too. Financials took a breather after critics started panning the BAD BANK theory. We also had much weaker durable goods and wider jobless claims to pour fuel on the fire. Here are today's closing unofficial bell levels:
DJIA: 8,147.73 (-2.72%)
S&P500: 845.10 (-3.32%)
NASDAQ: 1,507.84 (-3.24%)
Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) suspended its share buyback plan after its net earnings fell sharply. Maybe investors will have to decide if a dividend north of 7% is finally enough. This stock was just above the flat-line at $16.83 right before the close.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) posted a loss of $5.9 billion, or $2.46 per share, in the fourth quarter, but it said that it still has no plans to seek federal aid unless economic conditions worsen. Ford burned through $5.5 billion in cash during the quarter. Excluding one-time items, Ford lost $1.37 per share, below estimates of a loss of $1.30 per share. Revenue fell to $29.2 billion, down from $45.5 billion for the fourth quarter of 2007. Ford's shares are gaining nearly 2.5% in premarket trading. Fifteen minutes after the open, Ford shares were 2.2% lower.

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) reported worse-than-expected quarterly results late Wednesday after the close, as its quarterly profit dropped 69%. It also also announced 6,700 more job cuts and plans to close 300 stores. As the company has been hurt by tighter consumer spending, it said it will not provide any sales or earnings guidance. SBUX shares are defclining over 4% in premarket trading. Fifteen minutes after the open, SBUX shares were flattish.

Altria (NYSE: MO - option chain) shares have slid lower today after the US Supreme Court ruled against the Phillip Morris USA in a "light" cigarette case. The ruling allows MO to be sued for deceptive advertising of light cigarettes, which in reality are no better than normal ones. If you think that the stock won't rise by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged trade on MO.

This morning, MO opened at $15.71. So far today the stock has hit a low of $14.96 and a high of $15.88. As of 12:40, MO is trading at $15.26, down 8 cents (-0.5%). The chart for MO looks bullish and S&P gives MO a positive 5 STARS (out of 5) strong buy ranking.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a March bear-call credit spread above the $18 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 11.1% return in three months as long as MO is below $18 at March expiration. Altria would have to rise by more than 17% before we would start to lose money.

MO hasn't been above $18 since early November and shown resistance around $16 recently.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in MO.

Analyst upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded Altria (NYSE: MO), citing the company's 25% cash return to shareholders by 2010 and its market leadership.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded Core Laboratories (NYSE: CLB) based on its solid balance sheet and liquidity, strong market positions, and technology-driven products.
  
• RBC Capital believes Schlumberger's (NYSE: SLB) earnings will decrease the least vs. its peers through 2010 and notes its breadth of products/services.
• Tellabs (NASDAQ: TLAB) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
  
• Bally Tech (NYSE: BYI) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Analyst downgrades:

• Goldman downgraded Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) citing consumer spending concerns and valuation.
  
• Merrill downgraded JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) citing expectations for credit costs to get worse in the US.
  
• Wachovia downgraded a handful of names, including Chesapeake (NYSE: CHK), in the Exploration & Production space as they believe natural gas prices have more downside in order to balance supply/demand fundamentals.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) may get help from the Bush administration. President Bush said in an interview today that "an abrupt bankruptcy for the autos could be devastating for the economy." He signaled he may use TARP funds for that, but didn't provide a timeline or other details. GM shares are up 4.8% in premarket, Ford's shares are up 2%. Shares of both opened about 3% higher.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) probably will report fourth-quarter losses this week on shrinking asset values and a decline in fees for businesses. But even the deep cost cutting measures the investment firms -- now turned banks -- may not help help shareholders enough as the companies face another year of slumping revenue. The demand for their services is and will continue to be limited in what is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. GS shares are down 2% in premarket trade.

Banco Santander (NYSE: STD), Nomura (NYSE: NMR) and Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) are among the victims ex-Nasdaq Chairman Bernard Madoff' $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Santander said its customers had an exposure of around $3.1 billion, while Japan's Nomura has an exposure of around $302 million. STD shares are down 1.5% and RBS shares up 1.7% in premarket trade.

[Update 10:00 am:
Huntsman Corp. (NYSE: HUN) shares were down about 35% a little after the open after it has ended its $6.5 billion agreement to be taken over by Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc. and agreed to a $1 billion legal settlement.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares were down about 4% a little after the open on a downgrade. Goldman Sachs downgraded the iPhone and Mac maker to Neutral from Buy due to deteriorating consumer spending.
JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) shares slumped nearly 6% after a Merrill Lynch analyst downgraded JPM to Underperform from Neutral.
Honeywell (NYSE: HON) shares gained nearly 7.5% after the manufacturer affirmed a lower 2009 outlook and said it expects profits to fall 6% to 16% as the deepening global recession hits markets it serves.]

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says it's too crazy for a lot of people, and they're cashing out of this casino.

Last night, during a talk at the 92nd Street Y in New York, I fielded questions from an overwhelming group of eager and confused investors, almost all of whom are bewildered, unhappy and fed up. They don't trust stocks and they think that the day-to-day nonsense that passes as a stock market is pure manipulation, that all of the wrong people are getting money from the government and that they wish somehow they could just get back to even so they can get out of this game.

I think they are right.

To me, when I see Occidental (NYSE: OXY) (Cramer's Take) up 5 on a nothing day, when I see Chevron (NYSE: CVX) (Cramer's Take) and Exxon (NYSE: XOM) (Cramer's Take) once again up huge amounts, when I see the market double in the last 40 minutes off obvious manipulation by products that serve only to manipulate, I totally agree with them. When I see the raids on the financials, or the insurers, when I see the shorts pressing JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) (Cramer's Take) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) (Cramer's Take) down through aggressive shorting without upticks and ETFs, what am I supposed to think? When I see the consumer product stocks get slaughtered on news that isn't new -- Procter (NYSE: PG) (Cramer's Take) says business is tough? Well, hello, they have been saying it all along -- or steel stocks rally big on orders that aren't even here, as in Nucor (NYSE: NUE) (Cramer's Take), I say, "Forget it, the mechanism's not working."

Seems that even this shortened week was full of news and happenings, in the U.S. and around the world. With Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) being bailed out by the U.S. government at the beginning of the week and China announcing fiscal and monetary stimulus plans, the Dow industrials finished in positive territory four days in a row.

But as analysts and pundits, as well as each and every economic release -- in the U.S. and around the world -- remind us, we are not out of the woods yet and the rally has really been a bear-market rally.

Investors looking to take advantage of such rallies, or at least feel they hold stable long-term holdings, can search this week's BloggingStocks' contributors' picks:

Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL) and Devry Inc. (NYSE: DV) -- It's often been suggested that educators do well in times of recession and high unemployment as workers look to improve or change their education to get a better job. Leo Fasciocco thinks these two are poised for a breakout.

Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) reported stronger-than-expected earnings this week and also hiked its forecast. Not surprisingly, cash-strapped consumers turn more and more to discounters. Dollar Tree may continue to benefit from the economic downturn and the stock could also experience a short-squeeze rally.

"If you're going to stay invested, you should look to defensive sectors," explain Ron Rowland and Brandon Clay, who point to consumer staples as a top pick for the current market environment.

In their Invest with an Edge, the advisors explain, "Perhaps the best way to stay defensive is with the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLP), an exchange traded fund.

"In a bear market, opportunities are usually limited to certain sectors. Surveying the investment horizon, we think the consumer staples sector has the best opportunity for growth in this economy.

"Regardless how the economy acts, people still eat. Consumers may not shop at Whole Foods, but they'll still buy groceries. Companies like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Safeway (NYSE: SWY) will continue to rake in revenues from hungry customers.

"In addition, these companies should continue to receive additional revenue from consumers who normally shop at specialty stores, but can no longer afford to.

"Consumers may not be shopping at Sharper Image any more, but there are other creature comforts that will be difficult for Americans to abandon.

"Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) will still sell products during a prolonged downturn. In addition, companies providing toiletries and convenience like Procter and Gamble and CVS Pharmacy stand to do well during a shifty economy.

U.S. stock futures once again were lower this morning, albeit more moderately, pointing to another lower start and possibly another down day following Wednesday's declines. Investors concern over the economy remained unabated, especially in light of recent and future corporate profits. This morning, weekly initial jobless claims will be released an hour ahead of the opening bell, and the numbers are expected to show yet another increase. Meanwhile, investors will continue to eye oil prices, which rebounded from a 16-month low to above $67, and foreclosures, which grew by 71% in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2007.

Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) drastically lowered profit and sales forecasts for the fiscal year Thursday, blaming weaker electronics sales and the stronger yen.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) is joining many other companies recently announcing layoffs as it also plans to cut about 3,260 jobs, representing about 10% of its total staff.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported a 48% climb in profit in the third quarter on strong sales of electronics, beating analyst estimates. But the company reduced its full-year profit outlook. AMZN shares traded down 14% in after-hours action.

Wall Street's optimism in last week's preview about the earnings of tech stocks wasn't misplaced, as there were many more positive surprises than negative ones among the stocks we looked at. This week will bring plenty more data for investors in and watchers of the sector to mull over. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), for example, are expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial to post modest earnings gains from a year ago, to $1.11 per share (on $8.1 billion in sales), $0.72 per share (on $31.3 billion in sales), and $0.47 per share (on $14.8 billion in sales) respectively. All three of these companies ended the week closer to their 52-week lows than highs, and analysts on average consider them each a buy.

Here's a look at some of the week's biggest expected earnings gainers and decliners in the sector:

• Baidu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU): $1.25 per share (+44.0%) on revenues of $134.7 million (+103.2%)
• Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM): $0.44 per share (+38.6%) on revenues of $1.3 billion (+33.8%)
• QLogic Corp. (NASDAQ: QLGC): $0.31 per share (+29.0%) on revenues of $170.0 million (+21.2%)
• FLIR Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR): $0.32 per share (+28.1%) on revenues of $275.2 million (+44.0%)
• Juniper Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR): $0.30 per share (+26.7%) on revenues of $927.4 million (+26.2%)
• Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT): $0.75 per share (+17.3%) on revenues of $391.6 million (+11.1%)
• Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX): $0.29 per share (+17.2%) on revenues of $8.7 billion (+57.3%)
• EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC): $0.19 per share (+10.5%) on revenues of $3.7 billion (+12.9%)