The soaring stock market isn’t the only good news for investors. Dividends are set to jump by a double-digit percentage from 2013′s already record level. The bottom line is that investors can expect a nice raise, to the tune of 22.9% over the dividend payout increase in the same period a year ago, says Howard Silverblatt of S&P Dow Jones Indices. Net increases to dividends (dividend hikes minus dividend cuts) are $17.8 billion for U.S. stock, versus a $14.5 billion increase in the first quarter of 2013, Silverblatt says. Flush with record profit and record piles of cash, companies are boosting dividends faster than even during the boom of the late 1970s. Nearly 1,078 dividend increases have been reported during the first quarter of 2014, the biggest quarter ever for increases. The number of dividend increases even tops the number of boosts in the first quarter of 1979, 1069, which has stood as a long-standing record. Source: Howard Silverblatt, S&P Dow Jones Indices, USA TODAY research via Microsoft Excel All this means that for investors looking for income, or at least some extra money, dividends are a tough game to beat. The weighted-average dividend yield of the Standard & Poor’s 500 is now 2.48%, up from 2.44% at the end of the first quarter of 2013. That makes dividends one of the best sources of income going amid the perpetual low-interest rate world we live in. Dividend payments are expected to rise 15% in the first quarter of 2014 from the first quarter of 2013. If there’s a risk to dividends, it’s the rise of initial public offerings of companies that don’t pay dividends. The percentage of companies paying dividends fell a bit to 47% in the first quarter from 47.7% in the fourth quarter. But still, it’s an undeniable…

Bloomberg Photo Service 'Best of the Week': U.S. Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 1040 Individual Income Tax forms for the 2013 tax year are arranged for a photograph in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014. For a plan unlikely to become law anytime soon, Representative Dave Camp's proposal to revamp the tax code is causing a lot of agitation among U.S. companies. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg ORG XMIT: 476064993(Photo: Daniel Acker Bloomberg)Getting your paperwork together before Tax Day? Well, before you break out the calculator and dig through shoe boxes of receipts, keep in mind these are futile exercises for many Americans."Most people who file, roughly two-third take the standard deduction instead of itemizing," said Chris Woehrle, assistant professor of taxation at The American College of Financial Services.The standard deduction is a fixed amount that the Internal Revenue Service will knock off your taxes with no questions asked.For tax year 2013, the standard deduction is $6,100 if you're single or filing separately from your spouse. The standard deduction for those married and filing jointly is $12,200.If you have deductions (supported with proper documentation, of course) that top these amounts, then it makes sense to itemize your return.But if not, you're simply wasting your time crunching numbers that won't get you a bigger refund."The general public, I believe, has the correct assumption that the tax code is complicated," said Woehrle, citing estimates that the U.S. tax code is some 70,000 pages long. "Most people assume there's something in there for me that's going to reduce my taxes. But it's not always true."Streamline the Tax ProcessIf you don't own property or a business, it's unlikely that you'll qualify for some of the juiciest deductions.Similarly, a relatively small percentage of Americans have investments outside of a qualified retirement plan…

Martha Mendoza, AP Business Writer 12:58 p.m. EDT March 30, 2014 The Apple iPhone 4s, left, is displayed next to the Samsung Galaxy S III at a store in San Francisco.(Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez AP)SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The fiercest rivalry in the world of smartphones is heading back to court this week in the heart of the Silicon Valley, with Apple and Samsung accusing each other, once again, of ripping off designs and features.The trial will mark the latest round in a long-running series of lawsuits between the two tech giants that underscore a much larger concern about what is allowed to be patented."There's a widespread suspicion that lots of the kinds of software patents at issue are written in ways that cover more ground than what Apple or any other tech firm actually invented," Notre Dame law professor Mark McKenna said. "Overly broad patents allow companies to block competition."The latest Apple-Samsung case will be tried less than two years after a federal jury found Samsung was infringing on Apple patents. Samsung was ordered to pay about $900 million but is appealing and has been allowed to continue selling products using the technology.Now, jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in another round of litigation, with Apple accusing Samsung of infringing on five patents on newer devices, including Galaxy smartphones and tablets. In a counterclaim, Samsung says Apple stole two of its ideas to use on iPhones and iPads."Apple revolutionized the market in personal computing devices," Apple attorneys wrote in court filings. "Samsung, in contrast, has systematically copied Apple's innovative technology and products, features and designs, and has deluged markets with infringing devices."Samsung countered that it has broken technological barriers with its own ultra-slim, lightweight phones."Samsung has been a pioneer in the mobile device business sector since the…