Stop the presses: A bank raises its dividend    Johnallisonbbt
So what's the ONE BIG THING any bank could do in these tough
times that would yell "We're strong" amid the weak? How about
raising your dividend? That's precisely what North Carolina's
BB&T Corp. did Tuesday. BB&T's board of directors declared the
2009 first quarter dividend of 47 cents per share, a 2.2-percent
increase over the 46 cents paid in the first quarter of 2008.
The dividend will be paid Feb. 2 to shareholders of record as of
Jan. 9.  A one penny increase may not sound like much. But it's
plenty when so many are slashing dividends. Maybe it's a going
away present to BB&T chief John Allison, the Greek-
philosophizing CEO (in photo, courtesy of AP) who's retiring at
the end of this month after many years. BB&T marched into the
Tampa Bay market years ago by purchasing the old Republic Bank
and has continued to expand.  In a recent interview with the
Charlotte Observer, Allison offered some punchy responses to the
current economic woes in the