As you are probably aware, the U.S. dollar has been stuck in a precipitous decline, sliding to record lows against the euro last week. While this freefall has made life tough for U.S. citizens traveling abroad, it has provided a brisk tailwind for domestic multi-national firms that take in a large chunk of their revenues overseas. Not only does a weak dollar sweeten currency translation, but also makes exported products less expensive for foreign consumers.

Carla Pasternak, editor of our premium High-Yield Investing newsletter, predicted this in January 2005 when she first recommended Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT, $82.25) — a Dow Jones Industrials component that derives almost 60% of its sales in foreign markets. But that's not the only thing that Carla found attractive about this heavy-equipment manufacturer.

As she pointed out at the time, increased demand for mining and farm equipment were likely to become key growth drivers — and that has indeed been the case, as metals and agriculture have been red-hot lately. And, of course, with a modest payout ratio of just 25% and a history of dividend hikes dating back to the Woodrow Wilson administration, there was ample opportunity for a rising income stream as well.

Since that time, Caterpillar has announced three +20% dividend increases, with the overall annual payout rising +76%, from $0.82 per share to the current $1.44. Meanwhile, thanks in part to soaring sales overseas, investors have pushed the shares from a split-adjusted price of $48.75 to Friday's close of $82.25 — a healthy gain of nearly +70%.

In this month's newsletter, Carla has singled out another blue-chip firm with a comfortable payout ratio and a reliable pattern of lifting its dividend distributions year after year. The company, one of the most venerable financial institutions in the United Kingdom (that trades conveniently on the NYSE), has a stable earnings outlook, a rock-bottom P/E ratio of 7.5, and a hefty yield above 8%.

To see Carla's complete lineup of today's most attractive income-producing securities, including the firm mentioned above, we invite you to take a test-drive of our High-Yield Investing newsletter. To learn more, please visit this link.