LONDON -- The FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) is dead in the water at the moment, just 11 points up on 5,511 by midmorning, as the deepening euro debt crisis is taking the shine off some good results from U.K. companies.

In such times, sensible investors turn to shares paying high and rising dividends, and we look at three that have increased their payouts this week...

Renishaw
Who says engineering is dead? Renishaw (LSE: RSW.L) lifted its full-year dividend by 10% to 35 pence per share after releasing full-year results to June 30 on Wednesday. That's a yield of 2.8%, which is not one of the highest on the market, but it has been growing steadily in recent years.

The share price did nicely too, putting on 82 pence (6.5%) to 1,346 pence after the high-tech engineer reported a 5% boost to annual pre-tax profits, from a 15% rise in revenues. Forecasts for next year are looking good, with a dividend of around 40 pence expected.

British American Tobacco
One of Neil Woodford's favorites, British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS.L), also raised its dividend on Wednesday, but this time it was an interim payout -- up 11% to 42.2 pence per share. Revenue for the six months to June 30 was pretty flat, but adjusted operational profit rose by 3% to 2.8 billion pounds, with adjusted earnings per share up 7% to 102.4 pence.

Though the price fell, by 40 pence (1.2%) to 3,268 pence, the dividend is still very well covered, and if we see a final dividend raised by the same 11%, we'll be looking at 140 pence, for a yield of 4.3%.

Pace
Pay TV technology specialist Pace (LSE: PIC.L) released interim figures on Tuesday, which saw its half-time dividend boosted by 15% to 1.44 cents per share. Though the first half suffered from the hard-disk shortage caused by Thailand's floods, and pre-tax profit fell to $21.4 million from $29.4 million, Pace lifted its guidance for the full year.

A similar rise in the full-year payout would give shareholders a yield of 2% on the current 133 pence share price.

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