Thanks a lot for the link.... that is a pretty dismal picture being painted!!
"...since 1955, the average has been 15 increases for every decrease. Now its three increases for every four decreases.”
Following are some statistics on the first quarter dividend activity:
A record 367 of the approximately 7,000 publicly owned companies that report dividend information to Standard & Poor’s Dividend Record decreased their dividend payment. This represents a 332% increase from the 83 issues that decreased their dividend during the first quarter of 2008.
A record low 283 issues announced they will increase their dividend payment – a 52.7% drop from the 598 issues that reported dividend increases during the first quarter of 2008.
Source:
S&P: Q1 Worst Quarter for Dividends Since 1955;
Companies Reduce Shareholder Payments by $77 Billion
Standard & Poor's
By: Howard Silverblatt & David R. Guarino
April 7, 2009