World Coronavirus Dispatch: Dividend payouts be may slashed by 17-23%

The coronavirus crisis will see the world’s biggest firms slash dividend payouts by 17-23 per cent this year or what could be as much as $400 billion, a new report has shown, although sectors such as tech are fighting the trend. 

Global dividend payments plunged $108 billion to $382 billion in the second quarter of the year, fund manager Janus Henderson has calculated, equating to a 22 per cent year-on-year drop which will be the worst since at least 2009. Worldwide, 27 per cent of firms cut their dividends, while worst affected Europe saw more than half do so and