How will the US downgrade hit investors?

Dominic Rossi Global CIO, equities, Fidelity International   According to Capita Registrars recent work, UK dividends surged by 27% in Q2 2011. However this was exaggerated by a number of one off ‘special' dividends and the return of BP to the dividend list, having abandoned its dividend after last year's disastrous Macondo explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. When looked at on an underlying basis, dividends were up just over 10%, helped by rapid growth in the cyclical mining sector. Generally, across the market, there are strong corporate balance sheets at present, notwithstanding th...