dividends

Headline dividends more than halved in the first quarter of 2015, according to Capita, although it has revised up its annual forecast.

FTSE 350 companies will pay out £86.3bn in dividends this financial year, while oil majors should be able to maintain payouts despite tough trading conditions, according to Markit.

Some of the biggest banks in the US have been given the green light to pay their largest dividends since the financial crisis, following the Federal Reserve's 'stress test'.

Alliance Trust has cut its ongoing charges figure (OCF) by 20% as part of its focus on cost-cutting.

Three prominent London Business School academics have calculated the FTSE 100 has a 50% chance of hitting the 10,000 level by 2022, following its recent record-breaking performance.

Witan investment trust has become the tenth investment trust to grow its annual dividend for 40 consecutive years, according to the Association of Investment Companies.

'No investment case for oil majors'

Old Mutual Global Investors income manager Stephen Message is running one of the largest overweights to financials in his sector, in the expectation UK banks are set to return cash to shareholders.

Royal Dutch Shell is planning to slash its spending by $15bn over the next three years, following a collapse in the oil price.