On April 7, we made the following statement:
"We have long believed that dividends are the linchpin tying individual investors and corporations together. With stocks careening all over the place, it would appear that traders and speculators are betting that companies will break this bond. We believe the bond will hold and provide an undergirding to the overall stock market."
Early on, over 20 S&P 500 companies announced dividend cuts, mostly in retail, energy, and travel and entertainment. In late March, estimates of dividend cuts by some observers for S&P 500 companies were as high