Dividends are on the rise when investors have fewer reasons to buy the stocks that pay them out. More than a fifth of the companies in the S&P 500 have boosted their dividends to shareholders so far this year, while none have slashed their payouts, a first since 2011, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The increases are getting bigger too, with companies on average raising their payouts by 14%, the biggest jump since 2014.

Source: Wall Street Journal February 27, 2018 10:30 UTC