U.S. companies are expected to slash dividends at a rate not seen since the global financial crisis.
A total of 21 companies in the S&P 500 Index, including Starbucks Corp., Simon Property Group Inc., and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., are projected to trim their payouts in the second quarter, according to forecasts from Bloomberg specialists. That would be the most since early 2009, the tail end of the global financial crisis.
