The week at a glance: 29 July – dividend disasters
There have been some big dividend cuts in the UK this week as companies battle to report decent profit figures. Here we run through some of the headlines of the week in the markets.
Share Centre research has found that UK corporate revenue and earnings have suffered their worst quarter for three years. That’s hardly surprising given the carnage of this week, where announcements were rife with missed expectations, profit warnings and the dreaded dividend cut. Starting with Centrica (LON: CNA), whose dividend decline was so far overdue that on the day before the results announcement, shares were yielding 13%. The company said the first half of the year had been exceptionally challenging which is an understatement. Centrica’s problems are not new and certainly not confined to the last six months. The company has been plagued…