Dividends on the chopping block
NEW YORK – The dividend gravy train is slowing down, threatening an important source of income for investors at a time when stocks are flat About 500 companies cut or halted their dividends last year, the highest tally since the economy was crawling out of the Great Recession in 2009. Other companies got more reluctant to raise their payouts to shareholders, according to numbers released Tuesday by S&P Dow Jones Indices.