Contrarian: My radical plan for tax treatment of growth and value stocks

Don't blame the dividend

Andrew Haldane, the Bank of England's chief economist, does not seem to shy away from strong views. Be it the deep structure of economies and the role of joint stock limited companies, or the misalignment of banker incentives, Haldane is always worth listening to.

His latest intervention – via a recent interview for the BBC's Newsnight – on the dominance of dividends within the world of investment has unleashed a torrent of commentary and is a useful jumping off point for a wider debate.  Haldane observes that many listed businesses are "eating themselves" by paying out bumper dividends rather than reinvesting for long-term growth. Financials boost Q2 dividend payouts to record levels In a sense, his comments are part of a wider debate around the short-term nature of UK corporates, with the BoE's economist echoing many critics when he ask...