Vodafone

Dividends from UK firms last year grew at the slowest rate since 2010 as the strong pound continued to weight on payouts.

Nick Kirrage has begun adding supermarkets to the £1.5bn Schroder Income fund he co-manages with Kevin Murphy, expecting a significant boost to dividends in the long term.

Vodafone's share price shot up 5.7% this morning after the telecommunications giant increased its earning forecast and announced ambitious product development plans.

Valuations of interest rate sensitive cyclicals have started falling, so are rate rises already discounted in share prices? L&GI's Richard Penny explores.

Large-cap funds in the UK Equity Income sector have increased the concentration of their top ten holdings even as the UK's largest stocks begin to struggle, data compiled for Investment Week has revealed.

The rise in special dividends from groups including Vodafone has led to a record quarter for dividend payments, although dividend growth slowed excluding the telecom giant's bumper payout.

UK equity income stalwarts Clive Beagles and Francis Brooke are bucking the trend and keeping hold of their Verizon shares following the completion of the Vodafone/Verizon transaction.

The FTSE 100 reached a 14-year high yesterday while the S&P 500 hit a new record level, lifted by M&A activity.

Three of the top ten dividend payers globally in 2013 were British companies, while financials accounted for the greatest proportion of payouts, according to a new study by Henderson Global Investors.

Vodafone's sale of its 45% holding in US peer Verizon Wireless could see an extra £10bn invested in UK equities in the coming weeks, according to reports.