| The drop in commodities prices is putting pressure on global miners exchange traded funds, and the sector could be in for more trouble ahead as tightening balance sheets force some companies to rethink their dividend policies. PricewaterhouseCoopers warned that miners are “walking a fine line” in their dividend policies as revenue streams dry up in light of falling commodities prices, reports James Wilson for the Financial Times.
The largest miners, especially BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) and Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO), aim for stable or rising dividends to attract investors. However, the top 40 miners’ dividend coverage, or earnings per share divided by dividends per share, was just 1.1 times, which was worst than in 2013 when miners had to borrow to pay investors, according to PwC...............................................Full Article: Source
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