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Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva:

US share buybacks and dividend payments climbed to a record level in the first quarter of 2014, reported the FT in June, especially among members of the S&P 500 index. "I expect this trend of greater shareholder return to continue throughout 2014, as activists remain strong, interest rates low and companies awash in cash," Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices, told the paper then.

Buyback is the repurchase of outstanding shares by a company in order to reduce the number of shares on the market. Companies will buy back shares either to increase the value of shares still available (reducing supply), or to eliminate any threats by shareholders who may be looking for a controlling stake.

The S&P 500 is up almost 12% YTD (up 16% in the last 12 months); it experienced a dip (1,862) in mid-October. "We are now in a blackout period so companies have been precluded from conducting tactical buyback activity that has supported the equity market during sell-offs in the recent past," said Goldman Sachs in a mid-October note. The index has recovered since, reaching a high of 2,058 (11 Dec, 2014).

Accord......................

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