The FTSE 100 tracks the 100 largest companies listed on the London stock-exchange and it hit a new all-time high at over 8,000 points on Thursday (bit.ly/3Ed5rp7).
FTSE 100 dividends are forecast to hit a record high this year, with shareholders expected to receive £85.8bn, up from £79.1bn in 2022.
Share buybacks, where companies acquire and cancel their own shares as a way of returning cash to investors, also rose during 2022.
In the meantime, the cost of energy for households around the world increased between 62.6 and 112.9%. As a result, it is estimated that an additional 78 – 141 million people worldwide could be pushed into extreme poverty (go.nature.com/414cY3F).