"The economics are good, it’s the psychology that’s bad," said Dr. Robert Goodman, Senior Economic Advisor at Putnam in Boston U.S in his recent wide-ranging presentation at the BT Financial Group Leaders Forum 2003 in which he concluded that "a bidding war is about to is about to break open among companies using dividends as a way to bribe back shareholders."

Following is an edited transcript of his presentation (the headings are ours)...

Year-to-year economic analysis the best crystal ball
If your clients want to see what’s really going on in any country, it’s year-to-year comparisons that give you those underlying economic ...