Global dividends swelled 5% to new record levels last year and are expected to continue growing in 2024. Last year's total reached $1.66 trillion thanks to strong bank payouts on the back of higher interest rates in the US, UK and China, while reforms in Japan also fed through to provide a boost. US tech giants Microsoft and Apple provided the largest payouts. The quarterly Janus Henderson dividend report showed 86% of the world’s 1,200 biggest public companies increased their dividends or kept them steady ...