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In 2008 and 2009, the dividend landscape was turned upside-down. During the fourth quarter of 2008 alone, 288 companies cut payouts. Not to be outdone, according to Standard & Poor's, another 804 dividend payments were cut by public companies in 2009 -- costing investors another $58 billion.

Stock Market Analysis Nasdaq 100 TQQQ vs SQQQ. Following a week of extreme volatility, trading calmed down Friday. The U.S. major averages ended the week with two positive sessions, the first back-to-back gains since the recent correction began. That helped minimize the weekly decline following Monday's plunge and Wednesday's extension lower. The S&P 500 lost 1.7% on the week, with nine of the 10 sectors declining. Financials (-5.0%) saw by far the largest decline after Bank of America (BAC) led U.S. banks lower on worries regarding its Countrywide segment and potential capital issues and European financials sold off aggressively on concerns regarding the banking systems in a number of countries, particularly France. Materials eked out a gain of 0.2%. The market's focus to begin the week was domestic after Standard & Poor's became the first agency to downgrade the sovereign credit rating of the United States. The downgrade over the weekend from AAA to AA+ on political risks and the country's rising debt burden caused U.S. equity markets to nosedive Monday. The S&P 500 lost 6.7%. The FOMC responded on Tuesday when it attached a time frame to its federal funds target for the first time, calling for exceptionally low levels at least through mid-2013. Treasury yields did not spike following the S&P downgrade, and then surged to record lows on Tuesday (10-year 2.03%) after the FOMC made monetary policy more accommodative for a longer-than-expected period.