Discussion Question

This discussion question has two parts. Respond to both parts to receive full credit for this assignment. Part 1: Why do firms choose to make large increases in their dividends or start a stock repurchase program? Why would they choose one of these payout methods over another? Part 2: Why do firms choose to cut or eliminate their dividends? What usually happens to the stock price of a company that does this? Include some news or advice from an article that is less than a year old that is applicable to this discussion.