S&P 500 dividends poised to cross $100 billion threshold

Dividends for the S&P 500 Index are poised to exceed $100 billion for the first time this quarter, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. He made the prediction in an e-mailed release of third-quarter payout figures on Wednesday. The threshold was almost crossed in last year’s fourth quarter, when dividends totaled $99.96 billion.