Payback time: Europe’s companies eye buybacks, divis

Cheap funding and more cash than ever means shareholders are finally hoping to win their perennial battle with bondholders over dividends and share buybacks. As equity investors get increasingly jumpy about M&A, shareholder-friendly cash policies look set for a return to corporate Europe. As Andrew Griffin reports, balance sheets are still conservative and there is still a long way to go before companies have emptied the cupboard trying to please shareholders.