Of course banks won't "cut dividends to 0." In 1991 Westpac almost went bust yet still paid a reasonable dividend. I expect banks to cut divs by about 30% with biggest cuts in August 09. Still leaves a Ffr div of about 7-8%. But why risk losing 20% on SPfor 7% div? Wait and buy in when SP is near the bottom in 1-2 yrs time.
Several shares (based on current SP) will pay 8% divs and report rev'earnings growth of 10-20% next month. IMO the safest choices re high divs+growth are: UGL DOW TSE. These companies have multiple earning streams and are very experienced at winning govt infrastructure contracts which are due to be announced over next 3-12 months. All are down today and exc buying opportunity IMO. MAH pays lower divs but could explode if it wins govt infrastructure contracts in 2009. Has real knack and track record of winning govt work despite the competition.
