51.   Lower interest rates boost company earnings and the size of dividends paid shareholders.

52.   Lower interest rates can boost company earnings and the size of dividends paid shareholders.

53.   Lower interest rates tend to boost company earnings and the size of dividends paid shareholders, making equities more attractive than money market securities to many investors.

54.   Norfolk also charges that Conrail may not, as it proposes, alter its corporate charter so its shareholders may be paid in stock rather than cash.

55.   Performance often suffers because managers must hold cash to pay exiting shareholders, especially during the first six months after the conversion, when redemptions are usually high.

56.   Rising interest rates can hurt company earnings and the size of dividends paid shareholders, making them less attractive than bonds and other fixed-income investments.

57.   Rising borrowing costs can hurt company earnings and the size of dividends paid shareholders, making fixed-income securities more attractive than equities to many investors.

58.   Rising borrowing costs also hurt company earnings and the size of dividends paid shareholders.

59.   Rising borrowing costs hurt company earnings and the size of dividends paid shareholders.

60.   That can trim company earnings and the size of dividends paid shareholders.