Comment briefly on each of the following statements: a. Unlike American firm

Comment briefly on each of the following statements:

a. Unlike American firms which are always being pressured by their shareholders to increase dividends Japanese companies pay out a much smaller
proportion of earnings and so enjoy a lower cost of capital.

b. Unlike new capital which needs a stream of new dividends to service it retained earnings have zero cost.

c. If a company repurchases stock instead of paying a dividend the number of shares falls and earnings per share rise. Thus stock repurchase must always
be preferred to paying dividends.