WSJ reported today that the uncertainty is driving some corporations to delay investments. “We’ve pulled back on our capital planning for 2013,” Ellen Kullman, chairman and CEO of chemical maker DuPont , said in comments to the conference in New York on Tuesday. “We can’t in good conscience put that money into the ground and create new plant sites or make improvements to our existing plants if we don’t think the return is going to be there soon enough, so we’re taking a wait and see attitude,” she added. CNN Money is reporting that other companies are speeding up their payout of dividends, as some speculate dividend receipts will be taxed in 2013. “Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) became one of the largest companies to take action recently. The world’s top retailer said last week that it planned to pay its fourth-quarter dividend in late 2012, rather than early 2013.”
