Cash-rich companies are set to pour $2.5 trillion into buybacks, dividends and M&A this year

Companies are expected to push $2.5 trillion of "flow" into the economy this year in the form of share buybacks, dividends and M&A, according to UBS. The moves should help boost a stock market that has been stuck in neutral for much of the year. Buybacks have skewed toward tech stocks, which have easily outperformed the rest of the market. May set a record for share repurchases, and the month was the best for stocks since January and the best May since 2009.