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HomeWhy Are Companies Hoarding Cash?
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 11th, 2010 8:20 AM |
In order for the economy to grow, for companies to hire, and for new employees to benefit, we need velocity in the money supply. The fact is, this velocity has slowed dramatically. Bloomberg highlights this stark reality on our economic landscape by writing, Jobless Suffer with Corporate Cash Climbing to $1.19 Trillion:
A majority of companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index increased cash to a combined $1.19 trillion while simultaneously reducing spending, keeping a jobs recovery on hold.
Caterpillar Inc., Eaton Corp., Walgreen Co. and General Electric Co. are among 260 companies that ended last quarter with $522 billion more than a year earlier after cutting capital spending by 42 percent. Economists say the dearth of investment is keeping the jobless rate at about 10 percent as the U.S. emerges from its worst recession since the 1930s. (more…)
Missed Opportunity
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 21st, 2009 7:52 PM |
Yesterday I asked, Is The Stimulus “Stimulating?” Today, Bloomberg reports how Caterpillar Says U.S. Stimulus ‘Missed Opportunity‘. Specifically, the bulldozer manufacturer described the Stimulus Package as “disappointing and less effective than measures approved by China.”
“The infrastructure portion of the stimulus package was disappointing in that it was less aggressive than other countries and missed an opportunity to correct past underinvestment in U.S. infrastructure.”
In my piece, I highlighted how the Stimulus Package was more a promotion of the Democratic agenda rushed through Congress without a full and proper review. Without targeted spending on immediate areas of need and benefit, our economy suffers while our deficit worsens. While the Democratic leadership railroaded the Stimulus legislation through Congress, which country did enact targeted fiscal stimulus? China.
The Chinese economy is benefitting from their stimulus while many workers in our country suffer. While President Obama visited Caterpillar in February to push the Stimulus Package, I do not get the sense that he would be invited back now. Caterpillar’s CFO said:
“We think China has it right,” Chief Financial Officer Dave Burritt said in an interview. “The majority of their package is on infrastructure spending. We are seeing life there. We are seeing the turnaround. We would like to see a more robust infrastructure package in the United States.”
I would qualify that statement as a courteous indictment of the political process in our country. Caterpillar is not the only company benefitting from the Chinese stimulus. Additionally,
United Technologies Corp., Eaton Corp., and Dupont Co. are among other U.S. industrial companies that said they have seen results from China’s plan. This week all three reported first- quarter sales declines ranging from 12 percent to 20 percent.
United Technologies’ fire and security division “is seeing some benefits from the stimulus already in terms of the dollars which are flowing through to infrastructure,” Akhil Johri, the head of investor relations, said today. The Hartford, Connecticut-based company is the maker of Otis elevators, Carrier air-conditioners and Pratt & Whitney engines.
At Wilmington, Delaware-based DuPont, the third-biggest U.S. chemical maker, “electronics customers are reporting some benefit from the China stimulus package,” CEO Ellen Kullman told analysts on a call today.
Eaton CEO Sandy Cutler, on a conference call yesterday, described China as “the first market where we can really string things through to government stimulus activity.”
Caterpillar predicted the U.S. recession in October 2007, two months before it officially began, and said today it expects the world economy to decline about 1.3 percent this year.
Missed opportunities do not necessarily always present themselves again.
LD
