U.S. companies hoarding almost $1 trillion cash: Moody's

[MNeagle]

(Reuters) - U.S. companies are hoarding almost $1 trillion in cash but are unlikely to spend on expanding their business and hiring new employees due to continuing uncertainty about the strength of the economy, Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday.

As the economy stabilizes companies are also more likely to spend on share repurchases and mergers and acquisitions, Moody's added.

Companies cut costs, reduced investment in plants and equipment and downsized operations in order to boost cash holdings during the recession. As the corporate bond market reopened many companies also boosted cash levels by selling debt and refinancing near-term debt maturities.

Nonfinancial U.S. companies are sitting on $943 billion of cash and short-term investments, as of mid-year 2010, compared with $775 billion at the end of 2008, Moody's said. This would be enough to cover a year's worth of capital spending and dividends and still have $121 billion left over, it said.

However, "we believe companies are looking for greater certainty about the economy and signs of a permanent increase in sales before they let go of their cash hoards, which they suffered so much to build," Moody's said in a report.

"Given low demand and capacity utilization within certain industries, companies are wary of investing their cash in new capacity and adding workers, thereby doing little to abbreviate the jobless recovery," it added.

Around one quarter of the cash is held overseas and is unlikely to be repatriated to the United States, Moody's said.

Meanwhile only 20 companies hold a large portion of corporate cash balances, with $346 billion on their balance sheets, or 37 percent of the total, Moody's said.

Cisco Systems (CSCO.O) has the largest cash balance, at $39.86 billion, while Microsoft (MSFT.O) is second with $36.79 billion, Moody's said. Google (GOOG.O) has the third-largest balance with $30.06 billion, followed by Oracle (ORCL.O) with $23.64 billion and Ford Motor Co (F.N) at $21.89 billion.

Technology companies held the most cash as a sector, at $207 billion, followed by pharmaceuticals with $124 billion, energy at $105 billion, and consumer products with $101 billion, Moody's said.

link (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69Q00T20101027?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28New s+%2F+US+%2F+Business+News%29)


Again, giving the term 'hoarder' a negative meaning...

[Filthy Keynes]

There's that word with negative connotations: "HOARDING". Why not just say "SAVING"?

[mightymanx]

Most of that cash is outside the USA, and we have the planets highest tax rate for importing cash so it's going to stay that way.

All is going according to plan.

[willie pete]

Most of that cash is outside the USA, and we have the planets highest tax rate for importing cash so it's going to stay that way.

All is going according to plan.






Remember the story a couple days ago about joogle and others banking off-shore? ...gave a figure of several billion, joogle saved from the taxman, microsoft does it too......and guess what? it's all LEGAL.....Disgusting ...why don't the scum in congress do something about it?

[EE_]

Just remember, with these people money trumps everything!...friends, family, country, all life and God!

[Book]

...microsoft does it too...



http://www.anorak.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/buffett-gates.jpg
"Let's stop in Paris for lunch Bill. They have lower sales tax."

:D

[EE_]

http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww217/MaggiegirlEE/buffett-gates-1.jpg

[cthulu]

Meanwhile, back in America, sheeple must prepare for "severe austerity". :lol

[Neuro]

Most of that cash is outside the USA, and we have the planets highest tax rate for importing cash so it's going to stay that way.

All is going according to plan.




Remember the story a couple days ago about joogle and others banking off-shore? ...gave a figure of several billion, joogle saved from the taxman, microsoft does it too......and guess what? it's all LEGAL.....Disgusting ...why don't the scum in congress do something about it?
Maybe because congress doesn't have the right to tax foreign companies, albeit owned by an American mother company... Of course the system is inherently unfair with bias towards globalist scum, and really the only way of making it fair would be to abolish tax on corporations... Replace it with a VAT, or customs on imported goods...

[SLV^GLD]

"Let's stop in Paris for lunch Bill. They have lower sales tax."
Point taken but terrible choice in cities because Paris is the most expensive city in the world in which to live. I know this because I may well be moving there to work for the next 3 years and my company is having a fit with the cost of living expenses.

[hoarder]

Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday.

Yep, anything to prop up the fiat.

[Joe King]

Most of that cash is outside the USA, and we have the planets highest tax rate for importing cash so it's going to stay that way.

All is going according to plan.






Remember the story a couple days ago about joogle and others banking off-shore? ...gave a figure of several billion, joogle saved from the taxman, microsoft does it too......and guess what? it's all LEGAL.....Disgusting ...why don't the scum in congress do something about it?

Yea. They should do something alright.
That something should be to get rid of all current taxes on American corporations.

As for corporations amassing large sums of cash, all that means is that they've either underpaid their workers or overcharged for their products/services.
Or possibly both.
However, to support the gov taking the "excess" is to support theft.

[Twisted Titan]

Most of that cash is outside the USA, and we have the planets highest tax rate for importing cash so it's going to stay that way.

All is going according to plan.






Remember the story a couple days ago about joogle and others banking off-shore? ...gave a figure of several billion, joogle saved from the taxman, microsoft does it too......and guess what? it's all LEGAL.....Disgusting ...why don't the scum in congress do something about it?

Yea. They should do something alright.
That something should be to get rid of all current taxes on American corporations.

As for corporations amassing large sums of cash, all that means is that they've either underpaid their workers or overcharged for their products/services.
Or possibly both.
However, to support the gov taking the "excess" is to support theft.



Your not telling the whole story.

Each of those Companies has lobbied and gotten copious tax breaks and other perks that gave them the edge to crush all competators who had better products that would have supplanted them.

So for them to hide that money like there made all by them selves is the very height of hypocrisy.

So yes the Gubbermint dose steal....but those Companies stole first and payed a few bucks to make it look "legal"


Just saying.


T

[Joe King]

Most of that cash is outside the USA, and we have the planets highest tax rate for importing cash so it's going to stay that way.

All is going according to plan.






Remember the story a couple days ago about joogle and others banking off-shore? ...gave a figure of several billion, joogle saved from the taxman, microsoft does it too......and guess what? it's all LEGAL.....Disgusting ...why don't the scum in congress do something about it?

Yea. They should do something alright.
That something should be to get rid of all current taxes on American corporations.

As for corporations amassing large sums of cash, all that means is that they've either underpaid their workers or overcharged for their products/services.
Or possibly both.
However, to support the gov taking the "excess" is to support theft.



Your not telling the whole story.

Each of those Companies has lobbied and gotten copious tax breaks and other perks that gave them the edge to crush all competators who had better products that would have supplanted them.

So for them to hide that money like there made all by them selves is the very height of hypocrisy.

So yes the Gubbermint dose steal....but those Companies stole first and payed a few bucks to make it look "legal"


Just saying.


T
If there are no taxes on them, why would they need tax breaks?
What I'm suggesting would be to eliminate all corporate taxes.
i.e. they pay zero nada zilch nothing.

The issue of corporations amassing large amounts of cash is not a problem that needs a gov fix.

[Twisted Titan]

Most of that cash is outside the USA, and we have the planets highest tax rate for importing cash so it's going to stay that way.

All is going according to plan.






Remember the story a couple days ago about joogle and others banking off-shore? ...gave a figure of several billion, joogle saved from the taxman, microsoft does it too......and guess what? it's all LEGAL.....Disgusting ...why don't the scum in congress do something about it?

Yea. They should do something alright.
That something should be to get rid of all current taxes on American corporations.

As for corporations amassing large sums of cash, all that means is that they've either underpaid their workers or overcharged for their products/services.
Or possibly both.
However, to support the gov taking the "excess" is to support theft.



Your not telling the whole story.

Each of those Companies has lobbied and gotten copious tax breaks and other perks that gave them the edge to crush all competators who had better products that would have supplanted them.

So for them to hide that money like there made all by them selves is the very height of hypocrisy.

So yes the Gubbermint dose steal....but those Companies stole first and payed a few bucks to make it look "legal"


Just saying.


T
If there are no taxes on them, why would they need tax breaks?
What I'm suggesting would be to eliminate all corporate taxes.
i.e. they pay zero nada zilch nothing.

The issue of corporations amassing large amounts of cash is not a problem that needs a gov fix.


That is a situation where a Problem was made to create a "solution"

Taxes where placed on businesses with the full knowledge as to what Business would do: Push them off on to The Consumer or The Employee who doesnt have the abilty or sophistication to escape them. So Taxes are levied against the people by proxy and those who rdo it can rail against those "evil corperations" when they themselves are the ones who created it.

The sheep are to docile to follow the bouncing ball to see that they are begging their oppressor for help.

[Joe King]

I realize all that, TT.
That's why I was wondering what Willie Pete was wanting to see happen when he complained about rich corporations getting out of taxes and wanting Congress to do something about it.

I assumed he meant Congress should enact new laws in order to have some of those 100's of billions of dollars they hold, taken from them.