[quote=harvey][quote=jstoesz]Saying businesses is sitting on tons of cash is like saying, homeowners who HELOC’ed their paid off residence are flush with cash. Yes, they have cash, but net, they have nothing…[/quote]
No, it isn’t the same. Not even close.
Apple computer has more than $27 billion in cash.
Exxon has $17 billion.
We could go on all day with this list – many large companies have similar positions.
No go find us a single HELOC borrower who still has any cash from the original loan.
Brian is right, businesses today have plenty of cash but they are choosing not to invest it.
It’s a so easy to spot a “Tea Party” dimwit these days: They don’t check even the most basic facts. Much easier to spout off whatever mythology they’ve been told to obey on Fox news.
BTW: That “chart” comparing debt vs. cash is a joke of a distortion. Here’s a little homework for ya: calculate the cash/debt ratios for each.[/quote]
Harvey, giving examples of a couple of companies to dispute Jstoesz’s overall data does not make sense. If you dispute Jstoesz’s data or source of data, I’m interested.
Apple could be sitting on a trillion dollars, but at the same time, many other infra/auto/transportation companies are up to their necks in debts. And they employ more people than Aapl/goog/msft kind of companies.
Actually, I think that HELOC example is a good analogy: companies took on debt to build assets but those assets are not worth as much as the companies spent on them. Maybe those companies should have bought new cars and taken vacations to Hawaii instead, like the homeowners!!
