Dow companies stockpile more cash

[marmar]

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — As economists and policy makers tear their hair out over ways to get money flowing through a stagnant economy, the nation’s biggest corporations are clinging ever tighter to their cash.

A MarketWatch and FactSet Research review of second-quarter regulatory filings shows that as of June 30, the overall amount of cash and short-term investments for 24 of the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average had surged 18% to $256 billion from a year ago.

Caterpillar CAT, which has been riding China’s domestic boom through construction equipment sales, reported $10.7 billion in cash, up three-fold from the year-earlier period.

Microsoft, often needled by analysts for sitting on too much money, reported $52 billion in cash at the end of the quarter, up 43% from the June 2010 period. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-companies-stockpile-more-cash-2011-08-10?link=MW_home_latest_news