PeakTrader.com

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PeakTrader said...

U.S. corporations accumulated a record $1.8 trillion in cash recently (e.g. from lower cost structures and increased revenues), and they're still not hiring much. Perhaps they should follow Google's example to help spur demand:

Google to give 10 pct raises to entire work force
(AP) – 3 hours ago

"Google Inc. is showing it still knows how to make its employees feel special: It is giving all 23,300 of them 10 percent raises next year.

Google has long been known for feeding its workers free food and pampering them with other perquisites that would be considered luxuries by most employees.

The raises are yet another sign of Google's bullishness. The company didn't disclose how much the added payroll would cost, but assuming an average employee salary of $100,000 — not outlandish by high-tech standards— the across-the-board raises would amount to an additional $233 million annually.

Google can easily afford that, with $33 billion in cash as of Sept. 30."

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Why Are Some of America's Largest Companies Sitting on $1.8 Trillion in Cash?

"The storyline began in The Washington Post, where columnist Fareed Zakaria endeavored to find out why America's 500 largest nonfinancial companies are sitting on $1.8 trillion in cash, rather than spending it on expansion (which would mean new jobs).

Business leaders told Zakaria that it comes down to economic uncertainty surrounding new laws, regulations and taxes; the expansion of federal agencies' authority; and the unknown implications of Obamacare, financial reform and cap-and-trade.

And the kicker? Zakaria notes that most of them had voted for Obama yet all of them now believe he is "at his core, anti-business."

Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said, "By reaching into virtually every sector of economic life, government is injecting uncertainty into the marketplace and making it harder to raise capital and create new businesses."

And then there's Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric, who reportedly said of Obama, "business did not like the U.S. president and the president did not like business."

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said:

"Now, this president understands deeply that governments don't create jobs, businesses create jobs. And our job as government is to try to make sure we're creating the conditions that allow businesses to prosper so they can hire people back, get this economy going again."

In reality, this President has done the exact opposite. He has attempted to use government spending to create jobs, failed miserably, and has only succeeded in creating an environment where businesses -- the real job creators -- are afraid to put America back to work."