Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) at some of the nation’s biggest companies have a problem on their hands. They’re tasked with watching over billions, tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars every day, making sure to find ways to deliver the best returns to shareholders while keeping enough aside for a rainy day. With interest rates sitting at multi-decade lows, these executives can’t afford to let the money just sit there. That’s why more of them are looking at share buybacks, dividends, acquisitions or higher levels of capital spending to take some of that cash off of the… Read More

Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) at some of the nation’s biggest companies have a problem on their hands. They’re tasked with watching over billions, tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars every day, making sure to find ways to deliver the best returns to shareholders while keeping enough aside for a rainy day. With interest rates sitting at multi-decade lows, these executives can’t afford to let the money just sit there. That’s why more of them are looking at share buybacks, dividends, acquisitions or higher levels of capital spending to take some of that cash off of the sidelines and put it into action. This is good news for investors. Because the more cash a company deploys, the better the chances of bolstering the stock price. We took a look at the cash balances of leading corporations and were stunned to find how much some companies were sitting on. In some instances, these companies have such a large amount of cash that it equals or surpasses what some countries produce in terms of annual economic activity (GDP). Here are the top ten profitable companies sitting on stunning amounts of cash (we excluded traditional… Read More

For most men, two of the scariest words they’ll ever hear are “I do.”  Without a doubt, marriage is one of the most difficult decisions a person can face. But for men in particular, the mere thought of uttering these words prompts painful visions of a future filled with deep… Read More

I doubt you’ve ever heard of Howard Silverblatt. Mr. Silverblatt is a senior analyst at Standard and Poor’s. He covers a lot of topics when it comes to his work at S&P, but what’s made him a hot commodity for reporters (and why I like to… Read More

The sole purpose of the Federal’s Reserve’s recent moves and commentary is to inspire the economy‘s “animal spirits.” The most recent action, known as QE3, or the third round of quantitative easing, is simply an effort to provide a spark where none… Read More

While the overall economy is still on shaky legs, one thing’s hard to deny: The stock market has been doing great. By the stock market, I mean the Standard & Poor’s (S&P)… Read More

Who among us hasn’t dreamed about catching a hot IPO in the beginning stages? Just ask early investors in game-changers like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), up a mind-numbing 22,590% since its first day of trading in 1984, or Nike (NYSE: NKE), up 12,618%… Read More

When a company announces a quarterly shortfall and lowers guidance, investors have been known to shoot first and ask questions later. That lesson was painfully brought home to the insiders at Maxwell Technologies (Nasdaq: MXWL), who were initially stunned to see the company’s stock tumble from about $20 in late… Read More

While the economic situation of the eurozone and the upcoming presidential elections have created a climate of uncertainty for investors, they have set the stage for doom and gloom in the minds of many critics. Analysts have been flooding the media with warnings of a pending… Read More

I’d like to declare a moratorium on Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) IPO carping. The stock has gone from $38 to roughly $19. Everyone’s upset: Facebook employees, the financial-media talking heads, individual investors, even people who have never logged on to Facebook.  But that’s the nature… Read More

Even if you’re a buy-and-hold investor by nature, you have to be nimble enough to profit from any short-term gifts the market may hand you. Read More