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Why companies are rewarding shareholders instead of investing in the real economy
Washington Post ^ | 25 February 2015 | Lydia DePillis

Posted on 03/07/2015 5:54:02 PM PST by Lorianne

A new report sheds light on why easy credit doesn’t create jobs like it used to. ___ In the past several years, profits have been increasingly paid back out to shareholders, rather than invested in hiring more people and paying them better. And lately, companies have even been borrowing money to make those shareholder payouts, because with interest rates so low, it’s a relatively cheap way to push stock prices higher.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS:
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1 posted on 03/07/2015 5:54:02 PM PST by Lorianne
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To: Lorianne

Ummm, well, it’s capitalism. Besides, why is a 3% dividend so unreasonable for stock holders?


2 posted on 03/07/2015 5:57:54 PM PST by mtrott
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To: Lorianne

Another mindless opinion piece from an idiot. Dividends are paid to stock holders including individuals 401-k accounts pension funds etc those are real consumers of funds these clowns never understand the speed of money


3 posted on 03/07/2015 5:58:50 PM PST by Jimmy Valentine (DemocRATS - when they speak, they lie; when they are silent, they are stealing the American Dream)
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To: Lorianne

But what do the investors do with the money? They either spend it, stimulating the economy, or re-invest it, stimulating the economy. It doesn’t just disappear.


4 posted on 03/07/2015 5:59:42 PM PST by proxy_user
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To: proxy_user
But what do the investors do with the money? They either spend it, stimulating the economy, or re-invest it, stimulating the economy. It doesn’t just disappear.

Naw! It goes into the rich peoples' vaults, where they go swimming in it! I mean, don't you watch Donald Duck cartoons like these writers?


5 posted on 03/07/2015 6:04:13 PM PST by COBOL2Java ("God save America" - we are at the dawn of a new dark age)
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To: Lorianne

Fun read, these people are crazy.
“high-yield investment opportunities have been scarce.”... and there is no discussion of WHY that is LOL!


6 posted on 03/07/2015 6:04:38 PM PST by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat/RINO Party!)
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To: Jimmy Valentine

I read the article, and the author makes some very interesting points. One that caught my eye is that a lot of companies are actually borrowing money in order to inflate the value of their stock and pay dividends. Call it “capitalism” if you want, but that doesn’t sound like a recipe for growth in the long run. That sounds more like a company’s leadership is getting ready to bail out while they can.


7 posted on 03/07/2015 6:07:21 PM PST by Alberta's Child ("It doesn't work for me. I gotta have more cowbell!")
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To: COBOL2Java

Scrooge McDuck must have come from a duck based version of Krypton to be able to dive into the masses of hard coins and swim around.


8 posted on 03/07/2015 6:09:09 PM PST by wally_bert (There are no winners in a game of losers. I'm Tommy Joyce, welcome to the Oriental Lounge.)
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To: Lorianne

Hey Lydia, here is a revelation for you. The whole purpose of corporations is to make money for their shareholders.


9 posted on 03/07/2015 6:13:54 PM PST by Petrosius
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To: COBOL2Java
LOL. When I was a kid Uncle Scrooge was my hero. Really!
I remember the first Scrooge McDuck Comic too.
Yes. I'm that old. lol
10 posted on 03/07/2015 6:14:07 PM PST by Fiddlstix (Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! Read it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))
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To: Alberta's Child

” a lot of companies are actually borrowing money in order to inflate the value of their stock and pay dividends.”

The news has been full of stories about companies doing this BECAUSE there is a very high tax penalty if the companies repatriate foreign earnings to pay dividends.
Yet these guys want more taxes...


11 posted on 03/07/2015 6:14:43 PM PST by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat/RINO Party!)
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To: Lorianne

And the problem with that is?


12 posted on 03/07/2015 6:16:25 PM PST by Roman_War_Criminal
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To: mtrott

3%? I get at least 8% and I convert some of my fiat dollars into gold and silver.


13 posted on 03/07/2015 6:18:46 PM PST by SVTCobra03 (You can never have enough friends, horsepower or ammunition.)
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To: mtrott

Borrowing here at 2% to repay back when interest rates hit 10% when you can move money from overseas subsidiaries to US currency is not a bad business move.
I think the companies are borrowing while inflation is low and reinvesting in their businesses, mostly overseas or in automation. Automation raises productivity without much in worker wages, while overseas investment raises profits abroad.
So by building up stock prices here, they generate the money to build up profitability abroad and at home regardless of the US interest rates.


14 posted on 03/07/2015 6:20:28 PM PST by tbw2
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To: Lorianne

an article written from ignorance

first, if there were a ‘real economy’ worth a da&mn, and not Obama’s Great Recession, then more businesses would find it profitable to “invest in that real economy”

rest assured, when the political repression of the American economy is finally ended...allowing it to recover...then business will find more viable ‘investments’ in that (recovered or restored) ‘real economy’

Meanwhile, most businesses do not pay dividends, or do not pay very large ones. This is because the current repressed economic conditions do not permit much dividend paying.

But when a company does pay a dividend, it is money that is paid as a (usually small) partial return to those people who took the risk and invested in the firm.... and THEY then buy shoes, lunch at Denny’s, and gasoline for their cars.

So the money, or at least much of it, goes into the economy, just like the author wishes.


15 posted on 03/07/2015 6:23:25 PM PST by faithhopecharity
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To: Fiddlstix
Disney made a cute movie with McDuck and the nephews back in the 90s called DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp - kind of an "Indiana Jones" take-off. It's actually pretty good.
16 posted on 03/07/2015 6:30:59 PM PST by COBOL2Java ("God save America" - we are at the dawn of a new dark age)
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To: COBOL2Java
Thank you. I did not know that. I'll look for that online
17 posted on 03/07/2015 6:34:12 PM PST by Fiddlstix (Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! Read it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))
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To: Lorianne

A friend just reported this to me. He took a private ski lesson at Christmas from an certified ski instructor at Lionhead/Vail Ski School. (Vail Resorts) He paid $925 USD for a full day private lesson. He was given a nice instructor who he felt comfortable with, no problem there. He learned that the instructor made only $19.70 per hour or about $128 USD for teaching a lesson. Corporate GREED at its finest.


18 posted on 03/07/2015 6:46:04 PM PST by WellyP (question!)
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To: WellyP

What do you think it costs to run a ski resort?


19 posted on 03/07/2015 6:52:54 PM PST by Alberta's Child ("It doesn't work for me. I gotta have more cowbell!")
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To: Lorianne

The Stock Market is a ficticious mess, and when this one collapses there will be blood on the walls.


20 posted on 03/07/2015 6:55:21 PM PST by SkyPilot ("I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6)
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