美國企業(yè)現(xiàn)金儲備總額創(chuàng)新高

The swelling cash reserves of Apple and a handful of other technology companies have raised the overall liquidity of corporate America to record levels, new data revealed yesterday.昨日發(fā)布的新數(shù)據(jù)顯示，蘋果(Apple)和其他一些科技公司的現(xiàn)金儲備不斷增加，使美國企業(yè)的整體流動性達到創(chuàng)紀錄水平。

About $6 out of every $10 added to the corporate sector’s cash mountain during the past three years has come from tech companies, Moody’s Investor Service, the US rating agency, said. The overall pile reached a record $1,450bn at the end of last year, up 10 per cent from the year before.美國評級機構(gòu)——穆迪投資服務公司(Moody’s Investor Service)表示，在過去3年間，美國企業(yè)部門的現(xiàn)金儲備每增加10美元，就有大約6美元來自科技企業(yè)。去年底美國企業(yè)現(xiàn)金儲備總額達到了創(chuàng)紀錄的1.450萬億美元，同比增長10%。

Apple alone is likely to be sitting on $170bn of cash and liquid investments by the end of this year, lifting its share of the overall reserves from 9.5 per cent at the end of last year to an expected 11 per cent, according to Moody’s.穆迪表示，僅蘋果一家公司就可能在今年底坐擁1700億美元現(xiàn)金和短期投資，這讓它在美國企業(yè)現(xiàn)金儲備總額中的比重從去年底的9.5%，升至預計的11%。

A growing number of tech companies have responded to swelling financial reserves by starting or increasing dividend payments, although not fast enough to stem the increase in cash holdings or head off unhappy investors.為了應對現(xiàn)金儲備日益增加的問題，越來越多的科技公司開始或加大派息，盡管速度還不足以阻止現(xiàn)金儲備增長或者讓投資者感到滿意。

Apple, which announced its first dividend a year ago this week, is expected to boost its dividend in the coming weeks in response to growing pressure from Wall Street and a call from dissident shareholder Greenlight Capital for it to issue a new class of preferred stock to reward shareholders.蘋果在一年前的這一周首次宣布派息。由于華爾街日益加大壓力以及維權(quán)股東綠光資本(Greenlight Capital)呼吁發(fā)行一類新的優(yōu)先股以回饋股東，預計該公司將在今后幾周宣布增加派息。

Dell’s cash has also drawn the attention of activists, with Carl Icahn joining a campaign for the company to abandon its proposed buyout and use its cash instead to pay a large dividend and support larger borrowings.戴爾(Dell)的現(xiàn)金也吸引了維權(quán)投資者的注意，卡爾•伊卡恩(Carl Icahn)和其他人一起，要求該公司放棄擬議私有化計劃，轉(zhuǎn)而拿出現(xiàn)金派發(fā)大筆股息，并支持更大的債務。

The heightened activism is one of the few areas of concern for bond market investors, said Richard Lane, a Moody’s analyst, as it could leave groups with weaker balance sheets.穆迪分析師理查德•萊恩(Richard Lane)表示，維權(quán)活動增加是債券市場投資者的幾個擔憂之一，因為這可能削弱企業(yè)的資產(chǎn)負債表。

The figures from Moody’s are based on gross cash and liquid investments held by companies and do not reflect the increasing debt levels that have left corporate America with rising financial leverage. However, the agency said many companies had taken advantage of low bond yields to extend the maturity of borrowings, and that liquid resources have grown to outweigh all debt repayments due in the next five years.穆迪的數(shù)據(jù)建立在公司持有的現(xiàn)金總額和流動性投資基礎(chǔ)之上，沒有反映日益增加的債務水平——后者讓美國企業(yè)的財務杠桿上升。然而，穆迪表示，許多企業(yè)充分利用偏低的債券收益率延長債券到期日，而流動性資源超過了未來5年的償債支出總額。

Tax avoidance arrangements that have enabled rich tech companies to channel revenues through low-tax countries have contributed to the growing cash hoard. Profits earned overseas on which little or no tax has been paid face a levy of up to 35 per cent when returned to the US, encouraging companies to leave them offshore. As a result, cash held overseas rose by 20 per cent last year to hit $840bn, according to Moody’s. US tech leaders such as John Chambers, chief executive of Cisco Systems, have argued for a tax holiday to bring cash back to the US, although most tax experts say this is unlikely as the fiscal situation has declined.盈利的科技公司往往通過低稅率國家來轉(zhuǎn)移收入，這種避稅安排也導致了現(xiàn)金儲備不斷增加。美國企業(yè)在海外實現(xiàn)的利潤如果未曾繳稅或基本未曾繳稅，匯回美國就會面臨至多35%的稅率，這鼓勵了企業(yè)將這些利潤留在海外。穆迪的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，美國企業(yè)的海外現(xiàn)金去年增長20%，至8400億美元。思科(Cisco Systems)首席執(zhí)行官約翰•錢伯斯(John Chambers)等美國科技行業(yè)頭面人物呼吁出臺對匯回國內(nèi)的海外現(xiàn)金暫時減免稅的政策，盡管大部分稅收專家表示，由于財政狀況不佳，美國政府不太可能出臺這種政策。