Bull Market Losing Big Ally as Buybacks Fall Most Since 2009
- Announced buybacks slumped 38% to $244 billion from a year ago
- Macro uncertainty and banks’ absence contributed to decline
Kasman: Productivity Hinders Pickup in Investment
This article is for subscribers only.
Corporate America has its eye on a new target as executives look to tighten their belts amid a slump in profits -- and this time shareholders won’t like it.
After snapping up trillions of dollars of their own stock in a five-year shopping binge that dwarfed every other buyer, U.S. companies from Apple Inc. to IBM Corp. just put on the brakes. Announced repurchases dropped 38 percent to $244 billion in the last four months, the biggest decline since 2009, data compiled by Birinyi Associates and Bloomberg show.