Ford to Microsoft Seen Adding to Record $2 Trillion Capex

U.S. companies including Ford Motor Co. and Microsoft Corp. are poised to boost business investment to a record in 2014, using a growing cash hoard to propel corporate spending past last year’s $2 trillion.

Chief Executive Officers are buying new machinery and investing in real estate as a U.S. budget deal and growth in Europe signal a rebound in customer demand. That marks a reversal from four years ago, when companies began restraining spending from pre-recession levels and made do with the oldest equipment in 15 years, according to BMO Capital Markets Corp.