In the spring of 2012, we predicted that not only would corporate excess cash not go toward such core economic recovery “uses of funds” as CapEx, not only for the simple reason that there was, and is, no actual recovery, but that in order to create the artificial impression of improving conditions, as well as the satisfy activist investors seeking a quick ROI, companies would spend the bulk of their cash on stock buybacks and dividends. Gradually, this cash use is shifting to M&A – a classic ‘top of the cycle’ indicator – although courtesy of the unprecedented bubble in various sectors, tech most notably, corporations are opting to chiefly use overvalued stock as the currency of acquisition (see the recent purchase of Whatsapp by Facebook, funded mostly through FB stock) instead of cash. As we further explained at the same time, the main reason for this capital misallocation was simple: the Federal Reserve, whose ZIRP policy has perverted traditional hurdle rate-based capital allocation decisions, and has unleashed an all out buyback bonanza at the expense of the one cash use that is so critical to sustain not only revenue, but economic growth: capital expenditures.
As happens at the end of every year, sellside analysts and economists, all predicted that this year would be different, and the long overdue capex spending would finally be unleashed. Apparently they had far greater visibility on this matter, than on the topic of snowfall in the winter, and its disastrous impact on a $17 trillion economy, whose Q1 GDP growth forecast has cratered from 3% at the start of the year, to barely half that number currently. One of the firms that preached that the CapEx recovery is imminent is none other than Goldman Sachs, the same firm that also year after year predicts a new golden age for the US, only to see its forecast crash and burn some 4-6 months later, couched in the tried (or is that now trite) and true scapegoatings: snow, unrest in Europe, inflation or deflation in Japan, the usual. However, this time may indeed be different, and the same Goldman has just released a piece wondering “Why no capex recovery?” (despite the firm’s own forecasts to the contrary -just recall David Mericle’s “Capex: The Fundamentals Remain Strong” which now in retrospect is completely wrong).
