MS. BIES
A number of them use some of the cash , playing the accounting game of putting it into pension funds and booking a higher yield on the pension than they could in short-term investments in equipment and software .
MS. BIES
Another interesting thing I heard from one CFO , although somebody just mentioned the danger of anecdotes , is that they are putting more of what they call `` investments '' in human resource training and development than in equipment because they see that , if they can not hire the people with skills , they have to develop the skills of the good employees they have .
MS. BIES
We do not capture that , but it may be one of the ways they are using the cash flow . ''
MS. BIES
They did not know how they were going to get earnings growth , and so I think some was a precautionary kind of savings .
MS. BIES
But I am beginning to hear that they are more likely to loosen the strings and have more cash going forward .
MS. BIES
142 , MS. BIES. , '' I would say that , until about six months ago , most of it was risk aversion .
MS. BIES
They clearly deploy most of it into restructuring their balance sheets , refinancing , and getting corporate leverage down .
MS. BIES
Corporations were not sure what their plans were going to be .