The anti-globalisation protesters at this week's G8 summit have long argued that companies make too much money. As it happens, economists also think that firms have "excess profits"-although not in the sense that the protesters would recognise. Basically, managers don't know what to do with their cash. For the past three years, while profits have surged around the globe, capital spending has remained relatively weak. As a result, companies in aggregate have become net savers on a huge scale. Their thrift may explain why bond yields are now so low.
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