题目内容：
WhyCompaniesNowFavourCash
A．CheapandplentifulcredithaspoweredtheUSeconomyfordecades.Butsincethefi-nancialcrisisof2008,Americahasgoneonadrasticdebtdiet.Justasfamiliesarepay-ingdowncredit-carddebtandbuildingupcashreserves,businesseslargeandsmallarelearningtooperateinanenvironmentwherecashonceagainisking.Theeconomicshifthasbeendramatic;banklendinghasdroppedatafrighteningrate.In2009thebankingsystemnotched(刻数)thelargestdeclineinloansinthehistoryoftheFederalDepositInsuranceCorporation.Meanwhile,theamountofcommercialandindustrialloanshasfallen19percentsincethefallof2008--backtotheleveloflate2006.Eventhefinan-cialsectorhascutwaybackondebt.
B．Sorryaboutcreditbubble,bothcompaniesandindividualsspentandinvestedbasedonexpectationsofwhattheycouldborrow.Nowthey'rehoardingcash.Thesavingsrate,nearzeroin2007,roseto3.3percentinJanuary.AttheendoftheSeptemberin2009,the376membersoftheS&P500thataren'tutilitiesorfinancialfirmshadarecord$820billionincashintheircoffers(金库),upmorethan20percentfromtheyearbe-fore,accordingtoStandard&Poor's.
C．Theconventionalwisdomholdsthatthetighteningofcreditisanobstacletorecovery.Andformanybusinesses,especiallysmallones,theinabilitytopayoffolddebtoropennewlinesofcreditcanhinderexpansionplans.Buttheeconomyisn'tfueledbydebtalone.Afterall,in2009,theeconomyexperiencedasharpturn,fromshrinkingatarateof6.4percentinthefirstquartertogrowingatarateof5.9percentinthefourthquarter--allwhileprivate-sectorcreditreduced.Morebroadly,theembraceofcashcouldbebeneficial.Duringthego-goyears,itwascommontoheartheoriststalkaboutthe"disciplineofdebt".
D．Onpaper,highdebtloadsforcemanagers(andhomeowners)tomaketough,swiftdecisionstostaysolvent(有偿付能力的).Breakthecontact,andyoulosethecompany(orthehouse).Inreality,overextended(周转不灵的)borrowersaremorelikelytowalkawayfrommortgages,orpushcompaniesintoChapter11bankruptcyprotection.Amer-icansarenowdiscoveringthatcashexertsasuperiordiscipline.Therealdisciplineofcashmaybethatitcausesexecutives,consumers,andinvestorstothinktwice——andtothinkaboutthelong-termconsequences--beforespending.Theneedforinstantsatis-factionispartofwhatcreatedthecurrentmess.
E.TheabilitytoadaptrapidlyremainsoneofAmerica'scompetitiveadvantages.Andsincetheonsetofthefinancialcrisis,bothconsumersandbusinesseshaveembracedthenewreal-ity.Afterdiggingthemselvesoutof$20,000indebtin2007,SusarmahFater,herhusbandDavid--adistrictmanageratStaples--andtheirfourchildrendidsomethingradical:theybecameanall-cashhousehold."Billslikegroceries,gas,andallowancearetakenouteverymonthandputintoenvelopessothatweknowexactlywherewearefinancially,"saysSu-sannah.Consumer-orientedfirmshavepivoted(以……为中心旋转)rapidlytoservicenewpay-as-you-goconsumersliketheFaters.ELayaway.com,basedinTallahassee,Fla.,andfoundedin2005,offersits75,000customerstheabilitytobuyproductsoninstallmentplans(upto13months)from1,000merchants,includingAppleandAmazon.com.Thetypicalpurchaseisanelectronicsitemwithanaveragecostof$440andafour-monthpaymentterm.
CofounderSergioPinonnotestheriseofacategoryofcustomerseLayawaycalls"planners",whopayfornextwinter'ssnowblowersthissummer.
F.TexaselectricityproviderFirstChoicePowerinJanuarylaunchedaprepaidservicecalledControlFirst."InTexas,thereareaboutamillionhouseholdswhohaveslimcreditornocreditatall,"sayscompanypresidentBrianHayduk.Withoutrequiringadepositorcredit,customersarepermittedtoprepurchaseasetamountofelectricity--say$100permonth.
Thecompanyinstallsasmartmeterthatletspeopleknowhowmuchthey'veused--whichspurscustomerstomanagetheirenergyusemoreintelligently.
G.Theriseofthecasheconomyhasmadebusinesseshesitanttomakethetypeofcapitalexpenditurestheyusedtofundwithdebt--big-ticketitemslikefactories,expensiveequipment,andnewbuildings.Butithasmadethemmorereceptivetocompaniesthatofferefficiencyandsavingwithlittlemoneydown.AtBoston-basedEnerNOC,reve-nuesnearlydoubledlastyear.EnerNOChastwolinesofbusiness.Onbehalfofelectricutilities,theysupportscompaniesthatagreetoreduceelectricityuseattimesofpeakdemandinexchangeforcashpayments.Anditinstallssubmeterstomeasurebuildings'energyconsumptioninmicroscopicdetail,andthensuggestswaystoreducedemand.
"Wesellthesoftwareandguaranteewe'llidentifyenergy-savingsopportunitiesworthtwicewhattheypayusonanannualbasis,"saysCEOTimHealy."It'sverycapital-light."In2009thenumberofcompanyemployeesrosefromabout330tomorethan400,anditprojectedrevenuegrowthof$75million(nearly40percent)in2010.
H.Beforethedeluge,companiesandinvestorschosetheeasypathofgainingreturnsbyus-ingtheirbalancesheet--they'dborrowmoneytopayadividend,ortopurchaseanothercompany.Butfinancialengineeringhasgivenwaytobusinessengineering.KohlbergKravis&Roberts,thehugeleveraged-buyoutfirmthatmadeprofitsthroughfinancialstrategiesduringthecreditboom,hasbuiltupastaffofin-houseretailexecutiveswhoworkwithcom-panies'itowns,suchasDollarGeneralandToys"R"Us.Justastherearefewerno-money-downmortgagesinthehousingmarket,manyoftoday'sbuyoutsaresignificantlylesslever-aged.Sincetransactionsthatuselessdebtandmorecasharelesslikelytogobankrupt,thegreateruseofcashisabasisforamorestable,morerationalfinancialsystem.StephenKa-plan,aprofessorattheUniversityofChicagobusinessschool,notesthatreturnsarepoorforbuyoutfimdsthatmakehighlyleveragedacquisitionsduringcreditbooms.Whencheapdebtisavailableoneasyterms,"theydomoremarginaldeals."
I.Ofcourse,afinelineseparatesconservationfromhoarding,andcarefulsavingfrommiserliness(吝啬).Formanyfinancialexecutives,thewholesalecollapseofthecreditmarketsinthefallof2008inducedthesamereactionthattheanti-drugmovieScaredStraightusedtocreateamongteenagers."There'sagreaterfocusonliquidityandthepreservationofcashfortheunexpectedthanyouhadinthepast,"saysSethGardner,executivedirectoroftheCentreforFinancialExcellenceatDukeUniversity'sFuquaSchoolofBusiness.YettherearesignsthatcorporateAmericaisbeginningtoloosenthepursestrings.Investmentinequipmentandsoftwarereboundedatan18.4percentan-nualrateinthefourthquarterof2009.AndS&PanalystHowardSilverblattpredictsthatcompanieswillstartutilisingtheirrecordcashpilesonstockbuybacks,dividends,andcapitalexpendituresoncethey'reconvincedtherecoveryisreal.
People'straditionalideaaboutthecreditisthatthetighteningofitpreventstheeco-nomicrecovery.
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