There’s more bad news from The Wall Street Journal this morning. US companies’ investments have “fallen off a cliff.”  This doesn’t bode well for the economy in the near future.

U.S. companies are scaling back investment plans at the fastest pace since the recession, signaling more trouble for the economic recovery.

Half of the nation’s 40 biggest publicly traded corporate spenders have announced plans to curtail capital expenditures this year or next, according to a review by The Wall Street Journal of securities filings and conference calls.

Nationwide, business investment in equipment and software—a measure of economic vitality in the corporate sector—stalled in the third quarter for the first time since early 2009. Corporate investment in new buildings has declined.

At the same time, exports are slowing or falling to such critical markets as China and the euro zone as the global economy downshifts, creating another drag on firms’ expansion plans. (Read More)

In addition to the economic woes overseas they also cited the looming fiscal cliff and coming tax increases. Then we have Obamacare and the regulations from Dodd Frank which only make things worse. The left will argue that these companies are just being greedy, but actually they’re being realistic, and if they aren’t investing they won’t be hiring.