Even as many US companies struggle to stay solvent in one of the worst financial crises in decades, some technology companies are bursting with cash, with the only question being how they plan to use it. Fitch estimates that the US tech industry is carrying a cash balance of around $260 billion, one of the largest among all sectors.

"There's a strong emphasis on the preservation of liquidity, but we think the larger players will use their balance sheets and use their cash balances to ignite mergers and acquisition activity," said Fitch Ratings analyst Nick Nilarp.

The old cliche that cash is king is never more true than in bad times. So as investors navigate tough financial markets, the cash hoards held by tech companies could make their shares more attractive and bolster the argument made by some analysts that the sector will lead the way out of the downturn.

Here are some of the technology companies with huge cash piles.


Cisco Systems Inc is the most cash-rich tech company with $29.5 billion in hand, putting it just behind Exxon Mobil Corp's $31.4 billion, despite having a market value less than one-quarter of the oil giant's.

The company has been rather upfront about its plans to use some of this cash to make acquisitions. Cisco has said it plans to be acquisitive during the economic downturn, and bankers and analysts think it may make a move on virtualisation software maker VMware Inc or its parent EMC Corp.

Taking advantage of loosening credit markets, Cisco recently made a surprisingly large $4 billion debt sale. The company stated that it intends to use the recent debt sale "for general corporate purposes" and to repay $500 million in notes due in 2009.


Another tech company with some of the largest cash piles includes Apple Inc with $25.6 billion. In spite of spending about $2bn a year on R&D and capital investment, Apple's $26bn in cash has left it with the biggest cash pile in the technology world -- a big contrast to the last downturn, which it started with less than $4bn. The cash now accounts for about a third of its market value.

The company's stock price too has rebounded from its low of $78.20 in the week when Steve Jobs announced his leave. The realisation that Apple's cash can be a big strength during recession has quieted critics, who in the past have called on the company to buy back shares or offer a dividend.


Microsoft Corp too sits on a huge cash pile of $20.7 billion. The rich software giant, however, announced rather disappointing quarterly results recently, unlike IBM. Microsoft recently announced that its Q2 2009 profit sank from $4.71bn a year ago to $4.17bn, a loss of 12 percent. Total revenue was $16.63bn, a 2 per cent rise from year before. This was only possible thanks to higher server, tools and entertainment sales. Client sales revenue, which includes Windows products, fell 8 percent.

The company may have missed the analysts’ target, however, the fact is it is still posting big profits -- $4.17B in profit is enough to make even some of the biggest companies drool.


The search giant Google Inc too sits pretty with a cash reserve of $15.9 billion. The Mountain View, California-based company had almost $16 billion in cash at the end of the recent-announced fourth quarter.

According to Google CFO, Patrick Pichette, the cash reserves provided Google with sufficient flexibility "for the right deal at the right price."

Google said its Q4 earnings declined to $382 million, far below the $1.2 billion it earned in the prior-year's fourth quarter. The fall was attributed to losses from Google's investments in AOL and Clearwire Corp.


International Business Machines Corp too has a huge cash pile. In January the company disclosed its full-year financial results for 2008: record revenue of $103.6 billion; record pre-tax profit of $16.7 billion; record earnings per share of $8.93; and record free cash flow of $14.3 billion, up $1.9 billion, excluding global financing receivables.

For IBM it is not just the huge cash pile it is sitting on, the year 2008 also saw the IT giant register strongest revenue growth since 2003 and the strongest profit performance in more than a decade. IBM also announced an earnings’ forecast for the coming year at $9.20 a share, well above Wall Street's $8.75 call.


The enterprise software giant Oracle too sits on a $7.4 billion pile of cash. Little doubt that the Redwood Shores-based company is quietly going on a shopping spree.

The software giant completed as many as 10 acquisitions in 2008, ranging from a maker of insurance policy-writing tools, to a designer of `plan-o-gram' software (the software used by stores to optimise shelf space usage). Recently, the company bought mValent Inc, a small software company that helps configure other software. The deals put Oracle in the club of cash-rich companies bargain hunting amid the present economic turmoil.

Oracle made sales of $22.4 billion in fiscal 2008. However, the company hasn't been unscathed from the slump, it recently reported a 1 per cent drop in net income, the first decline in three years.


Sun Microsystems might be facing hard times. The company’s stock has been faced considerable hammering in the past few months further accentuated by fears of weakening global tech spending. However, Sun Microsystems too is among the companies with a relatively large amount of cash. The company carries a cash balance of $2.6 billion and a market cap of $3.8 billion.

The high-end computer and software maker posted better-than-expected results as a strong software and open storage business cushioned declining overall sales.

Like much of the industry, the company is now struggling to slash costs as tech spending dissipates globally. It said in November it would cut 5,000 to 6,000 jobs, or 15 to 18 percent of its workforce, as part of a plan to save $700 million to $800 million a year.


Hopkinton-based EMC Corp's fourth quarter profit though fell 45 percent, the company said that it increased its cash reserves by 9 per cent.

In Q4, EMC's profits fell from $526 million to $288 million, on restructuring charges. For the full year, the company reported revenue of $14.9 billion, a 12 percent increase over the prior year, and a profit of $1.4 billion, a 14 percent increase over 2007.

The data storage giant's fourth quarter revenue hit $4 billion, an increase of 8 percent over the third quarter and 5 percent over the fourth quarter of 2007. EMC announced recently that it would lay off about 2,400 employees, 600 of them in Massachusetts.

While these tech companies are guarding their money and investing in only the safest of instruments, such as US Treasury debt, analysts expect the bigger players to put their cash to work later in the year in the form of acquisitions or share buybacks.


Seems the experience of previous downturns and fear that they could need deep reserves to draw on has made technology companies cautious on spending.

Some Silicon Valley veterans point to earlier near-failures, with Intel forced to take an investment from IBM in the 1980s, and Steve Jobs famously accepting a $150m cash infusion from Microsoft after returning to head Apple in 1997.

10. Meat Packer
Meat packers handle entire animal carcasses and hundreds of pounds of meat a day, putting them in close contact to harmful microbes and possibly even salmonella and E. coli.



9. Sanitation Worker
Sanitation workers are surrounded by solid waste all day. Although they take precautions while on the job, they may be bringing those nasty germs home on their clothing.



8. Janitor or Plumber
Janitors are responsible for cleaning the very surfaces that are collecting all our germs. Plumbers have to get close and personal to appliances and fixtures that are also covered in germs. Obviously, the dirtier the space the riskier the task.



7. Animal Control Officer
Animal control has to deal with unruly animals that may be carrying rabies or other dangerous diseases. They are also responsible for cleaning up dead animals or animal waste that are covered in harmful bacteria.



6. Police Officer
Police officers come into contact with a wide variety of people every day, many of whom are not too concerned with their personal hygiene. All public safety officers are encouraged to wear latex gloves to protect themselves.



5. Lab Scientist
Dealing with infectious bacteria is all in a days work for a lab scientist. They have to take extra precautions to make sure their environment stays clean.



4. Doctor or nurse
Being around sick people all day obviously puts doctors and nurses in contact with a lot of germs. These sometimes drug-resistant germs are then passed around by hands, clothes, paperwork, medical equipment...



3. Tech Support/Computer Repair
If keyboards really carry more germs than toilet seats as some studies have indicated, then who knows how many germs the people that spend their day working on everyone else's keyboards are coming into contact with.



2. Cashier, Bank Employee
Money is covered with everything from microbes to illegal narcotics and cashiers handle it all day long. In addition to touching dirty cash, bankers also tend to spend a lot of time at their desks, which are also covered with bacteria.



1. Teacher/Day-Care Worker
It's not just the kids that are spreading germs around the classroom. Teachers also have the germiest workspaces of all the professions studied, including the worst computer keyboards, computer mice and telephones.

Some Hollywood stars try to help children out by taking them from third-world countries, others try to help the kids where they are.
Salma Hayek breast-fed a hungry baby after the child's mother ran out of milk,

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Thieves are becoming quicker, savvier, and more advanced. Vehicles, which are equipped with computer-based security system, keyless entry and ignition systems, can now be stolen in just a few seconds. Some thieves force the window of the car to have a good opening. The car door is later unlocked and locked. They then pop the hood, disconnect the battery and look for the ignition cable. If still, the method does not work, thieves have ample time to manipulate car alarm. I found a few videos that show us how they do it !

The singer's steep trajectory to redemption restored her to the top of searches. Her year began with a police visit, hospital stay, and psych evaluation. She returned under her father's shelter and, by summer, settled custody with her ex. Professionally, she guested on a sitcom, won thrice at the MTV Video Music Awards, broke records with "Womanizer," relaunched her site, and released a documentary detailing her fall and comeback...by age 27.





A June explosion destroyed a World Wrestling Entertainment stage and "injured" chairman Vince McMahon, unleashing a sweaty soap opera of chaos that included his kids appealing for cooperation in difficult times. The stunt could've symbolized the sporting empire's battles against the economy's fall and mixed martial arts' rise. WWE produced more events, video games, and movies to make up for fewer paying fans, and faithfuls kept track online to maintain its Top 2 status.





The Illinois junior senator faced two hard-fought contests and nearly won a third—although toppling Britney Spears wasn't on his list. He entered 2008 as a relative newcomer on the national scene and ended the year as president-elect. His campaign defied political wisdom and made history at every turn. His Web strategy set the groundwork to make him the first wired president and, in an unprecedented Search surge, landed him at No. 3






Before 2008, the singer/actress had been better known—and searched—by her Disney persona, Hannah Montana. She appeared on shows like "Idol Gives Back" as Cyrus, but true name recognition came with scandal: a Vanity Fair spread featuring the 15-year-old seemingly wrapped only in a bedsheet. Savvy Cyrus apologized, survived, and closed down Disneyland for a 16th birthday charity bash, and ended up at No. 4.






The multi-player role-playing game's international popularity rests on its cheap access, ability to run on older computers, and compelling play. Its underground success has even led to a real black market, trading actual cash for RuneScape gold—and controversial restrictions to stop it. A new boss, graphics, and touted player-versus- player combat release signal the company's power play to step up in the RPG battle...and take hold at No. 5.






Her movies fared none too well, following 2007 missteps that got her three Razzie Worst Actress nominations. Still, she earned Best Movie Actress at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and No. 6 in searches, buoyed by her wedding and baby Honor Marie (who earned a reported $1.5 million in her OK! mag debut). The pregnant pause may have given her impetus to switch to more serious roles—something to watch for in 2009.






The manga. The game. The anime. Whatever form Naruto Uzumaki takes, the awkward but accomplished young graduate of the Ninja Academy remains the Web's most popular fictional character in seventh place. His peers and enemies also command their own followings, but the complex tale of Naruto (whose name translates to "maelstrom") , the orphaned misfit who craves recognition, resonates with its generation of fans.






At No. 8, the actress made stumbling progress back from rehab, revolving-door relationships, and rejected roles. On the upside, she settled down (with a monogamous twist), blogged about politics, and recreated Marilyn Monroe's photo shoot. On the downside, she got booted from "Ugly Betty" and as World Music Awards host. Lohan has had celebs testifying to her talent, but a true comeback may have to wait for 2009.






Leading power lists in Forbes and even Guinness World Records, the actress took her place among Hollywood's elite. "Delicate" condition aside, she underscored her image as a tough-dame throwback with a 21st-century vibe. She earned box-office bucks as an assassin and cartoon tigress, Oscar cred in "Changeling, " and karma by donating her and Brad Pitt's twins' $14 mil pictorial payout to charity—moves that muscled her in at No. 9.





Judges kept declaring its 2008 singers their best ever, but while the Fox reality show ruled ratings, an audience decline since 2007 sent producers into a fit of self-examination. In a season beset with complaints, "Idol" had the last laugh with a smashing finale and iTunes recordbreaker. The show also got "cougar" into household vernacular, unlikely credit for exposing youth to the democratic process, and a top Search 10 nod once again.

If your New Year's resolution involves detox diet, then here's a piece of information for you - the weight loss plan is "nonsense" and a waste of money, leading dieticians have warned.

The British Dietetic Association, which represents 6,000 dieticians across Britain, said that there was no "potion or lotion" which could "magically" rid the body of chemicals.

Health experts have dismissed the theory behind detox that dangerous toxins build up in the body. Instead, the experts said that the body was constantly cleaning itself, reports the Telegraph.

Slimmers undergoing a detox are usually advised to cut out a wide range of "unhealthy" foods and supplement their diet with vitamin drinks.

However, the BDA insists that there is no such toxic build-up, and branded the industry "pseudo scientific".

Dr Frankie Phillips, a spokesperson for the BDA, said, "The whole idea of detox is nonsense. The body is a well-developed system that has its own built-in mechanisms to detoxify and remove waste from top to toe.

"Skin, the gut and liver and kidneys are all chemically-controlled powerhouses that respond to signals in the form of, for example, hormones, to remove waste products - typically detoxifying the body constantly. There are no pills or specific drinks, patches or lotions that can do a magic job.

"If you have over-indulged on alcohol, for example, the liver works hard to break down the alcohol into products it can remove. Being well-hydrated is a sensible strategy. It sounds predicable, but for the vast majority of people, a sensible diet and regular physical activity really are the only ways to properly protect your health for the year ahead."