Trump's tax cuts in hand, firms spend more on themselves than on wages

As the tax cuts kick in, companies have laid out a variety of uses for the money

President Trump promised his tax cut would encourage companies to invest in factories, workers and wages, setting off a spending spree that would reinvigorate the American economy.
 

Companies have announced plans for some of those investments. But so far, companies are using much of the money for something with a more narrow benefit: buying their own shares. Those so-called buybacks are good for shareholders, including the senior executives who tend to be big owners of their companies’ stock. A company purchasing its own shares is a time-tested way to bolster its stock price.
 

But the purchases can come at the