Today's New York Times article discusses studies and anecdotal evidence of growing corporate cash balances. One professor says that "growing cash holdings over that period most likely reflected the simple fact that the world became a much riskier place for business". The piece says, "One study shows that the average cash ratio doubled from 1998 to 2004 and the median ratio more than tripled, while debt levels fell. According to S.&P., the total cash held by companies in its industrial index exceeded $600 billion in February, up from about $203 billion in 1998."