>
> U.S. Multinationals Reap Overseas Bounty
> By JON E. HILSENRATH Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL April 4,
> 2005; Page A2
>
> But for many U.S. multinationals, the global stage has rarely looked
> brighter. The Bureau of Economic Analysis, the government statistics mill
> that cranks out national output and income data, reported last week that
> U.S. companies raked in $315 billion of profits overseas last year.
> That is
> up 26% from a year earlier and up 78% this decade, far outpacing the
> growth
> of profits by U.S. companies at home.
>
> "U.S. companies are very competitive. They're booking record profit
> from all
> corners of the world and you'd never know that looking at U.S. trade
> figures," says Joseph Quinlan, an investment strategist with Bank of
> America. He has been telling his clients to put their money in companies
> that have international sales exposure, because, "We believe the global
> earnings backdrop will remain constructive in 2005."
>
Why are they called "U. S. companies"? Given the data here about where
the profits are being generated, it seems a little quaint and/or naive
to associate these huge corps with some specific nation.
Miles