The Wall Street Journal's Tom McGinty and Cari Tuna report: (emphasis added)

Stung by the financial crisis, companies are holding more cash -- and a greater percentage of assets in cash -- than at any time in the past 40 years.

In the second quarter, the 500 largest nonfinancial U.S. firms, by total assets, held about $994 billion in cash and short-term investments, or 9.8% of their assets, according a Wall Street Journal analysis of corporate filings. That is up from $846 billion, or 7.9% of assets, a year earlier.

The trend appears to have continued in the third quarter, despite an improving economy.

Can one blame these companies for hoarding cash, really? They're looking at an unpredictable future with a president who has no real management or business experience issuing statements containing excerpts like this: (emphasis added)

...one of our challenges now, and I've been speaking about this for many months now, is how do we get what I call a post-bubble growth model, one that is sustainable.
...

So those are the discussions we're going to be having, not just today but in the weeks and months to come. This is my administration's overriding focus. Having brought the economy back from the brink, the question is how are we going to make sure that people are getting back to work and able to support their families. It's not going to happen overnight, but we will not rest until we are succeeding in generating the jobs that this economy needs.

... I want to emphasize I am confident that having moved the economy on the right track, that if we apply some good common sense and some -- and reinvigorate that sector of our economy that's based on innovation and dynamism and entrepreneurship, that there's no reason why we're not going to be able to not only create jobs, but the kind of sustainable economic growth that everybody is looking for.

Despite his complete lack of business experience, and having surrounded himself with aides who also possess no real business experience (his three top aides, all from Chicago -- Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett, and David Axelrod -- have virtually no experience in the private sector), President Obama talks about building a 'post-bubble growth model' after "having moved the country on the right track."

Does the President of the United States actually understand how the economy works, that is to say, does he actually understand that it is not controlled effectively by politicians -- especially those who have no prior management, business, or economic experience themselves?

This kind of hubris evidenced by the president's statement on the economy today is staggering -- no wonder a lot of folks are nervous about the economy.