Companies masking $6.6 trillion of debt; Cash Concentrated at Top

``"Removing the top 25 cash holders from the equation paints an even more concerning picture: Total debt rose $730 billion in 2015, while cash declined by $40 billion," wrote Chang and Tesher. '' -- Indeed, a third of all the cash held by US companies is in a mere five companies (Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Cisco Systems and Oracle). see article in USAToday. So the cash/debt position of everyone else is a lot more precarious.