Buybacks Off the Chart

Stock buybacks are huge.

Through the first nine months of this year, big U.S. corporations spent a record $325 billion snapping up some of their outstanding shares, according to Standard & Poor's. That's up 33% from the same time last year, and more than double the $130 billion spent on buybacks during the first nine months of 2004.

To put those figures in perspective, consider that total operating earnings for S&P 500 companies through the end of the third quarter was $590 billion. In other words, the biggest companies spent more than half their earnings power retiring their shares. ...