NPR Story 9:05 am Mon March 19, 2012  Apple To Buy Back Stock,
Pay Dividend  Originally published on Mon March 19, 2012 9:06 am
NPR's business news starts with Apple's giant pile of money.
INSKEEP: The maker of iPads, iPhones and computers is sitting on
almost one hundred billion dollars in cash and securities. And
today, Apple announced that it will spend some of that money
paying a stock dividend to shareholders and buying back some
company stock. NPR's Steve Henn has been following developments,
and joins us on the line from Silicon Valley. Steve, good
morning.  STEVE HENN, BYLINE: Good morning.  INSKEEP: What makes
it a big deal, that this company would pay a dividend?  HENN:
Well, Apple hasn't paid a dividend for roughly 17 years, and for
decades people have thought of it as a growth stock. People
haven't looked to Apple to provide income. So, the fact that
they are paying a dividend, and they'll start paying a dividend
in July, means that a whole new group of investors are going to
be attracted to