U.S. companies are pulling back on borrowing, which could put a drag on the limping U.S. economy and make it even harder for banks to break out of their long slump, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Outstanding loans by the biggest banks to U.S. companies declined 9 percent in the first two weeks of April compared with the end of March, according to Federal Reserve data. The slip followed a 2.7 percent rise in the first quarter, the smallest quarterly gain in two years. Bankers and corporate executives said that the reluctance is a sign of uncertainty about rising health care costs, fear of another economic downturn and a brutal winter in the Midwest that delayed new investment. Companies also rushed to borrow and spend late last year ahead of anticipated tax increases.
