(New York)

Beyond high valuations and a potentially worrying economy (not to mention a trade war), there is something else investors need to worry about. Goldman Sachs is warning investors that S&P 500 companies are engaging in unsustainable financial payouts. The bank shows that in the year ending in March, companies in the index spent about 104% of their free cash flow on buybacks and dividends. It is the first time since before the Crisis that companies spent more on payouts than they generated in free cash flow.

FINSUM: So far this behavior is not hurting companies because investors are okay with extra leverage given the likelihood of Fed easing, but this is definitely a warning sign of financial excess.