Sanders-Schumer's attack on redemptions could have a "significant" impact

This feeling helped to fuel a measure proposed by the Sense. Charles Schumer, New York, and Bernie Sanders, Vermont, who said in a New York Times editorial that they wanted to apply "prerequisites" to the buyback, which would impose an hourly wage of $ 15 off and health benefits.

"In this period of high income and wealth inequality, Americans should be outraged by the fact that these profitable companies are laying off workers while spending billions of dollars to increase the value of their shares and further enrich the rich", said the senators.

As the measure seeks to bridge the wealth gap, Wall Street professionals are worried about its disruptive potential for the markets.

"If populist attacks materialize, they will make sense," said David Santschi, director of liquidity research at TrimTabs, which tracks the evolution of cash on the market. "I do not think it's the job of the government to tell businesses how they can spend money."

Redemptions broke a record in 2018, reaching $ 1 trillion and doubling production in 2017.

Large technology companies and Wall Street banks are generally the major buyers of gross purchases. Apple, for example, has made more than $ 250 billion in buybacks over the last decade, until 2018, according to S & P Dow Jones indices. Titan troubled banks Wells Fargo made more than $ 63 billion during the period, while Microsoft has exceeded $ 100 billion.

The top 20 buyers alone bought more than $ 1.1 trillion over the decade.

Even Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, who almost never participates, announced a $ 928 million value in 2018.

"These are a lot of movements that have a lot of buying power," Santschi said. "If you witness a significant slowdown in redemptions, that would have a significant impact on the markets."

The buybacks worked hand-in-hand with the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy, which kept interest rates close to acceptable borrowing rates and, for years, poured billions of cash into the markets. thanks to a dynamic bond buying program that brought the central bank's balance sheet to $ 4.5 billion.