Hai, can we keep shoddy analysis out of a news story?

"But buying back shares in order to make less of them available and thereby up the firm’s earnings-per-share ratio is a risky strategy, and there’s no guarantee it will bolster investor confidence long term."

Basic corporate finance 101:
A company buys back shares only if the debt has for some reason become cheaper to the company based on an analysis of future dividends versus future interest rate payments, not to increase the (arbitrary) earnings per share ratio or to "bolster investor confidence".

The government's "bad debt" buyback plan will have the effect, if it actually goes through, of lowering interest rates on debt, making having more debt a better choice for many companies...

HP will have plenty of cash for R&D, marketing, etc because even though they have mentioned how good their quarters have been they still hint at the possible lack of bonuses this year. That does not include sales mind you as they are so thoughtful to send us in Support, emails about what a wonderful vacation some of the sales team had. And don't forget the massive cuts IT and imaging department will take over the next 2-3 years. Yeah, I think they will be just fine on cash.