Companies are self-financing their investments in almost all large OECD countries; why? What happens with corporate debt in that case?

In almost all large OECD countries (the exceptions being the United Kingdom, Sweden and France), companies are self-financ ing their investments. We can first seek to determine whether this is due to: The high level of earnings; that is the case in Japan, the United States, Canada, Spain and Germany; The low level of investment; that is the case in Australia and Italy. We can then look at the effect on corporate debt. The fact that companies are self-financ ing their investments has led to : Corporate deleveraging in Japan, Spain, Germany and Italy; Continued increase in corporate debt, despite the lack of financing requirement: Either to finance share buybacks ( United States ); Or to finance accumulation of cash (Canada, Australia); Or to finance acquisitions ( United States , Canada). All things considered, the self-financing of corporate investments may be a negative development if it reflects a low level of investment, or if it does not lead to deleveraging.