By an act of Congress and with the stroke of a pen, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) programs will continue to receive funding for the next 14 months.
Publicly owned companies, like many U.S. refineries, have a fiduciary responsibility (which is a legal obligation) to act in the best interest of their shareholders, and that extends to how companies spend their earnings. Often, earnings are spent on a combination of the following: direct dividends, stock buy back programs, paying down debt and capital investment projects.