Fluor Corp., Softbank Corp. and Huntsman Corp. are buying backshares to take advantage of a worldwide market slump they say hasmade their stocks too cheap.

“We're in the markets starting today buying back shares,”D.Michael Steuert, chief financial officer of Irving, Texas-basedFluor, said on a conference call today. “At these price levels, wethink the company is tremendously undervalued.”

The MSCI AC World Index has dropped 11 percent this month asstockholders seek safer investments amid prospects of anotherrecession. U.S. stocks today jumped the most in more than twoyears, rebounding from the worst drop since 2008, as the FederalReserve vowed to keep interest rates near zero through mid-2013 tosafeguard the economic recovery.

“The buyback sends a positive symbol to the market, people say'Gee, they must believe,'” said Robert S. Kaplan, a professor ofmanagement practices at Harvard Business School and former GoldmanSachs Group Inc. vice chairman. “But companies don't just buy backstock for symbolic reasons. Many companies are well-capitalized andthey have the dry powder to do this.”

Executives worldwide are adding or accelerating buybacks, whichmay help to shore up prices. In addition to Fluor, the largestpublicly traded U.S. construction company, Tokyo-based Softbanksaid it would spend as much as 20 billion yen ($259 million) to buyits own shares. Softbank is the exclusive provider of Apple Inc.'siPhone in Japan.

'Ridiculously Low'
Huntsman ChiefExecutive Officer Peter Huntsman, in an interview, said he spent$1.1 million of his own money to buy 100,000 shares of the companyyesterday because the stock price is “ridiculously low.” The SaltLake City-based chemicals maker said Aug. 5 it would spend as muchas $100 million on a buyback.

Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission today urged companiesto repurchase shares to prevent stock prices from“fallingirrationally.” Silicon Integrated Systems Corp., a chipset makerbased in Hsinchu, Taiwan, agreed to buy back as many as 60 millionshares, or 8.77 percent of its total outstanding, as the shares hita 52-week low today.

“We've saved our eggs for a rainy day and it does put us in aposition where we can be opportunistic,” John Schnatter, chiefexecutive officer of Papa John's International Inc., said in aninterview. “We can buy back stock.”

The Louisville, Kentucky-based pizza-delivery chain bought back$22 million in stock last quarter and is authorized to buy another$57 million, Schnatter said.

Conserving Cash
Kaplan, the Harvardprofessor, said the focus over the past few days at companies headvises has been on trying to get a measure of how serious thesituation is over the next several weeks. Kaplan is also a memberof the investment advisory committee at Mountain View,California-based Google Inc.

“Everybody is looking at how much cash they have right now,”said Thomas Stallkamp, principal at Collaborative Management LLC inBloomfield Hills, Michigan. Stallkamp also is a director atauto-supplier BorgWarner Inc. and medical-device company BaxterInternational Inc.

Other U.S. companies announcing new or accelerated buybackstoday were Charter Communications Inc., Westwood Holdings GroupInc., Starwood Property Trust Inc. and Jarden Corp. Sunoco Inc.,the Philadelphia-based petroleum refiner, was among the biggestprograms, with a $500 million authorization.

Southwest Airline Co.'s board on Aug. 5 approved a plan torepurchase as much as $500 million worth of stock. The Dallas-basedairline's shares have tumbled 35 percent this year.

Adding Value
A repurchase plan valued atas much $200 million announced by Medicis Pharmaceutical yesterdayshows confidence even in a stumbling economy, President MarkPrygocki said in an interview. It's one way the Scottsdale,Arizona-based maker of wrinkle and acne treatments can benefit fromits cash, he said.

“By repurchasing our shares we can provide more value to ourshareholders than leaving it in the bank,” Prygocki said.“It is anappealing decision in light of recent market trends.”

Some executives are forgoing buybacks until it's clearer wherethe global economy is headed.

“We're going to feel a lot of pressure in revenue and we'll haveto control cash and costs carefully,” Juan Jose Nieto, chairman ofBarcelona-based Service Point Solutions SA, Spain's only publiclytraded document-management company, said in an interview today. “Wedon't consider a share buyback, as it's very difficult to add anyvalue in this kind of context.”

Amerigroup Corp.'s decision yesterday to increase its repurchaseauthorization wasn't based on declining equity values, said JulieTrudell, senior vice president for investor relations at themanaged-care provider based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Still, theprogram will benefit from the market's recent tumble.

“When we made the decision to increase the authorization, themarket wasn't in this position,” Trudell said. “Now it's more inour favor.”

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