NEW YORK, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- New York-based Standard & Poor's predicts that companies on its 500 list will boost capital spending by an average of 12.7 percent.
That would be the first double-digit annual rise in expenditures since the 17.2 percent gain in 2000, S&P said Wednesday.
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Expenditures within the energy sector of the S&P 500 have increased over 30 percent for the first nine months of 2005 compared to the same period of 2004.
"With the cost of energy increasing, drilling that was not financially viable last year has become attractive," said Howard Silverblatt, an equity market analyst at S&P.
"Additionally, higher expenditures are being spent on alternative energy sources."
