By Scott Ronalds

It just got a little greener in Seattle. Bloomberg reported last week that Microsoft recently raised $2.25 billion by issuing 5, 10 and 30-year bonds. And they did it on the cheap. The 5-year notes were issued at 0.875%, the 10-year bonds at 2.125%, and the 30-year notes at 3.5%.

A recent article in The Economist (Desperately Seeking Yield) reported that large firms are raising money in the bond markets at the lowest cost in living memory and at a near record pace.

Many of these companies, including Microsoft, don’t need the cash. They’re raising it because it’s there for the taking at an exceptionally low cost.

We’ve written several times about the “strong getting stronger” in the current economic environment. This is another case of a market leader taking advantage of current conditions to strengthen its business.