Mergers and acquisition activity, often called M&A, can be a great sign of the economic times. When the economy is in the dumps companies don’t want to open up their books and spend, so activity is slow. As companies become more confident about the economic environment they usually start to look for business opportunities that can help them grow. Both yesterday and today there has been a huge increase in the M&A activity on Wall Street, and there is no doubt that investors are taking notice.

Yesterday it was the Prudential and AIG deal that took center stage and for good reason. Prudential purchased the Asian operations of AIG for a whopping $35.5 billion. That certainly doesn’t sound like something that a company would do when they believe the global economy is in shambles. The simple fact that AIG was involved in this transaction also lifted the spirit of investors, since AIG is one of the main culprits for this financial crisis that has occurred in the past couple of years.

Today we have word that the fertilizer industry is ripe for M&A activity between major players. This is another space where companies with cash on hand appear willing to wheel and deal in an improved economic environment.

As individual investors the increase in mergers and acquisitions should definitely encourage you. Large companies that are stocked full of cash are often very careful with this cash, but when they start opening up their balance sheet and making deals, it is a true sign of increased optimism. If large companies with a stockpile of cash are more optimistic about the future of the economy then that makes me feel more confident about the direction we may be heading.

As more cash is spent and businesses take a leap of faith, the end result should be a positive one for the stock market and consumers as a whole!