The old business saw remains true: Cash, now as ever, is king.

With borrowing still expensive and the economic outlook depressing, businesses here and nationally are hoarding cash in all sorts of ways -- by suspending dividend payments, contracting inventory, cutting 401(k) contributions and postponing planned capital expenditures.

In earnings calls, news releases and media interviews, companies have been discussing the need to stockpile cash, and the conservation effort runs across the business spectrum, from retail to manufacturing to food processing to the auto sector. Some are doing it as a matter of financial prudence; others, out of necessity, overwhelmed and over-leveraged.

Locally, PPG Industries said during an earnings forecast last week that it was "redoubling" its efforts to conserve cash, boosting its cash-on-hand total to $800 million, up from about $500 million on Sept. 30.

"We are managing our working capital and capital spending aggressively," said William Hernandez, PPG's chief financial officer, in the earnings preview.

Meanwhile, Dick's Sporting Goods announced last month that it had amended a credit agreement, expanding its revolving line of credit by $90 million, just in case it needs quick access to cash to take in its convertible issue bonds.

"We were comfortable with our credit line as it stood," said Timothy Kullman, Dick's chief financial officer, during the earnings call. "But the added insurance was going to make us more comfortable."

H.J. Heinz Co. is going so far as to appoint an "internal cash czar," who will try to boost cash flow and keep inventory lower.

"Warehouses are bad," joked Ted Smyth, chief administrative officer at Heinz. "If the cash is sitting there, [tied up] in a warehouse, it's of no good use."

Even as the credit markets thaw a bit and interest rates are dropping, there's no guarantee that the lending levels will normalize quickly, or that every company will have its credit lines restored to their previously favorable terms.

"Why borrow cash if you have it within your organization?" Mr. Smyth said.

Nationally, casino company Trump Entertainment Resorts, facing and industrywide slump, made news earlier in the month when it said it would skip a $53 million bond-interest payment in order to save cash as the company renegotiated with its creditors. FedEx Corp. has announced it will be suspending corporate 401(k) contributions for at least a year, as a cash-saving measure. And Macy's Inc. is reported to be considering a suspension of its 13.25-cent quarterly dividend to conserve cash, in order to be better able to pay off the billions in company debt that is maturing over the next three years.

It's a popular tactic -- stock dividends are disappearing at the fastest rate in 50 years, according to Bloomberg's financial news service. Citigroup Inc., the New York Times Co. and 89 other big companies reduced or suspended payouts to shareholders last month, "the most since May 1958, when 113 companies slashed dividends."

For those desperate companies that have exhausted their nickel-and-dime savings measures, there's one last option -- shutting down. Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co. will be extending their traditional two-week holiday shutdown into January, partly to reduce inventory at a time when demand is slow, and partly to conserve cash. Cisco Systems Inc., a computer networking company, is imposing upon its workers a mandatory four-day shutdown in hopes of saving $1 billion. And the Seattle Times newspaper has asked 500 managers and nonunion workers to take a week off without pay; struggling computer-maker Dell Inc. has asked its employees to consider doing the same thing.

Companies realize that "cash is king" during economic downturns, said Bob Krizner, an audit partner at Pittsburgh's KPMG branch. (KPMG is a financial advisory and auditing firm.) Even the companies that track the other companies are trying to save money -- the London Stock Exchange is freezing its plan to buy back 500 million British pounds worth of shares. Philadelphia's Comcast Corp. is mulling the same action, a slowing of its share repurchase program, to conserve cash, even as the cable giant's quarterly returns were up 38 percent.

How will the cash conservation effort affect consumers? Eventually, an inventory pinch-down will mean that the retail outlets -- car dealerships, clothing stores, groceries -- will likewise be forced to carry less inventory, meaning less selection when you're shopping.