Bloomberg reported that capital spending at U.S. companies is at the highest level since 2008 as upgrades to plants, property and equipment show some executives embracing the likelihood that the economy will avert recession.

Expenditures rose 24% to $43.3 billion in the third quarter for 140 non-financial companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 that had released such data as of November 4th, Bloomberg said. Year-to-date investments of $149 billion are the highest since 2008, the analysis shows.

Bloomberg notes that corporate investment in equipment and software climbed at a 17.4% annual pace in the third quarter.

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