The Genius Marketing of Apple's Advanced Manufacturing Fund

We already knew Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) marketing department was good, but not this good. The Mac maker is known for making consumers feel like they need a new product before they ever even knew they wanted it. What if the company has just expanded this expertise into the political arena?

In May, Apple announced in an exclusive interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer that it was creating a $1 billion Advanced Manufacturing Fund, whose primary purpose would be to invest in domestic job creation. This was amid an environment of rising economic nationalism and increased political pressure to create jobs in the U.S. after outsourcing so many abroad. However, it's starting to look like the awards that Apple is doling out from this Advanced Manufacturing Fund are really just prepayments in disguise.

A Finisar technician examines a wafer during production. Image source: Apple.

Source: Fool.com