have lower statutory rates, by unfavorable changes in tax laws and regulations or by adverse rulings in tax related litigation.

 

Fiscal 2011 Compared to Fiscal 2010:     Provision for income taxes increased during fiscal 2011 due substantially to higher income before provision for income taxes and a reduction in the impact of favorable judicial decisions and settlements with worldwide taxing authorities.

Fiscal 2010 Compared to Fiscal 2009:     Provision for income taxes decreased during fiscal 2010 primarily due to recent judicial decisions, including the March 2010 U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit ruling in Xilinx v. Commissioner , and settlements with various worldwide taxing authorities. These decreases were partially offset by higher income before provision for income taxes and by a lower proportion of our worldwide taxable income being earned in lower tax rate jurisdictions.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Working capital:     The increase in working capital as of May 31, 2011 in comparison to May 31, 2010 was primarily due to the favorable impact to our net current assets resulting from our net income during fiscal 2011 and our issuance of $3.25 billion of long-term senior notes in July 2010. These increases were partially offset by cash used for our acquisitions, repurchases of our common stock and cash used to pay dividends to our stockholders. Our working capital may be impacted by some of the aforementioned factors in future periods, certain amounts and timing of which are variable.

The increase in working capital as of May 31, 2010 in comparison to May 31, 2009 was primarily due to the favorable impact to our net current assets resulting from our net income during fiscal 2010 and our issuance of $4.5 billion of long-term senior notes in July 2009. These increases were partially offset by $5.6 billion of net cash used for our acquisition of Sun and other companies, the reclassification of $2.2 billion of our senior notes that were due and repaid in January 2011 as a current liability, $700 million of cash used to repay Sun’s legacy convertible notes shortly after the closing of the acquisition, repurchases of our common stock and cash used to pay dividends to our stockholders.

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities:     Cash and cash equivalents primarily consist of deposits held at major banks, money market funds, Tier-1 commercial paper, U.S. Treasury obligations, U.S. government agency and government sponsored enterprise obligations, and other securities with original maturities of 90 days or less. Marketable securities primarily consist of time deposits held at major banks, Tier-1 commercial paper, corporate notes, U.S. Treasury obligations, U.S. government agency and government sponsored enterprise obligations and certain other securities. The increase in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at May 31, 2011 in comparison to May 31, 2010 was primarily due to cash generated from our operating activities, our issuance of $3.25 billion of senior notes in July 2010 and $1.15 billion of short-term borrowings made pursuant to certain of our revolving credit agreements. Cash, cash equivalents and