Apple just took out a $6.5 billion loan even though it's sitting on $178 billion in cash (AAPL)

Apple sold $6.5 billion in bonds on Monday, according to Bloomberg. That's the same Apple that last week announced an record-breaking $18 billion profit over the holiday quarter. It's reasonable to ask: why would Apple -- a company with $178 billion in cash -- need a loan? In short: taxes. The vast majority of Apple's cash hoard is held offshore. Apple can defer taxes on that cash until it decides to bring it back to the U.S. Apple doesn't want to bring the money home, though. It could pay u...