The growing deficit in corporate cash flows also led to a more fundamental financial management problem for Enron, the growing need for external capital, or as it was described in-house, "feeding the beast." Rapidly escalating investments in new businesses, whether they were the Portland General Electric (PGE) acquisition of 1997 or the power projects pursued by Rebecca Mark (the Director of Enron's international development group) globally, were absorbing more capital than the current business could self finance. Enron's cash flows fell increasingly behind its investments and sales.