Global Debt Debacle

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You might recall back in April, in post #429 (last page) Goldcore quoted a Bloomberg report stating that global debt had hit $237T. Well, it's only been 3 months or so and it's now being reported at $247T:

– Global debt time bomb surges to nearly a ‘Quarter Quadrillion’ ($250T)
– “The $247 trillion global debt bomb” Washington Post warn
– Debt surges globally and global debt is up almost $150 trillion in just 15 years according to analysis by the Institute of International Finance
– Debt expansion appears to be accelerating and in Q1,2018 alone, global debt surged by another $8 trillion
– After falling marginally in recent years, global debt to GDP increased in Q1, 2018 and global growth is now slowing while global debt increases
– All major countries and every strata of society sees debt surge and massive consumer/ household, business, financial and government
– Important to consider the debt surge in context of GDP and since 2003, as a share of the world economy (GDP), the increase went from below 250% of GDP in 2003 to nearly 320% today
– Quarter Quadrillion in debt does not include massive global pension liabilities and other unfunded liabilities such as the U.S. social security, medicare and medicaid
...

https://news.goldcore.com/ie/gold-blog/global-debt-time-bomb-surges-to-nearly-250-trillion/

It's quite possible that the root sources for the two numbers are not the same and they used different methods for tallying the numbers, so they might not be apples to apples to compare them, but I think it's pretty safe to say that the numbers are going up faster than is sustainable over the long term.
 
The World Bank has warned the largest and fastest rise in global debt in half a century could lead to another financial crisis as the world economy slows.

The 'Global Waves of Debt' report looked at the four major episodes of debt increases that have occurred in more than 100 countries since 1970 — the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s, the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s and the global financial crisis from 2007 to 2009.

The bank said during the fourth wave, from 2010 to 2018, the debt to GDP ratio of developing countries has risen by more than half to 168 per cent.

That was a faster increase on an annual basis than during the Latin American debt crisis.

Problematically, the rise in debt has been across both private companies and governments across the world, amplifying the risks if there is another global financial crisis.
...

More: https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-20/world-bank-issues-global-debt-warning/11819542
 
I copied the two posts above from some older, long threads on other subjects to provide some context for this new report:
The world is mired in $315 trillion of debt, according to a report from the Institute of International Finance.

This global debt wave has been the biggest, fastest and most wide-ranging rise in debt since World War II, coinciding with the Covid-19 pandemic.

"This increase marks the second consecutive quarterly rise and was primarily driven by emerging markets, where debt surged to an unprecedented high of over $105 trillion—$55 trillion more than a decade ago," the IIF said in its quarterly Global Debt Monitor report released in May.

Around two-thirds of the $315 trillion owed originates from mature economies, with Japan and the United States contributing the most to that debt pile.

However, the debt-to-GDP ratio for mature economies — which is seen as a good indicator of a country's ability to service its debts — has been falling in general.

On the other hand, emerging markets held $105 trillion in debt, but their debt-to-GDP ratio hit a new high of 257%, pushing the overall ratio up for the first time in three years.
...


$65T added in 6 years (since post #1).
 
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Louis Rukeyser used to call the bond traders "ghouls".
 
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