IDEV - To Gauge An Economy's Health Watch The 'Financial Cycle'
By Stefan Hofrichter, CFA, Global Economist at Allianz Global Investors
Has the global economy once again become overloaded with debt? More than 10 years on from the financial crisis – which was, at its core, a debt crisis – there are signs that indebtedness is reaching worrisome levels. Our research shows that global leverage for all sectors stands at 298% of world GDP, which is close to the all-time high of 303% set in 2009. That’s significantly higher than the 279% level set in 2006, on the eve of the financial crisis.
Yet high leverage