2018-11-29moneymorning.com

In the last 15 years, worldwide debt has more than doubled, up by nearly $150 trillion. And the Institute of International Finance warned this past July that global debt rose the most in two years, by $8 trillion in the first quarter of this year, reaching an astounding $247 trillion.

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In the United States, the country's debt has grown so large that people cannot wrap their heads around it. As it stands this week, the country is on the hook for a staggering $21.79 trillion -- with a "t." And even if nothing else happens in the economy, it will grow $310 billion per year just on the interest owed alone.

But things do happen in the economy, and in fiscal 2018, the budget deficit of $779 billion added that much to the total bill. If interest rates keep inching higher, the amount owed on the debt will get larger and larger until it crowds out other necessary spending.

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[And yet,] central banks are already handcuffed with what they can do to combat future economic problems. They will be unable to handle the global debt bomb when it finally arrives.

The bond market is not helping, either. While the Fed grapples with its short-term interest rate policies, the bond market, which controls long-term interest rates, is already in a bear market. In other words, interest rates on Treasury notes, mortgages, and long corporate bonds are already rising significantly.

For example, the rate on the benchmark 10-year Treasury rallied from 2.06% in September of last year to its current 3.06%. That ... is a 50% increase in just 14 months...



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