Fed Chair Jay Powell suggests that the recent surge in U.S. business debt poses moderate risks to the economy.

Laura Hermes

2019-06-05 10:34:00 Wed ET

Fed Chair Jay Powell suggests that the recent surge in U.S. business debt poses moderate risks to the economy. Many corporate treasuries now carry about 40% debt as part of equity market valuation. St Louis Federal Reserve Bank recent data indicate that the corporate-debt-to-EBITDA ratio has risen to the upper range of 2.3x to 3.1x.

Powell warns that the current level of business debt can cause financial stress to borrowers if the economy weakens. However, Powell adds the cautionary caveat that business debt may not present imminent risks to U.S. financial system stability, household consumption, and business growth. As the Federal Reserve continues to assess the main amplification of business debt deterioration, short-term liquidity risk remains moderate in the core U.S. financial sector. In the meantime, the Trump administration seeks to raise fiscal deficits to support ambitious public programs on infrastructure, education, residential estate, health care, and social security etc. This public debt accumulation may crowd out intertemporal business debt capacity at the margin. If the U.S. aggregate debt capacity remains invariant over time, the government either has to tolerate higher inflation in the form of seigniorage taxes, or needs to reconsider the ripple effects of incremental corporate debt on the real economy.

 


If any of our AYA Analytica financial health memos (FHM), blog posts, ebooks, newsletters, and notifications etc, or any other form of online content curation, involves potential copyright concerns, please feel free to contact us at service@ayafintech.network so that we can remove relevant content in response to any such request within a reasonable time frame.

Blog+More

Corporate payout management

Fiona Sydney

2022-05-05 09:34:00 Thursday ET

Corporate payout management

Corporate payout management This corporate payout literature review rests on the recent survey article by Farre-Mensa, Michaely, and Schmalz (2014). Out

+See More

The Chinese Xi administration may choose to leverage its state dominance of rare-earth elements to better balance the current Sino-U.S. trade war.

Dan Rochefort

2019-06-13 10:26:00 Thursday ET

The Chinese Xi administration may choose to leverage its state dominance of rare-earth elements to better balance the current Sino-U.S. trade war.

The Chinese Xi administration may choose to leverage its state dominance of rare-earth elements to better balance the current Sino-U.S. trade war. In recent

+See More

Corporate cash management

Jacob Miramar

2022-03-25 09:34:00 Friday ET

Corporate cash management

Corporate cash management The empirical corporate finance literature suggests four primary motives for firms to hold cash. These motives include the tra

+See More

Conservative Party wins the British parliamentary majority in the general election with hefty British pound appreciation.

Jonah Whanau

2020-01-08 08:25:00 Wednesday ET

Conservative Party wins the British parliamentary majority in the general election with hefty British pound appreciation.

Conservative Party wins the British parliamentary majority in the general election with hefty British pound appreciation. In response to this general electi

+See More

BAC chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett points out that U.S. corporate debt accumulation can cause the next financial crisis.

John Fourier

2018-09-23 08:37:00 Sunday ET

BAC chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett points out that U.S. corporate debt accumulation can cause the next financial crisis.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch's chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett points out that U.S. corporate debt (not household credit supply or bank ca

+See More

Uber's autonomous car causes the first known pedestrian fatality from a driverless vehicle.

Daphne Basel

2018-03-19 10:37:00 Monday ET

Uber's autonomous car causes the first known pedestrian fatality from a driverless vehicle.

Uber's autonomous car causes the first known pedestrian fatality from a driverless vehicle and thus sets off the alarm bell for artificial intelligence.

+See More