Felix Salmon

Disequilibrium in Global Debt

Felix Salmon, Peter Budko, Damian Lillicrab, Nouriel Roubini, Gene Sperling, Andrew Whittaker

Leading economists and strategists including Nouriel Roubini, Peter Budko, and Gene Sperling analyzed the unsustainable trajectory of global debt, debating whether net asset offsets and low servicing costs justify current high leverage ratios. The panel highlighted a critical disconnect where massive debt accumulation has fueled asset bubbles and corporate buybacks rather than productivity, leaving markets vulnerable to earnings shocks due to "covenant light" lending and constrained fiscal safety nets. Concluding that central banks have become overstretched fiscal substitutes, the experts warned that without a political compact linking stimulus to structural reform, the global economy faces a prolonged cycle of financial repression and inequality.