The unprecedented increase will see total global corporate debt jump by 12% to around $9.3 trillion, adding to years of accumulation that has left the world’s most indebted firms owing as much as many medium-sized countries. “Covid has changed everything,” said Seth Meyer, a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson, the firm that compiled the analysis for a new corporate debt index. Companies included in the new debt index already owe almost 40% more than they did in 2014, and growth in debt has comfortably outstripped growth in profits. Pre-tax profits for the same group of 900 companies have risen a collective 9.1% to $2.3 trillion. In contrast, a quarter of the companies in the new index have no debt at all, and some have vast cash reserves.

Source: Dhaka Tribune July 12, 2020 22:52 UTC