World in Upheaval

I wanted to begin this season of the podcast by going back the economic upheaval that followed in the wake of World War I, but, to really understand that period we need to first talk about the business cycle.

QUANTITATIVE EASING HAS PREVENTED A DEBT CRISIS - BUT WE'RE REACHING THE PHYSICAL LIMITS OF QE

China has a lot of problems these days. A trade war with their largest trading partner, worldwide backlash against their Made in China 2025 [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001YoEV9hcbi8HhlUKaa49Kawen69oL_D0gp8tfhjbchEgIT6MFCiL4audUxw2je36aRhxQ69hIbvMZNOCxuIvowYC_r-iLAtnbDw6yQehTzWYjglWDugsxygvFbrLeVJuP9nZzj1kazMS-PsBDLZ5rbL7K1-fzH5O4HRvOJrtufvHoaDFYgl8CL5VRJTvA01-Zt9DlmxlGmww=&c=7b4pdW6cuI75K2t_4n_3mKvY_JzrSyCfCyAKPEaRPr26ihbBtljErg==&ch=otaWBML5tREejxzc-vlDqJaX0TWD644mJtiZwx0kG4dQSXEW_-dfGg==] plan, the rapid aging of their population [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001YoEV9hcbi8HhlUKaa49Kawen69oL_D0gp8tfhjbchEgIT6MFCiL4audUxw2je36aiWy_Wy0htnxSAT5A7aXYuSfuuplL2ohBSlE2T6m0MG4-XmXBrKyrH7NryjcWze3srIbywYI0J-St9If18YP8OQenAxbapIs-Ik83htQ4IrNY3Opdr8uxS-xWWnO0ybq0T4UrF-1kbidCP4VI-5Ffeshusn2IFbvu&c=7b4pdW6cuI75K2t_4n_3mKvY_JzrSyCfCyAKPEaRPr26ihbBtljErg==&ch=otaWBML5tREejxzc-vlDqJaX0TWD644mJtiZwx0kG4dQSXEW_-dfGg==], and worrying signs that the Chinese economy is slowing down [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001YoEV9hcbi8HhlUKaa49Kawen69oL_D0gp8tfhjbchEgIT6MFCiL4audUxw2je36aIIalEHv49eMrO3WX-CvqpzHUZc6YlKRkw5STWK6EFK7BL1fu9nTWi4deQh0gTpAgqqpc_XU6BMtzCPzUfYQa63zmEhHuSskvzbNAqA1CwDRmesOpGL13Oa3Rt-C00-0P7s9dQoZcNJg-jv5D0biFxMyJnsjJgS1TGBgiB_2_3iNpmABAvONeSh2gAqNQC-EgsQUpGpCa3A0_lFY7HjR9sA==&c=7b4pdW6cuI75K2t_4n_3mKvY_JzrSyCfCyAKPEaRPr26ihbBtljErg==&ch=otaWBML5tREejxzc-vlDqJaX0TWD644mJtiZwx0kG4dQSXEW_-dfGg==]. Two new problems are a shortage of dollars and pigs.

One of the most significant economic developments since the Great Recession has been the zombification of the economy. This zombification is the result of the rise of zombie companies. zombie companies are companies that are unprofitable – so unprofitable they are unable to pay even the interest on their debt out of their profits. They are effectively bankrupt but kept alive by banks continuing to lend them money to pay their existing loans.