Debt, Debt, and More Debt.

• Position: OFF THE NEWS

"When calculated as a percentage of GDP, the total debt of America's non-financial corporations reached 73.3 percent in the second quarter of 2017. This is a record high. Measured against earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), the net debt of non-financial companies in the S&P 500 hit a ratio of 1.5 at the end of 2016, a level not seen since 2003. And it remained nearly as high in 2017."

--The Economist

"At more than $1 trillion, outstanding U.S. credit card debt is at the highest point ever. The $67.6 billion in credit card debt that we added in Q4 2017 is the highest quarterly accumulation in the last thirty years--68 percent higher than the post-Great Recession average. [America] ended 2017 with $92.2 billion in new credit card debt, the most for a year since 2007 and 105 percent above the post-recession average."

--WalletHub

"Among a group of twenty-one developed markets monitored by the...