Last month the US government’s National Intelligence Council released a new report on the role of the US in the world in 2025 . The report discussed the nature of superpower strife involving the rise of China, the shift of wealth and power from west to east, the increased likely use of nuclear weapons and the reshaping of America. I believe that all these issues are ‘accurate’ and are likely to have a profound impact on the world over the next 20 years. However, one critical factor was overlooked. [...]

It is little wonder that banks are reluctant to offer credit to the citizen, to businesses or to each other when bearing in mind the level of debt that currently exists. Official estimates of the American debt currently sit at $10.6 Trillion Dollars. A boutique investment analyst in Moscow considers the US debt to be nearer $11 Trillion dollars. However, two well known US investment banks are far less optimistic and unofficially estimate the debt level to be $26 Trillion Dollars, in effect 250% of US GDP.
In the UK, informed sources place UK debt levels nearer £2.5 trillion pounds. By the way, the UK’s GDP stands at about £1.5 trillion pounds.
What debt are we talking about? – Housing debt, credit card debt and debt ridden financial instruments, such as derivatives, all of which undermine the confidence of the market.
What value is better [...]