Counting the Cost

Is the world addicted to debt?

As debt continues to pile up around the world, we ask whether we are heading towards another economic collapse.

Debt was the trigger for the financial crisis in 2008, and what followed – from the collapse of Lehman Brothers to the Greek debt crisis – suggested that the world would no longer fall foul of debt.

But debt continues to pile up around the world. It has actually increased by $57tn to $199tn (287 percent of global GDP), according to the McKinsey Global Institute – stifling global economic growth and heightening the risk of more defaults and market turmoil.

Is the world addicted to debt? Are we heading towards another economic collapse? And what can be done to prevent a potential financial meltdown?

We look at the story of oil giant Petrobras, once the motor behind Brazil’s spectacular transformation into a global superpower, which was hit hard by the sharp decline in oil prices, the slowdown of China’s economy, and a corruption scandal of epic proportions.

Susan Lund, the director of research at the McKinsey Global Institute, joins the programme to discuss why global debt keeps rising and why the world is addicted to debt.

Nigeria’s fight against crude corruption 

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is trying to tackle widespread corruption in the country’s oil industry. 

He appointed himself oil minister, and there were reports that the former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was arrested in London. 

Under her stewardship, $20bn allegedly went missing from the state-owned oil company. More staggering, up to $400bn was stolen from the country’s oil coffers between 1960 and 1999, according to the World Bank. 

Can Nigeria get a grip on crude corruption?

Dr Amy Jadesimi, the managing director of the Nigerian oil services group LADOL, discusses Nigeria’s oil curse and Buhari’s fight against corruption.

Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership a threat? 

There was a massive deal signed this past week in the trade world. Twelve countries agreed to what is the largest trade deal in history, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which has taken years of secret negotiations.

It will cut trade barriers, affecting everything from the price of cheese to the cost of some medical treatment. But it is also highly controversial and must still be ratified by each individual nation.

Four of Latin America’s most open economies – Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile – have signed the TPP, but many Latin American neighbours see it as a blow to existing regional trade deals.

Lucia Newman reports from Chile’s capital, Santiago.