Dragged Under By Debt

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

Dragged Under By Debt

By now we all know about the huge weight of debt dragging down the financial markets. But frankly, Tyler's too depressed to think about that any more. So to lighten things up, let's take a look at today's latest government borrowing stats.

As the economy falters, year-to-date borrowing is already running a cool 70%above last year's levels. According to the IFS:

"... if the rate of the slide persists, borrowing for the full year would be £65bn, compared to £43bn forecast by Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling in his March budget."

Translation: things are going to get a whole lot worse from here, so full-year borrowing could easily be £75bn, or 5% of GDP.

What's more, this month's ONS figures for the first time include our Crock debt, which at end-August amounted to £87bn. Which means that Gordo's 40% official debt ceiling has already been exceeded by 3.3%.

Debt debt debt.

Hope you enjoyed the fat years.