por admin » Dom Nov 07, 2010 10:25 am
El numero de la semana: la deuda global $10.2 trillones
Esa es la cantidad que el mundo necesitara prestarse en el 2011
Mientras la deuda de los paises desarrollados sube a niveles no visto desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial, es dificil saber cuanto es demasiado. Pero es facil ver que el riesgo de un problema financiero serio esta creciendo.
El proximo anio, 15 de las naciones desarrolladas, incluyendo US, Japon, Espania y Grecia tendran que financiar $10.2 trillones para pagar los bonos que maduran y los deficits de sus presupuestos, de acuerdo a estimados del IMF. Eso es 7% mas que este anio y es el 27% de su produccion economica combinada.
Aparte de Japon cuya deuda es enorme y el crecimiento de su economia es anemica, US es el caso mas extremo. El proximo anio, US tendra que encontrar $4.2 trillones. Eso es 27.8% de su GDP (PBI) un aumento del 26,5% este anio. En comparacion, Grecia necesita $69 billones o 23.8% de su PBI.
Hasta ahora, con la notable excepcion de Grecia, las naciones desarrolladas no han tenido muchos problemas para encontrar financiamiento. Los inversionistas Japoneses han comprado consistentemente bonos Japoneses a pesar de los pocos intereses (yields) que pagan. Los inversionistas extranjeros siguen comprando los bonos del gobierno americano, el cual sigue siendo la inversion mas segura del mundo.
Pero, hay razones para estar preocupados por el apetito del gobierno para prestarse dinero y empujar al alza los intereses de la deuda o algo peor.
Por ejemplo, los gobiernos estan usando menores flujos de capital internaciona. El total del portafolio interancional es un 3.8% del PBI global en los ultimos 12 meses hasta Junio, comparado con un 9.5% promedio en los ultimso 8 anios antes de la recesion.
Los pases avanzados esta poniendo presion en China para permita que su moneda se aprecie frente al dolar. Manteniendo todo igual, este movimiento permitiria desiminuir la demanda por deuda denominada en dolares por parte de China que es el pais que tiene mas reservas en bonos americanos en el mundo.
En US, el Fed se ha comprometido a comprar $600 billones de bonos del gobierno en los proximos 8 meses. La demanda de los americanos ha sido muy fuerte y los consumidores estan ahorrando mas. La regulacion mas extricta podria llevar a los bancos americanos a compar mas deuda segura como los bonos del gobierno americano.
Pero como el IMF alerto en su reporte esta semana, las posibilidades de que los inversionistas no compren la deuda de los economias avanzadas es alta, este es un escenario indeseable. No se puede saber a ciencia cierta que tan cerca se esta de esa probabilidad. De todas maneras estamos caminando en la direccion equivocada. Sigue siendo dificil pensar que se produzca una crisis financiera en la que los gobierno no puedan ayudar por que sus finanzas son el problema.
Number of the Week: $10.2 Trillion in Global Borrowing
By Mark Whitehouse
Number of the Week
$10.2
Trillion$10.2 trillion: The amount of money advanced-nation governments will need to borrow in 2011
As the debts of advanced countries rise to levels not seen since the aftermath of World War II, it’s hard to know how much is too much. But it’s easy to see that the risk of serious financial trouble is growing.
Next year, fifteen major developed-country governments, including the U.S., Japan, the U.K., Spain and Greece, will have to raise some $10.2 trillion to repay maturing bonds and finance their budget deficits, according to estimates from the International Monetary Fund. That’s up 7% from this year, and equals 27% of their combined annual economic output.
Aside from Japan, which has a huge debt hangover from decades of anemic growth, the U.S. is the most extreme case. Next year, the U.S. government will have to find $4.2 trillion. That’s 27.8% of its annual economic output, up from 26.5% this year. By comparison, crisis-addled Greece needs $69 billion, or 23.8% of its annual GDP.
So far, with the notable exception of Greece, major advanced nations haven’t had too much trouble raising the money they need. Japan’s domestic investors have consistently bought its government bonds despite their low yield. Foreign investors have been snapping up U.S. Treasury bonds, which remain the world’s premier safe-haven investment.
Still, there’s reason to be concerned that governments’ appetite for borrowing could ultimately push up interest rates, or worse.
For one, government borrowers are tapping into smaller international capital flows. The total amount of foreign portfolio investment sloshing in across advanced countries’ borders averaged about 3.8% of global GDP in the twelve months ended June, compared to an average 9.5% in the eight years leading up to the recession.
Beyond that, the U.S. and other advanced nations are putting pressure on China to allow its currency to appreciate against the dollar. All else equal, such a move would curb demand for dollar-denominated debt from a country that is the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasurys.
In the U.S., domestic investors could pick up the slack. The Federal Reserve has committed to buy an added $600 billion in U.S. government debt over the next eight months. Demand from households has been very strong as U.S. consumers boost their savings rate. Tighter regulations could push banks to buy more safe assets such as U.S. Treasurys.
But as the IMF warned in a report this week, the chances that investors will balk at lending to governments “remains high for advanced economies.” That’s a highly undesirable outcome — picture a financial crisis in which governments can’t step in to help, because government finances are the problem. We can’t know how close we are to such an outcome, and the need to keep the recovery going would make cutting back now a risky move. Ultimately, though, we’re heading in the wrong direction.