Corporate debt is a ticking time bomb

America's corporate debt looks ready to blow

Bomb covered in money about to explode
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock/robertsrob, iStock/artoleshko)

America's economic expansion is now old enough that people are wondering what will cause the next bust. There are no obvious culprits. But one suspect skulking in the shadows arguably deserves more attention than it's getting: the rise of corporate borrowing.

Simply put, American companies have taken on a record-breaking $6.3 trillion of debt.

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.