More: But the global picture is even more interesting. While the world is now awash in debt, this is not a universal problem. Western governments, fuelled by cheap credit and the huge run-up in pandemic-era debt, account for most of the planet's borrowing. Add the private borrowing of their citizens, and their debts now account for several times their annual output.

While debt crises used to be thought of as a developing-world problem, most major governments there have since got their fiscal houses back in order. As a result, while investors have been demanding higher returns on loans to Western governments, since the start of the year bond yields in India, Nigeria, Brazil and Mexico have all been trending downwards.

It's obvious why. With better growth prospects and more prudent budgeting " not just by governments, but by the private and household sectors too " the countries of the developing world are starting to prove more attractive as long-term prospects for bond investors. If Western politicians continue to wave off the concerns of their lenders, they will continue to receive negative responses that choke off their credit supply. It happened in Britain three years ago; will America be next?