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Election 2024

The Decade of the Living Dead: How Zombie Companies Are Robbing Tomorrow’s Economy

The percentage of companies that can’t afford to pay the interest on their debt has reached a new all-time high in the wake of central bank intervention.

By Nathaniel Whittemore
AccessTimeIconSep 15, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 19, 2021 at 4:21 a.m. UTC
Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto
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The percentage of companies that can’t afford to pay the interest on their debt has reached a new all-time high in the wake of central bank intervention.

For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.

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    • This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io.

    Today on the Brief:

    • MicroStrategy increases its bitcoin reserves by $175 million 
    • The Oracle-TikTok deal starts to smell fishy
    • The SEC is investigating claims of fraud involving Nikola Corp.

    Our main discussion: The rise of zombie firms.

    A zombie firm is a company that can’t afford to service its debt from operating income. These companies are made possible by artificially low interest rates, and they drain resources from the economy. 

    On today’s episode, NLW explains:

    • Why there are more zombie companies than ever
    • The negative impact they have on the economy
    • How they could drive a new financial crisis 

    See also: How Monetary Policy Undermined American Resilience

    For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.

    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.