A Sinking Feeling.

The woolly mammoth.

---

1. Total borrowing by governments in rich countries is set to hit a record high of $15.8 trillion this year, with the cost of making interest payments rising over coming years as bonds issued before the inflation surge mature, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said. In a report on global debt, the Paris-based research body said Thursday that gross borrowing—which includes refinancing maturing bonds as well as new issuance—rose to $14.1 trillion in 2023 from $12.1 trillion in 2022. That total is set to rise further in 2024, and will surpass the previous peak of $15.4 trillion in 2020, when governments borrowed heavily to support households and businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Source: wsj.com)

---

2. Egypt and the International Monetary Fund agreed to more than double the country’s rescue program to $8 billion, the culmination of recent global efforts to stabilize the cash-strapped regional linchpin squeezed by wars and inflation. The announcement followed swift moves earlier Wednesday to float the currency — tanking the pound as much as 38% — and hike interest rates by a record 600 basis points as the country led by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has sought to meet long-standing economic reforms demanded from the IMF and backed by the US. The IMF deal — as well as a crucial $35 billion recent investment commitment from the United Arab Emirates — underscores Egypt’s importance as a Middle East stalwart that’s too big to fail amid Israel’s war with Hamas and a conflict raging in neighboring Sudan. (Source: bloomberg.com)

---