A surge in US borrowing in 1Q20 by corporates and the government increased debt of the non-financial sector, which also includes households, to an all-time high of USD55.9 trillion, equivalent to 260% of GDP, says Fitch Ratings. With the 0.9% reduction in 1Q20 nominal GDP, the increase in debt ratio of households, corporates and government relative to GDP was the highest on record (dating to the mid-1950s), at 10pp. For households, this marked the most meaningful interruption in the steady de-leveraging - measured by a falling debt-to-GDP ratio - that began during the global financial crisis more than a decade ago. ... (full story)