Preparing for payback  Author: Craig Scalise  Could the intense
focus on Europe’s sovereign debt crisis be obscuring a bigger
question: Are we entering an era of global debt unwinding? In
this third article in our Eurozone series, the collective
government, corporate and household drive to back the surfeit of
debt could create highly disruptive challenges for many
businesses worldwide in areas ranging from higher taxes and dips
in demand to inflation, devaluation and asset price instability.
Companies should think about how to curtail the upheaval and
adapt their businesses to a thriftier era.  Around the world,
developed economies have amassed government debts rivalling
levels not seen since the end of World War II.1 These debts
could cause a drag on the countries’ growth that lasts for
decades, potentially cutting nearly a quarter of their
economies.2 The public sector isn’t alone. Corporate and
household debts, combined with government debt, have nearly
doubled as a proportion of GDP since 1980, rising to