Finance & Fury Podcast

Welcome to Finance & Fury, the ‘Say What Wednesday’ edition. Today’s question comes from Brad, “Any chance you could do a podcast on Australian foreign debt? Is it possible to pay it off? Will paying it off have a negative effect on our economy? Are most or all countries on the path to austerity?" Brad! Awesome questions as it will flow well into next Friday’s Furious Friday episode. We’ll tackle some of the debt issues here, which actually adds to the structural issues that our economy will face …which might cause some issues in the share market and property market. But to start off with…What is Foreign Debt? Foreign Debt is the total of government, financial institution, household and business debt that is borrowed overseas. Australia’s Net Foreign Debt totalled just under $1 trillion last year. It’s important to note that foreign debt does not equal national debt, which is the total government debt. It comprises government borrowings from overseas residents and government borrowings from Australian