In 1980, the US government – along with pretty much all of its peers – began borrowing at an accelerating rate. Note on the following chart how the trend line steepened in the 2000s and then steepened again in this decade, with a sudden and unexpected pop in 2015 and early 2016, even as the current recovery entered its 8th year.

Also in the past year, stock prices have risen from “near-record, overvalued-by-every-historical-measure” levels, to “new-record, grossly-overvalued” levels – and show no signs of slowing down. Note the massive jump in S&P 500 trading volume that began in January and has persisted throughout the year.

Investors, meanwhile, are borrowing to snag more of those apparently-easy profits, with margin debt — money borrowed against stock portfolios to buy more shares — now above both 1999 and 2007 levels.

And now consumers are joining the party:

This is clearly a credit-driven boom of some sort. But is it the long-awaited Austrian School of Economics “crack-up boom”, the exclamation point at the end of especially-frenzied and broad-based financial bubbles? That may be a question answerable only in retrospect. But when the crack-up boom finally hits, this acceleration across multiple sectors is how it will look and feel.

By John Rubino

dollarcollapse.com

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

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