Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

Methamphetamines have become the biggest class of drugs in East Asia. Consumption has doubled

since 2013. New markets have been created as refugees were forced to smuggle drugs across

borders, and it appears local militias and armed forces are in on the action. And there's

a presidential election coming up in Slovakia this weekend. Two months ago, Susana Kapitova,

one of the candidates, was polling in a single digit. Now, the woman known as the Slovakian

Aaron Brockovich looks set to win the race.

First up though, 12 years ago, the global economy was shaken to its core, thanks in large part

to widespread investment in bad mortgage debt. Now the world's back on an even keel,

there are hints of a different dangerous trend. My colleague John Prado goes looking for what worries

these days. The global financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 was the most significant financial

and economic upheaval since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Mayhem, Carnage, a blood bath.

Call it what you want, but what we saw on global stock markets today was ill disguised panic.

It took almost everyone in the financial world by surprise. Since then, economists,

traders and fund managers have watched wearily, waiting for signs of the next crisis.

Now, concerns are growing about corporate debt.

The amount of debt owned by American companies runs into the trillions of dollars.

That's not necessarily a problem, but a sizable chunk of that debt is owned by companies that are

considered to be bad credit risks. Among those to sound a note of caution is Jerome Powell,

chairman of the Federal Reserve. We've called out corporate debt as a risk. It's a concern,

there's something that we're watching. Last week, the yield on 10-year treasury bonds fell

...