So-called ''zombie companies,'' firms that are in debt to the point of needing bailouts to survive, have been rising steadily in number since the '90s -- steadily that is until coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdowns took place. Those events caused the number of zombies to skyrocket, creating more than 600 zombie corporations (out of 3,000 large companies) with $2.6 trillion in debt. These firms are just limping along, harming the American economy as they go.
In two words: The Fed. Without the Federal Reserve purchasing corporate bonds and allowing these failing companies access to credit, these faltering firms would likely have failed. The Fed, by keeping unproductive and ailing corporations alive and not allowing a natural death to take place, has created a dangerous and gruesome mess -- one so pervasive that U.S. economic growth could be delayed for years.
Zombie companies, you see, aren't earning the capital needed to invest in and build their businesses, which helps the country; rather they're a huge drain on America. Note that the United States has fostered zombie companies for the past decade, but the pandemic and the lockdowns greatly worsened the problem.
More than 600 U.S. companies are zombies, defined as not making enough money to pay the interest on the debt they've accumulated. You've heard of all of them: Macy's, the four major airlines (Delta, United, American, and Southwest), Carnival, Exxon Mobil, and Marriott International, to name a few.
Some companies, such as hotels and restaurants, are not dead, merely wounded. And wounded companies should come back -- so long as they weren't killed. Post-pandemic consumerism, however, will probably look different from pre-pandemic spending. While many corporations won't die, they might need to do a major pivot to survive.
It's important for investors to understand which companies are zombies and which ones are likely to die versus those with a good chance of survival. Keep in mind that once a company has been a zombie, the weakened position makes it less likely to experience a full recovery. In fact, according to research from the Bank for International Settlements, companies that became zombies once are three times more likely to become zombies again.
What impact do zombie companies have for the commercial real estate investor? Zombie stock could be a good short-term investment but probably not a great long-term one. Unless you're confident a company became a zombie only temporarily due to the coronavirus, it's best to keep a sharp eye on zombies and former zombies.
Continue reading here:
US Zombie Companies Are Now $2.6 Trillion in Debt. What Does That Mean for Investors? - Motley Fool
- I know just where to be when the zombie apocalypse hits - The Ogle County Life - January 22nd, 2021
- Nicollet Ave. project: a zombie streetcar and pot of Minneapolis money that nobody wants to talk about - MinnPost - January 22nd, 2021
- Zombie apocalypse map shows the best place to be in UK if the dead rose - Daily Express - January 22nd, 2021
- How The Day Of The Dead TV Show Can Best Connect To Romero's Zombie Movies - Screen Rant - January 22nd, 2021
- The Walking Dead: Does The Zombie Apocalypse Ever End? - Screen Rant - January 22nd, 2021
- Editorial: County GOP's zombie idea marches on - The Island Now - January 22nd, 2021
- Zombie law: Sec 66As curious afterlife makes the case for police independence and legal literacy - The Times of India Blog - January 22nd, 2021
- Army Of The Dead: 8 Quick Things We Know About Zack Snyders Movie - CinemaBlend - January 22nd, 2021
- Death of the 'zombie' pipeline and calling out white supremacy in politics - APTN News - January 22nd, 2021
- Survive a zombie apocalypse while you get revenge on your cheating husband! - Gamasutra - January 22nd, 2021
- The Devil's Rejects: All 4 Movies That Inspired Rob Zombie Explained - Screen Rant - January 22nd, 2021
- Lyra pays tribute to Dolores O'Riordan with beautiful cover of 'Zombie' on The Late Late Show - Irish Post - January 22nd, 2021
- Zombie cells and flu fighters - McGill Reporter - McGill Reporter - January 22nd, 2021
- Zombie film fans better equipped to deal with Covid-19 pandemic, shows study - The Financial Express - January 22nd, 2021
- Isolated in Pandemic: Is Zombie Terror a copy of #Alive? Or the opposite? Understand! - Designer Women - January 22nd, 2021
- Day of the Dead Show Confirmed To Connect To Original Movie - Screen Rant - January 22nd, 2021
- The Devil's Rejects: What Happened To The Firefly Family's Ranch Location - Screen Rant - January 22nd, 2021
- Erick the Architect of Flatbush Zombies talks 'Future Proof': [it] isn't just an EP or album title - Brooklyn Vegan - January 22nd, 2021
- NZ's "zombie" companies in trouble - New Zealand Herald - January 22nd, 2021
- Explained: How zombie films may have prepared fans for Covid-19 pandemic - The Indian Express - January 15th, 2021
- Rob Zombie and AC/DC finally find their way onto 'Jeopardy!' - WAAF - January 15th, 2021
- The 10 best and worst cities to survive a zombie apocalypse revealed - The Sun - January 15th, 2021
- Zombie Capitalism Feeding On Death And Debt Lurches Into Fascism And Default Bomb - Scoop.co.nz - January 15th, 2021
- Zendaya, zombies and asteroids: The best new films coming to Netflix in 2021 - CBC.ca - January 15th, 2021
- How The Zombie Apocalypse Prepares You For The COVID-19 Pandemic - American Council on Science and Health - January 15th, 2021
- Magic: The Gathering - Kaldheim's Necromancy Cards Are INTENSE - CBR - Comic Book Resources - January 15th, 2021
- Did Watching All Those Zombie Movies Prepare You For The Pandemic? Research Says Yes! - Forbes - January 12th, 2021
- Zombies Could Stunt the Bank Recovery - The Wall Street Journal - January 12th, 2021
- The Walking Dead: Earth's Safest City Has Mastered The Zombie Apocalypse - Screen Rant - January 12th, 2021
- Brave History January 12th, 2021 - APRIL WINE, DEEP PURPLE, ROB ZOMBIE, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, LED ZEPPELIN, MERCENARY, THE BLACK CROWES, ICED... - January 12th, 2021
- How dealing with a zombie pandemic taught my students to think fast and think ethically - CEOWORLD magazine - January 12th, 2021
- Good News: Wyoming a Great Place to Survive Zombie Apocalypse - laramielive.com - January 9th, 2021
- Best Zombie Anime You Need to Stream Right Now - OtakuKart - OtakuKart - January 9th, 2021
- Zombie Apocalypse 2021? Some Twitter users think Nostradamus predicted Russian scientists will cause a plague of the undead - Monsters and Critics - January 3rd, 2021
- Prabhas to unveil trailer of upcoming Telegu film Zombie Reddy on January 2 - Republic World - January 3rd, 2021
- Discover What It Means To Be A Zombie In Adventure Game Surviving The Humans - TheGamer - December 31st, 2020
- Resident Evil Reboot Promo Art Reveals First Look At Zombie As Filming Wraps - We Got This Covered - December 31st, 2020
- Rob Zombie Appears on Cover of New Revolver Issue | Revolver - Revolver Magazine - December 31st, 2020
- Mahesh Babu and Ranveer Singh Fight off Zombies in Viral Video - News18 - December 31st, 2020
- SNP accuses UK Govt of wasting millions of taxpayer pounds on 'zombie' Scotland Office - HeraldScotland - December 31st, 2020
- Wolves could hold the key to preventing 'zombie' disease threatening US deer populations - Telegraph.co.uk - December 31st, 2020
- Rob Zombie, Ghostemane and Poppy Appear on Covers of New Revolver Issue - Revolver Magazine - December 31st, 2020
- 'Zombie' greenhouse gas lurks in permafrost beneath the Arctic Ocean - Livescience.com - December 26th, 2020
- Abadon turned into a zombie and took a bite out of Hikaru Shida - Cageside Seats - December 26th, 2020
- Millions of mink infected with coronavirus to be BURNED after 'ZOMBIE uprising' from grave - Daily Express - December 26th, 2020
- The Dead Rise Once Again With New Marvel Zombies Pops From Funko - Bleeding Cool News - December 26th, 2020
- Resident Evil Reboot Original Video Game Zombie Revealed as Filming Wraps - MovieWeb - December 26th, 2020
- Anna and the Apocalypse: Every Song Ranked From Worst To Best - Screen Rant - December 26th, 2020
- Monroe County ordered to absorb the cost related to zombie homes in towns - RochesterFirst - December 26th, 2020
- Fear The Walking Dead mystery: Who is patient zero? - Undead Walking - December 26th, 2020
- Im worried that Hikaru Shida is turning into a zombie after being bitten by Abadon - Cageside Seats - December 26th, 2020
- The zombie comedy you need to watch on HBO Max - Looper - December 26th, 2020
- Call of Duty Zombies: The 5 Best Easter Eggs (& 5 Of The Worst) - TheGamer - December 26th, 2020
- Every Type of Zombie in Back 4 Blood | Game Rant - GameRant - December 22nd, 2020
- Holidays, celebrities and the zombie apocalypse - Washington Times - December 22nd, 2020
- Army of the Dead Prequel Cast Revealed by Zack Snyder in Set Photo - Collider - December 22nd, 2020
- 'Zombie Campaigns' Continue To Accrue Money, Years After Congressional Candidates Have Stopped Running - KJZZ - December 22nd, 2020
- Don't Wait to Wind Down 'Zombie' Subsidiaries - CFO - December 22nd, 2020
- Marvel Zombies & 9 Other Timelines Where Everything Went Wrong - CBR - Comic Book Resources - December 22nd, 2020
- JOEY DIABOLIC Releases Cover Of WHITE ZOMBIE's "Creature Of The Wheel" - bravewords.com - December 22nd, 2020
- South Koreas Zombie Companies Are Scarier Than the Movies - The Wall Street Journal - December 21st, 2020
- Will the Fed Ever Stop Propping Up Zombie Companies? - Yahoo Finance - December 21st, 2020
- Gangsters are PAID taxpayer cash to hand over weapons like zombie knives - Express - December 21st, 2020
- Newly discovered fungi turn flies into zombies and devour them from the inside out - Livescience.com - December 19th, 2020
- Zombie apocalypse simulation model indicates where we should hide. - The UBJ - December 19th, 2020
- BACK 4 BLOOD First Impression: Returning To Zombies With Originality - GameTyrant - December 19th, 2020
- New Zealand's highest court find that zombies do exist in New Zealand after all - Lexology - December 19th, 2020
- Fear not the zombie companies; focus on dealing with them - The Business Times - December 19th, 2020
- How to play on the Holiday-themed Die Maschine map in Black Ops Cold War Zombies - Gamepur - December 19th, 2020
- Sahar Tabar: Angelina Jolie 'zombie' lookalike reveals real face on TV after release from Iranian prison - MEAWW - December 19th, 2020
- Everything Everything reveal zombie-themed visuals for 'Black Hyena' - hotpress.com - December 19th, 2020
- Trapped in an elevator with zombies: Longtime friends from Syracuse debut movie on Amazon - syracuse.com - December 14th, 2020
- Do you hunker down or hit the road in a zombie apocalypse? - Undead Walking - December 14th, 2020
- Shaun Of The Dead Characters, Ranked By Likability | ScreenRant - Screen Rant - December 14th, 2020
- Breach is Exactly the Zombie-Space Adventure You're Looking For - Bleeding Cool News - December 14th, 2020
- Iconic The Walking Dead zombie was nearly a bit different - Undead Walking - December 12th, 2020
- Cap's a zombie, T'Challa is Star Lord, and the sky's the limit in the first trailer for Marvel's What If? - Yahoo Entertainment - December 12th, 2020
- England weapons scheme offers cash for zombie knives and knuckledusters - The Guardian - December 12th, 2020
- Zombie companies feed off the living - The Japan Times - December 12th, 2020
- The 10 Best Survival Games That Don't Feature Zombies | Game Rant - GameRant - December 12th, 2020
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero