Some very smart forecasters, such as Forbes columnist A. Gary Shilling and newsletter writer John Mauldin, think the U.S. is in a balance-sheet recession.

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That might be a price worth paying if it paved the way for a faster restructuring of the U.K. balance sheet, including the writing-off of unsustainable debts.

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For instance, in the U.S., non-financial corporate cash on balance sheet is at a 50-year high at nearly 6%, according to Credit Suisse.

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