U.S. Deeper in Debt: The United States,...

U.S. Deeper in Debt: The United States, already the world’s largest debtor nation, strengthened its hold on that dubious title in 1988 as its foreign debt surged 41% to $532.5 billion. The Commerce Department, releasing its annual balance sheet on America’s global economic standing, said the U.S. debt burden had risen by $154.2 billion in 1988, up from $378.3 billion in debt to foreigners the United States owed at the end of 1987. The figures mean that foreigners own more in U.S. assets than Americans own abroad.