How have corporate balance sheets actually fared?

We look at the situations of the United States, the euro zone and France. There is much talk of corporate balance sheets having deteriorated sharply due to the fall in earnings and the increase in debt. It is said that at some point , this deterioration is going to lead to a sharp rise in corporate bankruptcies and to sharp falls in investment and employment. But we want to examine just how much corporate balance sheets have really deteriorated. This deterioration may have been reduced by public aid, the fall in investment, cost-cutting measures and, all in all, a sharp increase in companies’ cash reserves. We find that: Corporate balance sheets have not deteriorated in the United States; They have not deteriorated much in the euro zone; They have deteriorated more in France.