First, what will consumers do? Household expenditure is the biggest single ‘item’ in the UK national accounts. Over the past 40 years, UK household debt as a share of GDP has doubled. Amit Kara takes a look at what happens to economic growth when people stop borrowing. The biggest element of household borrowing, of course, is mortgages. Richard Northedge takes a deep dive into what looks likely to be a volatile year for the housing market.

If mortgages constitute the biggest debt most people will ever incur, small debts can often cause more trouble. Mortgages are highly regulated, which means lots of guard rails, but ‘buy now, pay later’ credit is not. Gren Manuel examines what the real cost of cheap, instant credit could be and whether regulators are likely to act.

Business credit could also face more scrutiny in the months ahead, not least from banks who will be increasingly wary of credit risks, as Andy Davis explains. But how can businesses fund themselves and help the economy grow if banks are unwilling – or unable – to lend to them? George Graham reports on making equity markets a better source of patient capital.

One of the reasons why the use of equity has declined over the past few decades is that debt funding is cheaper. Peter Morris argues that some private equity houses have lost sight of the fact that highly leveraged companies are riskier investments and says that private equity firms should not be bailed out.

One of the risks borrowers can face is inflation. Central banks have been trying to ginger up inflation since the great financial crisis of 2007/2008. William A Allen argues that the risks of inflation may be underestimated and calls for a reduction in quantitative easing.

Do economies like the UK have anything to learn from countries that have been using quantitative easing far more, for far longer? Warwick Lightfoot looks at whether the shape of Japan’s economy is what the future holds. One of the reasons why Japan’s policies may be instructive is that is has a large retired population. The UK is on the same path, but what about UK pensions in the near-term? Richard Tomlinson describes how the economic downturn has affected UK retirement plans. Les Mayhew suggests that a new policy on housing the older generations could help solve the UK’s housing crisis.

Pensions are not the only form of savings and investments put under pressure by the economic turbulence of the past nine months. How can people protect the investments they manage themselves? David Turner says getting digital advice is not the way to go when tackling complex financial problems.

And what has the pandemic meant for the financial services industry itself? David Lascelles looks at the results of the latest ‘Banking Banana Skins’ survey of industry risks.

The global economy won’t just shrug off the pandemic, but companies are still looking for growth and making strategic moves. In our ‘View from the Top’ interview, Jean-Louis Menann-Kouamé, the CEO of Orange Bank Africa, talks about the launch of the new banking services.

Governments are also considering how to kick-start a better future. Stuart Mackintosh argues that the election of Joe Biden as the new US President will mean a major push to tackle climate change – leading to the creation of new technology and jobs.

Full details of all the features and columns in this issue are on the contents page, but don’t forget the crossword - it's interactive, like the rest of the magazine!