7,000 "zombie" companies globally, with 2,000 in the US, face loan repayment challenges due to low-interest rates and inflation.

The number of "zombie" companies, those with insufficient profit to cover loan interest, has risen to nearly 7,000 globally, including 2,000 in the US, amid low-interest rates and inflation, according to an Associated Press analysis. These companies, often small and mid-sized, could face a reckoning when loan repayment deadlines approach. Valens Securities Managing Director Robert Spivey warns that the weakest of these "zombies" will be "crushed."