Has a competent economist modeled the circularity of these deals ? [ numerically or analytically ] It seems a healthy economy has a lot of wide circularity .. money circulating is a good thing, a result of a functioning market, tracking the flow of real goods / services. But large corps circulating paper 'self-deals' or debt-swaps seems like a bad thing - a creative accounting practice designed to pump up their stock…
The leverage is the trick in the whole equation. During dotcom days the leverage was fine until the cash flow ran out. Then bankruptcies started and the bottom fell out. It appears this is happening again but perhaps the business model will just evolve. Although right now it feels more of the same.