The Hidden Costs of Low Oil Prices

This week we're taking a close look at the global economy with Charlie Herman, business and economics editor for our partners at WNYC and host of the "Money Talking" podcast.

China's economy is slowing, Switzerland and Denmark are experimenting with negative interest rates, and European banks are under stress with over $1 trillion of bad debt. Add in the migrant crisis, terror attacks in Belgium and France, and the upcoming vote in Britain to leave the European Union, and Europe looks like a risky place to invest and do business.

Here in the United States, the Federal Reserve has been propping up growth through "qauntative easing" — a program of buying huge amounts of bonds to bring longer-term interest rates down and boost asset prices. The program is credited with increasing GDP by 1.5 percent over the last year.

So we’re asking, how worried should we be? And what can we do about it?

Today we look at the price of oil. It's below $40 a barrel, and while cheap gas may mean more money in your pocket, it is bankrupting oil companies and leading to thousands of layoffs. Energy companies in the U.S. laid off just over 52,900 in the last three months.

Mark Zandi is chief economist at Moody's Analytics. He says oil related companies in North Dakota, Texas, and Oklahoma will see more bankruptcies and layoffs if the price of oil stays low.