Junk Bond Rising Spreads Signal Worst Bust Since '01
By Caroline Salas and Shannon D. Harrington
Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- The market for high-yield, high-risk bonds shows that a U.S. recession is a foregone conclusion.
Junk bonds are off to their worst start since 1990, falling 1.8 percent and triggering $17 billion in losses this month, according to index data compiled by New York-based Merrill Lynch & Co. Yields relative to Treasuries are rising at the fastest pace in at least 11 years as prices drop.
The pain may only get worse. Speculative-grade borrowers made up the majority of U.S. corporate debtors for the first time last year, according to Standard & Poor's. The default rate will soar to more than 8 percent this year, the highest since Enron Corp.'s collapse rippled through the market in 2002, estimates Zurich-based UBS AG. Yields show retailers, homebuilders and mortgage companies are among companies at the greatest risk as banks rein in lending.