Junk-Bond Sales Soar to Record in August: Credit Markets
This article is for subscribers only.
Sales of junk bonds in the U.S. have already set a record for August, even as yields at about record lows combined with a slowdown in earnings growth spark concern the market for the riskiest corporate debt has peaked.
Charter Communications Inc., the cable-TV provider that emerged from bankruptcy in 2009, and Energy Future Holdings Corp., the Texas power producer struggling with $36.6 billion of long-term debt, are among companies that have sold $29.6 billion of speculative-grade securities this month. That compares with an average $8.4 billion in August sales for the past five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.