U.S. Company Bond Sales of $1.48 Trillion Set Annual Record
This article is for subscribers only.
Sales of dollar-denominated corporate bonds soared to a record for the second straight year, led by speculative-grade borrowers that rushed to offer debt before the Federal Reserve cuts its unprecedented stimulus.
Forest Laboratories Inc.’s $1.2 billion offering yesterday of 5 percent notes brought issuance of bonds from the riskiest to the most creditworthy companies to $1.482 trillion, eclipsing last year’s unprecedented $1.479 trillion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. High-yield sales of $361 billion surpassed the record $356.9 billion from 2012.