IBM Leads 25% Rise in Bond Offerings in Rush to Beat Jobs Report
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International Business Machines Corp. and BP Plc led a 25 percent jump in U.S. company bond sales this week as borrowers rushed to lock in yields at about a seven-month low before a labor report today that showed employers added fewer jobs than economists projected.
IBM, the world’s biggest computer-services provider, and London-based BP led $23.8 billion of offerings that rose from $19.1 billion in the five days ended Jan. 31, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Issuance compares with $24.3 billion in the first week of February 2013 and follows $140.8 billion of sales last month.