Corporate America Embraces Short-Term IOUs as Free Money Ends

Blue-chip companies that need to borrow in the US now are increasingly relying on commercial paper to avoid locking in longer-term borrowing costs in a market beset by turbulence. 

With the Federal Reserve poised for a fresh hike Wednesday, the days when blue-chip firms borrow super cheaply for decades are gone, at least for now. Corporate treasurers have instead been turning more to commercial paper, a type of unsecured debt that typically lasts 270 days or less.