Since the financial crisis, the total value of debt owed and issued by US corporations has ballooned. Bingeing on low-interest rates, companies have borrowed heavily to finance acquisitions, buybacks, and dividends with few, if any repercussions.
[icahn]
US corporate debt issuance surpassed $1 trillion for the third year running in 2017. Gross issuance of investment grade debt rose from $792 billion in 2016 to just under $850 billion for 2018. Meanwhile, gross issuance of high yield debt lept 17% from $227 billion to $266 billion.
Data from the Wall Street Journal also shows that the value of leveraged loans issued by companies jumped 50% to $504 billion year-on-year while collateralized loan obligation gross issuance increased 62% to $117 billion.
[reits]
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