A dearth of attractive investment options has pushed global investors back into the US junk market, sending yields lower and enabling borrowers with weak credit histories to raise funds at the lowest rates on record, reports the Financial Times.
The latest push into junk bonds comes amid renewed worries over US growth and the eurozone – which have pushed down interest rates across the financial markets – and a sharp drop in the Japanese yen, with investors favouring dollar-denominated assets as an alternative.
Ex-HBOS chief Crosby gives up knighthood and part of pension
Sir James Crosby, the former HBOS chief executive, is dramatically giving up his knighthood and almost a third of his £580,000-a-year pension after being severely criticised by a report into the downfall of the bank, reports the Telegraph.
Europe follows Asia higher
European stocks have opened marginally higher, supported by a firm showing out of Asia and as Wall Street hovers near record levels, reports the Financial Times.
Industrial commodities are mixed, there is little early action in major currency crosses and Treasury prices remain near recent highs, leaving yields close to multi-month lows.
China downgrade highlights debt worries
Fitch Ratings lowered one of its key ratings on China’s government debt, in one of the most prominent warnings to date over a credit buildup in the world’s second-largest economy, reports the Wall Street Journal.
South Korea appeals to China as North moves missile
South Korea says it has asked China, North Korea’s only major ally, to rein in the hermit state and has raised its surveillance after the North moved at least one long-range missile in readiness for a possible launch, reports Reuters.
Admiral Samuel Locklear, the commander of US forces in the Pacific region, said the US military believed North Korea had moved an unspecified number of Musudan missiles to its east coast.
