Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) — U.S. corporate bond sales swelled to an annual record as a late-year rush by borrowers to lock in low interest rates pushed offerings for 2014 past $1.5 trillion.
Issuance was bolstered by heart-rhythm device maker Medtronic Inc.'s $17 billion bond sale yesterday, the largest dollar-denominated offering in more than a year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Internet commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. sold $8 billion last month, helping push this year's volume past the previous high of $1.494 trillion set last year.
Issuance is booming as companies have seized on record-low borrowing costs, boosted by the Federal Reserve maintaining its pledge this year to keep benchmark interest rates near zero for a "considerable time." After providing a 0.34 percent gain to investors last year, returns on the securities have grown to 6.9 percent, according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. Corporate and High Yield Index.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
