Junk bond Devil takes the hindmost

This year has seen a record issuance of high yield bonds. In the 10 months to the end of October, more than $100bn worth of junk had come to market in the US, according to S&P’s Leveraged Commentary and Data. This huge volume left many fearing that supply would overwhelm demand. However, HCA’s record $5.7bn issue last week reveals the opposite is the case. HCA’s underwriters, which included Citigroup, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, must have been concerned whether the market coul...