Rising US Interest Rates Squeeze
Photo: Seth Wenig AP/TT

Rising US Interest Rates Squeeze Highly Leveraged Companies as Missed Payments Increase

Highly leveraged companies are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with rapidly rising interest rates in the US. Financing plans are being put on hold, maturities on new loans are getting shorter, and missed payments are becoming more frequent among companies with the lowest credit ratings, the Financial Times reports.

Interest rates on loans to companies with the lowest credit ratings rose to 17 percent in October, according to the newspaper. The gap between these rates and those paid by tech giants for their AI investments is unusually wide.

Michael Zdinak, head of a unit at rating agency S&P Global, sees a risk that financing problems will spread. This could slow many investments, acquisitions, buybacks and expansion plans.

With long-term US government bond yields at their highest levels since 2002, pricing in the fixed-income market now points to the Federal Reserve (Fed) raising its key interest rate three or four times by 2028, up from today's 3.75–4.00 percent.

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AuthorTT News AgencyEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for our readers
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