Moodys: Defaults Increase, Possible Turning Point

The credit rating firm Moodys announced a higher junk bond default rate in the US. "Thus far in 2005, nine issuers have defaulted on a total of $2.1 billion of bonds, with all but three defaulters based in the U.S.. Among U.S. issuers, the speculative-grade default rate rose to 3.0% in February from 2.8% in January."

"The global speculative-grade default rate edged up to 2.5% in February from 2.3% in January, possibly signaling a turning point in the direction..For several months now, Moody's has been predicting that default rates would reach a cyclical low near the second quarter of this year."