The volume of U.S. corporate debt issued by companies in severe financial distress rose in January to the highest level in more than four years, suggesting corporate defaults are likely to surge in coming months, Standard & Poor's said Thursday.
The credit-rating agency said the ratio of "distressed" corporate debt to all speculative-grade debt jumped to 11.1 percent in January from 6.1 percent in December. The percentage this month is the highest since September 2003.
The surge occurred despite aggressive moves by the Federal Reserve to ease the credit crunch, which former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has described as the worst in a decade.
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