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Fed chair flags corporate bond risk

Feb 11, 2020
In a report submitted to Congress the Federal Reserve highlighted an increase in the riskiest investment-grade corporate debt.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on "Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy" on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Feb. 11, 2020.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Twitter is issuing bonds rated below "investment grade." Here's what that means.

Dec 4, 2019
"Junk" bonds don't mean the company got an F in a test.
Twitter is offering below investment grade bonds to raise some cash. Above, a Twitter banner hangs on the New York Stock Exchange during the company's IPO in 2013.
Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images

Could the explosion of corporate debt lead to a new financial crisis?

Oct 1, 2019
Today's corporate borrowing is similar in many ways to the mortgage debt that burst the housing bubble.
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Corporate debt may pose risks if economy goes south

Apr 24, 2019
AT&T has $169 billion in debt on its balance sheet. That’s high, even for a telecom company, and until it whittles that debt down AT&T won’t be able to focus on priorities like expanding HBO or developing a 5G network. Part of the reason the company wound up with this massive debt — the biggest of […]
The AT&T logo.
Darren Carroll/Getty Images

Economy remains strong, but there are warning signs

Nov 30, 2018
Consumer spending rose in September at its fastest pace in seven months. Personal incomes rose by the largest amount in nine months. Inflation seems under control. All of this can be seen as signs of future economic growth, so the economy is in good shape, right? Well, there are some warning signs worth watching. Click […]