Investors’ near-insatiable demand for even the riskiest corporate debt is fueling a Wall Street lending boom, offering lifelines for struggling companies even as the coronavirus pandemic still drags on the economy.
Companies such as hospital operator Community Health Systems Inc. and newspaper publisher Gannett Co. Inc. have issued a record $139 billion of bonds and loans with below investment-grade ratings from the start of the year through Feb. 10, according to LCD, a unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence. More than $13 billion of that debt had ratings triple-C or lower—the riskiest tier save for outright default—about twice the previous
