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To: yard_man who wrote (204708)	11/14/2002 2:31:04 PM
From: Mark Adams	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Junk bond default rate falls to 9 pct - Moody's NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The global junk bond default rate fell to 9.0 percent in October from a revised 9.5 percent in September, the eighth decline in the last 10 months, Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday. The credit rating agency said seven companies defaulted on $3.3 billion of bonds in October, compared with 14 companies and $15.9 billion of defaults in September. Moody's projects that the global junk bond default rate will end the year at 8.5 percent, down from an 11-year high of 10.7 percent in January. Junk bonds carry speculative-grade ratings and high yields to compensate for their risks. Junk bonds on average have posted a loss of almost 7 percent this year, according to Merrill Lynch & Co. Business failures by telecommunications and cable companies have kept the default rate higher than expected this year. Credit quality continues to deteriorate as well. Moody's said it has downgraded $140.7 billion of debt in the fourth quarter and upgraded just $5.4 billion.