An indicator of default risk is climbing to levels not seen since the last recession, according to credit research from Standard & Poor’s. The report recorded the U.S. distress ratio at 20.1 percent in November.
This number, in the report released Monday, is the highest since September 2009, during which the distress ratio was at 23.5 percent. The default rate also increased to 2.71 percent by the end of October.
The distress ratio measures the amount of nervousness in the corporate bond market, and tends to predict the number of future defaults.
