Companies rush to issue bonds to forestall market volatility ahead of US election

Companies are rushing to meet their financing needs before the US election this year, in a bid to get ahead of potential market volatility in the final stages of the presidential race. Corporate borrowers have issued $606bn worth of dollar bonds so far this year, according to LSEG data, up by two-fifths compared with the same period in 2023 and the highest total since at least 1990. Bankers and investors said companies were being motivated to borrow by the lowest spreads in years — referring to the difference between US corporate debt yields and those of equivalent government bonds. But they added that the prospect of a close election had pushed companies to bring forward their plans, rather than risk running into potentially more expensive markets later in the year. “We’re running circa two months ahead of what I would consider a normal type schedule for investment-grade issuance,” said Teddy Hodgson, co-head of Morgan Stanley’s global investment-grade debt syndicate. “I certainly thi

Companies are rushing to meet their financing needs before the US election this year, in a bid to get ahead of potential market volatility in the final stages of the presidential race. Corporate borrowers have issued $606bn worth of dollar bonds so far this year, according to LSEG data, up by two-fifths compared with the same period in 2023 and the highest total since at least 1990. Bankers and investors said companies were being motivated to borrow by the lowest spreads in years — referring to the difference between US corporate debt yields and those of equivalent government bonds. But they a