Global Junk Default Rate Rose to 4.8% at Year-End, Moody’s Says

The global speculative-grade default rate rose to the highest level since May 2021, on the back of higher funding costs, inflation and tighter financing conditions, according to a Moody’s Investors Service note dated Jan. 16.

• Europe’s default count in December was the highest since the 2008-9 global financial crisis, when Russian and Ukrainian defaults of 2022 are excluded
  • Of the 20 December defaults, 11 were from the US, eight from Europe and one in China
  • Default tally in 2023 reached 159, the highest annual default count since the pandemic
  • The business services sector had the most defaults
• Toro Private Holdings ...