Why everyone wants to lend to weak companies

Credit investors often talk in euphemisms. The safest bonds, with the highest credit ratings and hence the lowest yields, are almost always referred to as “high-grade” rather than “low-yield”. Conversely, the riskier stuff, where defaults are more likely, is politely dubbed “high-yield” rather than “low-grade”. Recently, though, the yield on supposedly high-yield bonds has not been all that high.