Investments

The worst recession since the Great Depression is prompting indebted companies to default, and increasingly more will do so in a way that’s harder for investors to detect.

After ending 2019 on a high note, Ocwen Financial posted an income loss in the first quarter due to the unexpected costs and volatility created by COVID-19.

Three of the four had fewer new notices of delinquency for the quarter, but that should change going forward.

Because of debt restrictions in Main Street lending programs, many speculative-grade borrowers appear ineligible for federal loans to alleviate COVID-19 stresses, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings.

First, J. Crew. Now Neiman Marcus. Flashing red: J.C. Penney, Hertz and many more. The coronavirus has crushed the life out of some venerable household names.

Small and mid-sized companies are facing higher borrowing costs as private lenders grow more cautious about lending to beaten-up businesses

The agency is scrutinizing recent deals involving credit-card receivables from private specialty finance companies that issue general-purpose and private-label retail cards to a near-prime/non-prime customer base.

The agencies issued a rule to better enable banks to participate in two of the Federal Reserve’s lending facilities and “support the flow of credit to households and businesses.”

About $474M in bonds backed by aircraft leases managed by GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) has been downgraded, tied to the increasingly poor financial health of several foreign airlines from the COVID-19 shutdown in global air traffic.

Of 900 deals reporting data over the last month, 21% have narrowed or eliminated payments to the equity. Some analysts expect about one in three deals will eventually limit payments to their riskiest securities.