- "It almost feels like 2008 a little bit," says Wasserstein's Rajay Bagaria, who woke up one morning to find his holdings in one issuer had fallen 19% overnight after a weak earnings forecast.
- Other recent free-falls include Chesapeake Energy, Men's Wearhouse, and Scientific Games. According to Deutsche Bank, the debt of the riskiest companies is selling off at four times the rate of the least-risky junk borrowers - typically to rate is 1.6x.
- "A less diverse group of investors hold a lot more bonds," says Citi's Stephen Antczak, pointing out concentration risk as an overlooked element contributing to big price swings. "The difference between incremental buyer is more now than it used to be. It takes a bigger move to get people interested."
- ETFs: HYG, JNK, HIX, HYLD, DHY, PHT, EAD, HYT, JQC, CIK, DSU, HHY, SJB, NHS, PHF, ACP, FHY, ARDC, MCI, VLT, KIO, CIF, AIF, MHY, ANGL, PCF, DHG, MPV, IVH, HYLS, JSD, UJB, CJNK, GGM, QLTC