NEW YORK (AP) -- Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche Holding's issuance of $16 billion in investment-grade bonds Thursday is the latest indication of a revival in the corporate bond market."It speaks to the success of some of the government plans," said John Atkins, a fixed-income analyst at IDEAGlobal.com.
The government has instituted multiple programs in recent months to help thaw the nearly dormant credit markets. Atkins said the Roche deal is part of a three-month trend that has seen the corporate bond market improve significantly.
Programs have been aimed at getting companies to move away from commercial paper and other short-term debt and instead issue longer-term debt, Atkins said. Financial firms, which have been among the hardest hit by the ongoing economic turmoil, have especially received a boost from government programs, including one where the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. guarantees their debt. But even nonfinancial firms have taken advantage of the increased appetite for corporate debt that has come with the government support and the shift to longer-term debt to finance operations.
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