The Spread Between Junk Bonds And U.S. Treasuries

The Economist reports:

Between June 12th and November 19th, the spread in interest rates between high-yield corporate debt and Treasury bonds doubled, from 2.6 percentage points to 5.2, says Ed Altman of New York University. The yield on high-yield bonds has risen to 9.33%, the highest level since 2002 and a sign of growing default risk, even though defaults remain near a historic low.

The Fed Chairman can't really change the perception of people's ability to pay.