Credit Market Can Handle Tech’s Debt Deluge, BI Panelists Say

Tech firms have recently hit the bond market on both sides of the Atlantic, partly to help meet gargantuan AI-related investment needs, raising worries that this rapid swelling of the debt universe could end up leading to a sharp selloff. JP Morgan Asset Management’s Iain Stealey said the sales had created a bit of “a shock and some temporary indigestion,” and he reckons investment-grade spreads are about 10 basis points wider as a result. “Yes, there has been a lot of issuance, but these are enormous companies producing significant earnings every year,” said Stealey, who is chief investment officer of international fixed income at the asset manager.