Nearly $55 Billion of European Junk Bonds Are Ready for an Upgrade
- Gazprom, Telecom Italia, Anglo American on verge of promotion
- Upbeat earnings, diminished political risk favor Europe
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In Europe’s battered corporate bond market, what goes down must come back up.
That’s the theory analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch are applying to about 50 billion euros ($54.8 billion) of junk bonds in Europe poised for upgrade to investment-grade ratings this year as the continent recovers from a sovereign debt crisis and collapse in global commodity prices. Anglo American Plc, Telecom Italia SpA and Gazprom PJSC, with debt accounting for almost a tenth of the euro high-yield index, are on the cusp of a promotion, they said.