Key Highlights
- 17, 2026 at 8:15 pm UTC 5 min read Updated: Jan.
- 17, 2026 at 11:50 am UTC Share Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate.
- Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
- Corporate credit quality is deteriorating beneath a surface that looks deceptively calm.
- JPMorgan tallied roughly $55 billion in US corporate bonds that slid from investment-grade to junk status in 2025, the so-called “fallen angels.”At the same time, only $10 billion returned to investment-grade status as “rising stars.” Another $63 billion of investment-grade debt now sits near the edge of junk, up from about $37 billion at the end of 2024. Yet, spreads remain remarkably tight: as of Jan.