Corporate Defaults, Globally and in the U.S., Set a Record in 2009

Here's a stark indicator of just how bad the global credit crunch and resulting Great Recession have been: Corporate defaults globally totaled 265 in 2009. That's the most ever ever, topping even the 229 defaults recorded during the last recession in 2001. These figures are in a report issued Friday by credit ratings firm Standard & Poor's, which also says U.S. companies set a default record as well: 193, up from the previous high of 134 in 2001. At least now, with 2009 in the rear-view mirror, S&P forecasts significantly improved levels of default risk for 2010.