junk bonds

Cultural  

1. Technically known as bonds of “less than investment grade,” they are short-term, high-yield bonds. They were widely used in the 1980s to finance mergers, especially hostile ones.

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Example Sentences

The central bank had just rolled out plans to do things it would never ordinarily do: lending to midsize businesses, purchasing junk bonds and hoovering up Treasury securities at a pace it had never attempted.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026

Some of Oracle’s debt, including a 10-year note sold in September, recently has been trading like junk bonds, and the cost to protect Oracle’s debt against defaults has surged.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

The gap for junk bonds is less than three points.

From Barron's • Jan. 2, 2026

The move could kick off a trend of data centers funded by junk bonds — debt issued by companies too financially shaky to be rated investment-grade by the ratings agencies.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 8, 2025

These investments generally entail floating junk bonds, a business pioneered by Drexel Burnham in the 1980s.

From Barron's • Oct. 24, 2025