Moscow — 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 €50bn 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, Telecom Italia and Gazprom, with debt accounting for almost a tenth of the euro high-yield index, are on the cusp of a promotion, they said. "In a calmer political scene, an upbeat earning season and seemingly healthier global growth, we expect a significant number of rising stars to materialise," the analysts, led by Souheir Asba, said in a research note published on Monday: "Europe seems to be leading the trend already." The trend marks the beginning of a recovery for corporate bond markets after more than $220bn of global debt was downgraded to junk during the 2015 oil-price crash. European corporates are in a particul...
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