Bloomberg
A $1 Trillion Liquidity Surge Is Morphing Into a Leverage Boom
(Bloomberg) — It was supposed to be a temporary buffer — more than $1 trillion of debt taken on by U.S. companies last year to ride out the economic devastation caused by Covid-19.But with the economy rebounding and interest rates still near all-time lows, it’s becoming increasingly tempting for corporations including Home Depot Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. to spend those cash cushions on acquisitions and dividend hikes. In many cases, they’re now borrowing more.The risk is that unfettered access to cheap debt — even for less creditworthy