US junk bond spreads signal slow economic recovery

The sanguine view of stock investors about the U.S. economy is not borne out by the credit market, which is signaling that a recovery from the longest downturn in decades may be painfully slow.

Risks of continued high defaults and massive refinancing needs of the most precarious corporate borrowers are keeping credit spreads high, especially on high-yield bonds, signaling the economy is not out of the woods.

"We are still priced for near recession at the moment and certainly notably below average growth," said Christopher Garman, founder of Garman Research in Orinda, California. High-yield bond spreads are reflecting about a 9 percent default rate, "which would put economic growth around zero to 1 percent," he said.

Spreads would typically have to reflect a default rate more within the normal range of about 5 percent to signal an economy growing more than about 1.5 percent, Garman said.

Economists polled by Reuters last week said the economy is recovering more strongly than previously expected but next year will be lackluster and risks of a double-dip downturn remain. After shrinking by 1 percent in the second quarter on an annualized basis, U.S. gross domestic product will grow 2.4 percent in the current quarter, according to a poll of about 70 economists.

High unemployment and consumer debt will hamstring the economy after an initial rebound, however, respondents said, and they still see a 25 percent chance of a double-dip recession.