In 2019, U.S. nonfinancial corporate debt of large companies now stands at about $10 trillion dollars, 48% of GDP. This represents a rise of 52% from its last peak in the third quarter of 2008 when the corporate debt was at $6.6 trillion, about 44 percent of 2008 GDP. Total corporate debt is actually much higher. Adding the debt of small medium-sized enterprises, family businesses, and other business which are not listed in stock exchanges ads another $5.5 trillion.
About 86.5% of high-yield energy bonds now trading at distressed levels during March 2020. Airlines, automakers, cruise lines, restaurant chains, retailers, and even the New York Stock Exchange are among a wave of businesses that either severely cut back their services or shuttered entirely in an effort to staunch the spread of the coronavirus. How bad are things from a credit standpoint that how many companies might end up but some corporate companies could get a COVID-19 bailout.
The coronavirus pandemic threatens to push the world into recession. Investors became increasingly anxious about corporate debt this week as stocks sold off and crude prices nosedived. The ability to buy or sell securities in corporate debt markets has become much more difficult. The SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) dropped more than 6% this week, while the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF fell more than 8%. Bank of America told clients on Friday that volatility had skyrocketed and outflows from corporate bond funds were at record highs.
The anxiety is pegged to companies that rely on stable energy prices and tourism to generate cash. When business gets tougher for these firms, it could prevent them from servicing their debt, leading to defaults. Much of the risk lies with energy companies, which have ramped up borrowing in recent years to build pipelines and fund other projects. Those companies now face acute pressure due to plummeting oil prices, which have dropped 50% since early January.
Airlines, hotels and cruise lines are also in trouble as restrictions on movement grow and more people hunker down at home. A ban on travel from Europe to the United States, announced by the Trump administration on Wednesday, eviscerated airline shares. Budget carrier Norwegian Air, which is heavily indebted, said it would temporarily lay off up to half its workers after its stock dropped 22% on Thursday. The automaker industry which is already in the third year of recession is under the microscope, too, as factories in Italy shut down, with more potential closures looming across Europe and in the United States as the number of infections rises in those areas.
The odds of slipping into a recession are increasingly likely as the global coronavirus outbreak puts acute stress on the U.S. economy. Major industries such as airline, travel, tourism, manufacturing and international trade under distress pressure collectively. Under such disrupting situation, hour’s cutbacks, layoffs or reducing overtime is a common theme for companies. As COVID-19 passes the world economy is approaching toward massive recession. Unemployment rate which accounts for 3.5 percent in the first month of the current period expecting to collapse to 3.6 percent or even more worsen till the end of the second quarter. The unemployment fears amongst the workers put more pressure upon the state unemployment benefits program. Under such situation it is more pivotal for workers to anticipate current and future employment status accurately.
“LaborAlert” a smartphone-based application, developed by Kiwi Application-LLC (play store URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.labouralerts and app store URL: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/labor-alerts/id1113045391) provided such information, prior to 60 days to its user during any downturn or complete shutdown, layoffs, hours cut and plant closure. “LaboreAlert” enables its user to correctly anticipate the scope and nature of their job amid the recession or downturn.
Labor Alerts also provides filtered statistics for companies in a given State. This tool helps the user analyze layoff data from the past and follow trends as well as forecast how the employment situation may change in the future.
To summarize, the LaborAlerts application allows you to:
- Create company layoff alerts by simply searching for the company and tapping on their “bell” symbol.
- See what companies or states are the largest affected by the layoffs or closings
- Share through social media or text.
To get started, the application need only be installed and asks for no personal data on the user. Although the application is free to use, the following subscription criteria makes for several options to suit your needs.
Download LaborAlerts on the App Store
Download LaborAlerts on the Google Play Store
Sync your devices such as your phone, and tablet to have easy access to your account and the information on the application.