Investment Grade Surges

--shrinking CP and Fed's rate cut help spur the issuance of investment grade --Fed slash rate by 50 bps, buoying investors's confidence by their willingness to step in to maintain the orderly functioning of financial markets. --In addition, companies need to drum up funds for shareholder friendly move - share repurchase --This brought total new debt to $167 billion in the third quarter -- a period marked by a credit crunch that caused investors across financial markets to reassess risk. Issuance was down sharply from the $226.5 billion seen in second quarter but still up from the $154.8 billion in the 2006 third period. --HY still struggled to regain its stride after summer standstill. New issuance fell 70% in the 3rd quartre compared to the same period last year