Bonds Boom As Investors Flock Back.

The swift rally in stock markets this year caught everyone's attention. But with far less fanfare, a frenzy has been taking place in the market for corporate bonds. When credit markets practically shut down last year, businesses had to pay huge premiums to raise money from investors, offering returns of 10 to 20 percent to anyone who would buy a company's debt. Now, investors are the ones paying higher prices as they race back into the bond markets, where companies and governments go to raise money for new projects and mergers, and to finance their daily operations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]