MarketWatch is reporting that a new report from Guggenheim Investments found corporate bankruptcies in the United States may hit the highest level since 2010 as a result of the sharp rise in borrowing costs due to elevated interest rates as well as the general economic uncertainty.
The report said that over 450 corporations had already filed for bankruptcy protection this year through the end of August, exceeding the yearly totals for the previous two years.
Guggenheim’s analysts also forecast that the US economy looks unlikely to pick back up in the near future, due to a lack of supporting factors.
The analysts warned that “The fading of these tailwinds will be a gradual process, but the peak of their support to the economy is now behind us. With less support from disinflation, fiscal policy, and the labor market, the economy should slow by the end of the year, and we think a recession is likely by early 2024.”
Since the US Federal Reserve began a steady campaign of interest rate increases in an effort to rein growing inflationary pressures, borrowing costs have surged. The Fed’s key rate now sits at a level of 5.25% to 5.5%. Although the central bank declined to raise rates at its last meeting Wednesday, and the benchmark rate remains at a 22 year high, policymakers indicated they may hike rates again in the future if need be in their fight with inflation.