Newsworthy?

Corporate treasurers are increasing sales of long-term investment-grade bonds for the first time in a decade, a sign they're betting U.S. borrowing costs will rise as the Federal Reserve slows the pace of interest-rate cuts.

At least 57 percent of the U.S. debt sold in the past two quarters matures in 10 years or more, compared with an average of 39 percent since 1999, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The share at General Electric Co., the biggest U.S. corporate borrower, rose to 39 percent in the first three months of the year from 23 percent in the same period a year earlier. AT&T Corp. has sold $4.75 billion of 30-year debt since August, almost eight times more than in the previous three years combined.

Top-rated issuers are using the bonds to lock in the lowest yields in two years, taking advantage of the Fed's reductions in one of the only corners of the market where investors are still willing to extend credit. Borrowers are moving now because by yearend, they may face some of the highest costs since 2001, said Vincent Murray, a managing director at ABN Amro Inc. in New York.

Bloomberg.com