Sales of dollar junk bonds have hit all-time high levels in 2009, as issuers rush to tap strong global investor demand after a year in which the asset class has produced record returns.

美元垃圾债券销售在2009年达到历史最高水平。在过去一年该资产类别产生创纪录的回报之后，债券发行人争相利用全球投资者的强劲需求。

Total issuance so far this year of high-yield bonds, commonly known as junk, last week topped $144bn, passing the previous high of $143bn reached in 2006, according to Dealogic.

Dealogic的数据显示，截至上周，高收益率债券（俗称垃圾债券）今年总发行量高达1440亿美元，超过2006年1430亿美元的前一历史高点。

This marks a big reversal from last year, when investors shunned this corner of the credit markets.

这一现象与去年截然相反，当时投资者纷纷避开信贷市场的这个领域。

Returns on junk bonds this year are running at 56 per cent, according to a Merrill Lynch index, easily beating the previous record of a 39 per cent return in 1991.

美林证券(Merrill Lynch)的一个相关指数显示，垃圾债券今年的回报率达到56%，轻松超过1991年39%的历史纪录。

The rally has taken many analysts and policymakers by surprise. Earlier in the year there was widespread concern that the sector would be ravaged by corporate defaults. Moody's Investors Service, for example, forecast that defaults would peak at 16.4 per cent among global companies with high-yield ratings.

垃圾债券的这番表现，令众多分析师和决策者感到意外。今年初，各方曾普遍担心该领域将遭到企业信贷违约的重创。比如，穆迪投资者服务(Moody's Investors Service)就预测说，全球高收益率评级公司的违约率峰值将达到16.4%。

Since then, the default rate has risen, and in November it was running at 12.7 per cent, or 250 defaults.

自那以后违约率即开始上升，到11月份已达12.7%，即250起违约案例。

However, Moody's now thinks that this global default rate has peaked and will fall sharply next year, to about 4 per cent. Other forecasters predict a similar path.

然而，穆迪现在认为，该全球违约率已经见顶，并会在明年大幅下降至4%左右。其它机构也给出了类似预测。

These projections, coupled with government support measures for the capital markets, have sparked a big rally in junk bond prices, with an associated fall in yields.

这些预测，加上政府对资本市场的支持措施，引发垃圾债券价格大幅上扬，债券收益率相应下降。