Interest rate rise: turning point looms for US debt binge

With a $4tn mountain of debt maturing over the next five years, corporate America’s reliance on cheap cash is about to get tested.

With the prospect of steadily higher interest rates in the coming years as the Federal Reserve gradually tightens policy, US companies that tapped global markets for inexpensive finance over the past four years will soon face a different environment.

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But as rates turn higher, investors may see the flip side of cheap financing. Analysts warn companies will begin defaulting in greater numbers, particularly in the energy sector, which has found itself in the line of fire as commodity prices languish.