Investment-grade bonds are issued by well-regarded companies and rated as desirable be considered investment- grade, a bond must be rated BBB or better by Standard & Poor’s, or Baa or better by Moody’s. Corporate bonds with a lower rating or no rating are sometimes called high-yield bonds because of the higher interest rates they must pay to attract are also sometimes referred to as “junk bonds” because the issuers are believed more likely to default—that is, to fail to make full interest and principal payments as scheduled
