As markets for vitality firms' bonds crater on decrease crude oil costs, bond analysts supply one massive piece of comforting information amid the chaos: Only a few main vitality firms have any debt due earlier than subsequent yr, when the disaster sparked by the COVID-19 coronavirus is prone to be over.

Bond markets have joined inventory buyers in panic since mid-February, pushing yields on 10-year U.S. treasurys to historic lows, and widening the unfold between yields on treasuries and low-rated company debt, generally known as junk bonds, to just about 7 proportion factors. Most credit score spreads are at ranges not seen since 2016. The Federal Reserve stepped in Thursday, saying it is going to pump $1.5 trillion in liquidity into the monetary system by way of treasury purchases and different strikes. 

There's little to recommend {that a} credit score disaster is brewing, even within the oil and gasoline sector, which has been hit...