Tariffs Push More Companies Closer to Default

The number of companies at the greatest risk of defaulting are at an 11-month high, thanks to continued uncertainty around Donald Trump’s global trade war and how it has worsened credit conditions, according to a Moody’s Ratings report. In the second quarter, 16 companies were added to the cohort of businesses with the highest default risk. The group now stands at 241 companies.

Beauty products company Conair and brake kit company Power Stop are among firms Moody’s downgraded further into junk in the second quarter, given “significant pressure on their earnings and cash flow from high tariffs on goods sourced from China and other countries,” according to the report.