The auto sector and credit markets have long had a love-hate relationship.
Russia's credit rating has been cut to junk status by ratings agency Standard & Poor's for the first time in a decade.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK), the insurer headed by billionaire Warren Buffett, has been downgraded by Standard & Poor's from AA+ to AA.
High yield bond investors will face challenges in 2013 as companies take advantage of market conditions to issue lower-yielding debt.
J.P. Morgan's Nick Gartside and Barings' Alan Wilde have warned the UK's AAA-status is at risk of downgrade following the shock contraction in the second quarter's GDP.
Strategic bond managers have been reducing high yield exposure in anticipation of a default rate spike in the second half of the year.