Bernanke's Nonexistent Junk Bond Revival: Street Whispers

Broader stories also emerge.

C-Suites across America may not be getting the credit they deserve for repairing balance sheets in the wake of the crisis. Overall debt and debt-to-EBITDA levels across the S&P are roughly 40% below pre-bust levels, paving the way for flexibility to increase dividends or map out new growth strategies in coming years.

For instance, investment grade companies like Disney (DIS) and Costco (COST) have recently returned to bond markets to finance large dividend increases. Meanwhile, Amazon (AMZN) recently tapped bond markets for the first time in a decade, as the company ratchets up its competition against retailers Wal Mart (WMT) and tech giants Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT).

Most important; however, is that bond yields may not be as predictable as simply following the Fed. If falling yields are, in part, a function of weak supply, then rising yields may have as much do with C-Suite aggression and general re-leveraging throughout corporate America as any change in Fed policy.

For more on the Fed's impact on investments, see why a Bernanke dividend boom is poised to hit private equity stocks.

Also see why low interest rates mean Fed destruction will hit bank stocks in 2013.

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-- Written by Antoine Gara in New York

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