At the lower end of the investment-grade range (i.e., Ba), 1-3 year duration bonds have median credit spreads of 238 bps over similar duration Treasuries. For durations of greater than 7 years, this spread grows to 423 bps.(Source: Moody’s)A funny thing happens at the Caa juncture – well within the high-yield range – where the spreads actually are highest at the shorter durations and lower as the duration increases. This is counterintuitive, as longer duration bonds typically need to compensate investors for credit risk events that can occur over that time horizon. However, shorter duration Ca bonds have higher spreads in these cases due to cases of immediate credit risk, with a preponderance of companies where the perception is that they may not be able to avoid bankruptcy much longer.The spreads on 3-5 year duration global credit over time, appear as follows:(Source: Moody’s)