Defaults Among U.S. Drillers Hit Record

(Houston, TX) — A major credit rating agency says defaults by U.S. drilling companies could top 40-billion dollars by year’s end. A new report by Fitch Ratings says investors are already out a staggering 29-billion dollars so far this year with the losses coming mostly from oil producers who financed expansions with high-risk or junk bonds. Falling oil prices, created by OPEC’s insistence on increasing production, is getting the blame for the record defaults.