Only weeks ago, scores of rating agencies sounded the alarm that the coronavirus credit crunch would set in motion a wave of corporate bankruptcies that would make the 2008 credit crisis look like child’s play. With many of the world’s most advanced economies all entering a synchronized shutdown with no end in sight, it was clear that companies that have binged on cheap debt such as the U.S. shale sector would face a severe existential crisis as cheap credit taps suddenly run dry and loans starts to come due. And now we are beginning to see a big wave of bankruptcies sweep through the U.S. oil and gas industry, with takeovers–not the usual restructuring–the first chapter in the new playbook. According to Reuters , a raft of big lenders including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo & Co, Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc, have kicked off the […]