Exchange-traded funds that hold U.S. junk bonds dropped to their lowest levels since 2009 as the global growth fears that clobbered stock markets also raised doubts about whether companies’ would continue to generate as much cash to pay their debt obligations. Energy companies’ bonds were hit hardest as oil prices fell to $29.73 a barrel, a 12-year low. Risk premiums on bonds in the sector — a measure of the extra yield that investors demand for holding companies’ credit risk — widened by 0.12 percentage point for investment grade credit, and 0.58 percentage point for junk bonds. “If you start to see signs of distress outside of energy and natural resource companies, that’s trouble,” said Russ Koesterich, global chief investment strategist at BlackRock Inc. “That’s something you have to watch.” BlackRock’s iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond exchange-traded fund declined to its lowest level since mid-2009, when the global […]