Investors and economists have become optimistic that the Federal Reserve might successfully slow inflation without plunging the economy into recession, but many are still eyeing a risk that threatens to derail the effort: a tower of dicey-looking corporate debt.Companies loaded up on cheap debt during an era of super-low borrowing costs to help finance their operations. The Fed has since lifted interest rates — to above 5 percent from near-zero, where they were as recently as March 2022 — and is expected to nudge them up further to a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent at its meeting on Wednesday.The fear is that as debt comes due and businesses still in need of cash are forced to renew their financin …
