# Professor Edward Altman predicts that 8% of all firms whose debt is rated speculative grade will default in the next 12 months

1 Faculty News May 16, 2020 ![The Economist logo](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/uat_025662.jpg?itok=1_MW1PTy)>

Excerpt from [The Economist](https://www.economist.com/business/2020/05/16/america-inc-faces-a-wave-of-bankruptcies) -- "[Edward Altman](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/faculty/bio/edward-altman) of nyu Stern Business School reckons that about 8% of all firms whose debt is rated speculative grade (about 1,900 in all) will default in the next 12 months. This figure could reach 20% over two years. He expects at least 165 large firms, those with more than $100m in liabilities, to go bankrupt by the end of 2020."

[Read More](https://www.economist.com/business/2020/05/16/america-inc-faces-a-wave-of-bankruptcies)