It may be technical, it may be an abnormality. But it is a gift horse nonetheless. Corporate bonds are trading more cheaply than credit default swaps. That means investors can buy a bond and then receive a coupon that more than pays for the cost of insuring that bond against default. This is close to free money.

Normally, CDS spreads trade wider than cash bond spreads. First, because investors short credit by buying default protection; that pushes CDS spreads wider. Second, corporate bonds are typically viewed as attractive to hold because they can be used as collateral for funding. That narrows spreads on cash bonds.