Bond issuance continued to rise in 2006, despite higher interest rates, the Bond Market Association said in its latest quarterly research report. The rise was due to increased corporate borrowing and stronger home mortgage activity than a year ago. The association expects bond issuance to continue to climb throughout the rest of the year. Gross corporate bonds saw an issuance of $421.4 billion in the first six months of 2006, compared to $359.4 billion issued during the same time period last year. Overall bond issuance reached $2.84 trillion in the first half of 2006, a 3.1% increase from last year, which saw issuance of $2.76 trillion. The second quarter of this year saw issuance of $1.43 trillion, an increase of 1.1% over the first quarter and an increase of 2.5% percent over the $1.39 trillion issued in the second quarter of 2005.
