SECURITIES

Merrill Sees Record Junk Bond Sales: Sales of high-risk junk bonds probably will set a record this year, topping the all-time high of $31.9 billion set in 1986, Merrill Lynch & Co. said. Sales of junk bonds, those rated below “Baa3” by Moody’s Investors Service and “BBB-” by Standard & Poor’s, have reached $26.5 billion this year, Merrill said. Corporations have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell another $15.2 billion. The surge in junk bond sales continues a turnaround that began last year. In 1990, junk bond sales plunged 94% to $1.4 billion as Drexel Burnham Lambert, the largest underwriter of the bonds, collapsed.