Lower rates reduce the cost of corporate and consumer borrowing, giving companies and individuals more money to spend.

Analysts said that corporate borrowing was a major factor in the rise as companies sought funds to pay their tax bills.

That lowers the cost of corporate borrowing and helps stocks.

Higher interest rates are often viewed as bad for stocks because they raise the cost of corporate borrowing.

The boom in corporate borrowing can be laid to Congressional tax law writers.

Lower interest rates are considered good for stocks, because they reduce the cost of corporate borrowing while making bonds less attractive as an investment alternative.

These rates, the basis for fixed mortgages and much corporate borrowing, are crucial to the health of the economy.

A sharp rise in corporate borrowing through short-term commercial paper over the last several months has prompted concern among some credit market analysts.

Higher bond yields are a negative for stocks, since they increase both corporate and consumer borrowing costs.

The retrenchment comes less than a year after corporate borrowing reached its highest level in two decades.