Corporate bond defaults reached a 10-year high in October according to Moody's, the rating agency, as companies including Swissair and Federal-Mogul, the US auto parts maker, failed to make debt payments.

The default rate rose to 9.5% from 9% in September, the highest since January 1992, Moody's said. The agency expects the default rate to rise to 10% by year-end, compared with 5.7% at the end of 2000. Standard and Poor's expects the default rate to rise to 9.4% by year-end.