Firmer oil prices boost energy names; car-rental bonds down; Penney paper mostly stable

By Paul Deckelman

New York, May 15 – Amid a generally firmer high-yield market on Monday, traders in the bonds of stressed or distressed companies said that still-struggling energy names like California Resources Corp. and EP Energy gained solidly as world crude oil prices strengthened for a second consecutive session following last Thursday’s big slide.

But bonds of car-rental companies such as Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Avis Budget Group Inc. were clearly in a skid, hurt by an overall downturn in that vehicle-rental sector ever since industry leader Hertz reported disappointing quarterly numbers last week. Critics note the loss of resale value among the rental giants’ fleets, as well as the rise of competition such as Uber and more recently, General Motors’ ride-sharing service.

The recently embattled retailing sector seemed to stabilize on Monday after having been hammered down on Friday. J.C. Penney Co. Inc., which led the way downward on Friday after reporting a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and lower sales numbers, was seen having at least braked its slide, for the moment.

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