Corporate bond prices worldwide are poised to set a record aseasy money policies by central banks push investors into riskierinvestments even with the potential for losses at about an all-timehigh.

Bondholders are paying an average of 110.22 cents on the dollarfor the right to receive 100 cents back at maturity plus theinterest from coupon payments, according to Bank of America MerrillLynch's Global Corporate & High Yield Index. At the same time,the so-called effective duration that measures how sensitive bondprices are to changes in yield has jumped, making the securitiesabout the riskiest to hold ever.

Central bank purchases of government bonds to contain borrowingcosts and stimulate economic growth have led investors to pourmoney into the $10 trillion global market for corporate bonds asthey search for yield. Besides betting that interest rates won'trise anytime soon, investors also face increased risk fromrestructurings. Cyprus and the Netherlands imposed losses onbondholders as part of their bank workouts, while a rise inleveraged buyouts globally threatens to trash credit ratings.