Just a few years ago, the market was as wide open as it had ever been, allowing borrowers to raise money for anything and everything. But times have changed. Even before this month's U.S. presidential election, companies had been selling the debt at the slowest pace since 2009, and the surprising outcome has apparently chilled issuance even more.

Borrowers have raised just $11.4 billion so far this month, the least for the period since 2008. While it might be easy to dismiss the development simply as a sign that borrowers have enough money for the foreseeable future, under the surface it seems as if some bigger forces are at work. Investors don't seem to want to buy junk-rated debt anymore unless they're amply compensated for the risk.

Consider, for example, a planned debt sale by Conduent, which was spun off from Xerox earlier this year. The new company had about $7 billion of revenue last year. It will provide services to governments and industries, as opposed to selling the photocopiers and scanners that Xerox is known for.