By April 3, borrowing was already more difficult, as demand for cash increased and companies' internally generated cash flows shrunk.

Fed watchers worry that long-term agency independence may require a messy post-Covid divorce from the U.S. Treasury.

Most companies are past the decision of whether to draw on their bank facilities, but an even bigger challenge looms straight ahead.

Federal Reserve officials restated their pledge to hold the benchmark interest rate near zero and will keep buying bonds, judging that the coronavirus…