Record run for corporate bond sales likely to come to a halt in 2017

New York

BREAKING habits can be hard, especially when they involve making money.

That's the prospect for bond investors in the coming year. After five straight years of record US investment-grade corporate debt sales, bankers and investors are pegging 2017 as the year the frenzy finally fades. The new year has several hurdles in place already.

For one, interest rates have risen to two-year highs, making borrowing more costly. And the pipeline for new acquisition financing is smaller than 2016's, which saw such mega…