Analysis-AI borrowing binge prompts investors to back away from corporate bonds

By Naomi Rovnick LONDON (Reuters) -A big tech borrowing bonanza and signs of strain in private credit are spooking bond market lenders to the world's top-rated businesses, in a trend that could jolt funding costs higher, hit corporate earnings and add stress to twitchy global markets. A cross-market rout sparked by AI over-investment nerves and what delayed U.S. data might mean for monetary policy has pushed world stocks down 3% this month and knocked everything from cryptocurrency bitcoin to gold. But investment-grade bonds, which still offer borrowers the cheapest funding costs seen in decades, have been spared. Investors at groups managing more than $10 trillion of client assets combined, however, expressed concerns about IG debt pricing or said they were reducing exposure to top-rated