To the investors who plowed all their money into the lowest-rated bonds at the end of last year: Congratulations. You won the jackpot, with the best returns on such debt since 2009.

To the company with a troubled balance sheet that's hoping to borrow money this year: Good luck. Investors just aren't throwing their money into any junk-rated company anymore.

An example of this can be found in U.S. Xpress Enterprises, which opted to scrap a $320 million debt offering late Wednesday, according to Bloomberg News's Sridhar Natarajan and Michelle F. Davis. The problem? Investors weren't ready to pile into a trucking company at a difficult time for the industry unless it paid them big time. The trucker balked.

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