Credit crunch puts some companies on S&P watch list

— -- Homeowners aren't alone in struggling to keep up with their interest payments. As Bear Stearns' near-brush with bankruptcy shows, some companies also are dodging the repo man.

Already this year, 24 public companies with assets worth $9.9 billion have filed for bankruptcy protection, BankruptcyData.com says. That's two-thirds higher than the defaults during the same periods in 2007 and 2006.

Things will likely get much worse. Bond watchers are braced for many more blowups as companies struggle with their debt loads and consumers cut back on their spending. Debt-rating agency Standard & Poor's expects at least 4.6% of speculative-graded companies to default by the end of the year, up from the 25-year low of 1.1% in January and above the historical 4.4% average, says Diane Vazza, managing director at S&P.

If S&P is right, that could mean as many as 74 additional defaulting companies within the next 12 months.

While nobody knows exactly which companies will default and which will turn themselves around, S&P's latest list of its "weakest links" shows companies that have the lowest credit ratings and face a strong possibility of additional downgrades.

"We're on the first leg in the up-cycle of defaults," Vazza says. "The second half and in 2009, we're going to see a lot more deterioration. This is just the beginning."

There are some clear-cut trends among companies that are struggling the most, including those that:

Rely on consumer discretionary spending

Companies that depend on consumers spending money for non-essential items are most at risk as the economy slows, S&P says. Industries with the most "weak links" include entertainment, consumer products and restaurants.