The number of struggling companies tied to the exploration and production side of the energy sector has nearly doubled, Moody’s Investors Service found. “The jump in oil and gas defaults that was driven by slumping commodity prices was primarily responsible for the increase in the overall U.S. default rate in 2015 and continues to fuel it in 2016,” David Keisman, a senior vice president at Moody’s, said in a statement. Analysis early this year from consultant group Wood Mackenzie said energy companies are reassessing their spending plans , sidelining high-risk fields that may have been economical under better market conditions two years ago. That means less capital for companies that otherwise would have benefited from those developments. From the perspective of Moody’s , the pressure on […]