Reported nonfinancial corporate cash interest payments surged 15% in Q1 2023, as interest rate increases start to bite. We estimate the median effective interest rate speculative-grade entities are paying globally will rise to 6.1% in 2023, its highest level since 2010. Interest cost pressures will build slowly but surely for all companies, but for weaker speculative-grade entities, reliance on floating-rate debt means declining EBITDA and higher interest costs is a more immediate and present threat to credit quality.