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Highly rated companies raised more than $7 billion in the U.S. corporate bond market Monday as investors flock to safe assets with attractive yields.

Indeed, the supply of such bonds these first three months of the year is the highest for any quarter since records began in 1995, according to data provider Dealogic. The tally for U.S.-dollar-denominated high-grade bonds stands at $310 billion. Of that amount, $85.6 billion of bonds were backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s guarantee program for banks and finance companies.

Most of the new bonds were sold by firms considered resistant to the recession or those that rarely issue debt. One of the largest deals Monday, at $3 billion, was from Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC), which was raising the funds to repay the borrowings under its $1.932 billion loan facility and other corporate purposes. Time Warner sold $1 billion in five-year notes at a risk premium, or spread, of 595 basis points over Treasurys to yield 7.613%, according to a person familiar with the deal. The remaining $2 billion 10-year was sold at a spread of 570 basis points over Treasurys to yield 8.347%.

"In general, issuance from higher quality/infrequent non-financial issuers continues to be met with good demand," said Jon Duensing, principal at Smith Breeden Associates in Boulder, Colo.

Other companies selling deals Monday included Bacardi Ltd., Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) and Lloyds TSB Bank PLC (LYG).

Investors are looking to move away from money market funds for more yield, said William Larkin, portfolio manager at Cabot Money Management.

"People are getting very sensitive in being in cash for a long time and earning nothing," he said.

Considering high-grade bonds' coupons, yields and relative ratings stability, "high-grade credit is the place to be," said Suki Mann, credit strategist at Societe Generale.

So far this month, investment-grade companies have raised $92.6 billion in U.S.-dollar-denominated bonds, according to Dealogic.

Meanwhile, high-yield issuance is lagging, with only $1.4 billion raised this month. The quarter's tally, at $10.8 billion so far, is the seventh-lowest quarterly volume on record, according to Dealogic.

Investor enthusiasm for new junk deals is not evident, according to Citigroup strategist John Fenn. "For the most part, high yield has simply been following the equity markets higher on precious little conviction," Fenn said. He noted that the headlines related to many high-yield companies have been focused on possible defaults.

-By Romy Varghese, Dow Jones Newswires; 215-656-8263; romy.varghese@dowjones.com

-By Kate Haywood, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2348; kate.haywood@dowjones.com