For investors who do want to speculate in high-yield bonds, one alternative may be a junk bond mutual fund, which can offer investors the relative safety of diversification.

Determining how many asbestos suits have been filed or how much companies have spent to resolve them is difficult. Cases are filed in state and federal courts, and many companies do not disclose their spending on settlements.

Most unfortunately, Enron's plunge into bankruptcy court also cost many of its rank-and-file employees their savings.

Alex Berenson Quotes